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World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded

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Re: World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded

#61

Is anyone on HN reconsidering having children because of climate change? Recently I've had a big shift myself on this topic, probably influenced by not many women my age (younger than 30) having any interest in bringing a child into a world where they could potentially suffer real physical danger due to climate change.

Well, the birds aren't going to fix climate change. I can't speak for the women you know, but the women I know in their 20s-30s tell me they aren't thinking about children at all probably thanks to the empowerment of women of the last 100 years. Over my life, I've heard all kinds of excuses for all people to not consider children until they are in their late 30s or 40s, then it's a rush. I did the same. I'm not sure…

Most people I know are not having children because they don't have the economic stability to do so. Housing, individual low/middle income tax burden, cost of living, stagnated wages over the last several decades for all but the top 25%.

Re: World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded

#62

I have the feeling that many people (especially politicians) think that global warming is a linear process. It's not. It might even be exponential since some sources for climate-warming are affected by warmer climate. For example, melting ice that reflects sunlight back to space [ https://arcticwwf.org/places/last-ice-area/ ]. I'm thinking about choosing a new place to live right now. Climate change is a big factor f…

I don't want to sound fatalistic but it's difficult to see how we can reset the 4 big feedback loops in any reasonable amount of time: Ice-albedo feedback - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice%E2%80%93albedo_feedback Permafrost thaw feedback - https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/global-carbon-budget-perm... Forestfire\Drought feedback - https://weatherology.com/trending/articles/Drought-Feedback-... Jetstream Disruption…

Sulfur dioxide aerosol injection in the stratosphere until carbon capture and decarbonization can catch up.

We desperately need an energy inexpensive way to sequester atmospheric carbon underground in stable (mineral) form. Hopefully we’ll see progress from Climeworks or similar concerns in this space.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aae98d/...

Re: World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded

#63

Is anyone on HN reconsidering having children because of climate change? Recently I've had a big shift myself on this topic, probably influenced by not many women my age (younger than 30) having any interest in bringing a child into a world where they could potentially suffer real physical danger due to climate change.

Of much greater concern to me is the stability of my income potential in a world that's increasingly automated and career stability is gone. I feel like my default is no children, and that will only change if and only if I reach a level of wealth that I can feel very comfortable committing to the ~18 years of directly raising a new human, the 4+ years thereafter for continuing education, and all the costs associated…

The opportunities for our children is dwindling. I am a full time health care worker who works lots of overtime and I can not even come close to affording a house that fits me and my kids. I am desperately trying to save up but would need $100k to even get my foot in the door at today’s market. To hear you say you would want to cut your child off seems so foreign to me. I want to get ahead enough in life that I can leave my kids with something. That is why in fact I just 2 weeks ago saw a financial advisor and am working on getting life insurance. I want to make my kids life a little easier then mine and with the way things are every cent I can leave them will help a lot. Hard work is not enough to do well in life anymore. Trust me my next check has 157 hours of pay coming. I still am not financially well off.

Re: World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded

#64
post #45
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony of this is that the people who care about the wellbeing of the planet enough to question having children due to climate concerns are the ones who really should be having children. They are more likely to raise them to be conscious of issues like this, to look for solutions, and to minimize their impact.

On a long enough timeline I agree with your point, but your argument is one of the many many common examples we see now of people simply not understanding the timeline. 2050 is 29 years away. Kids born in the next few years will barely be out of school by the time we have to have this mostly solved.

True, but odds are by 2050 we will not have this mostly solved and we will still be arguing with each other about what's important when it comes to preserving the current climate vs adapting to a changing climate. I think that on the short timeline it definitely makes sense to use progeny as a means to effect change according to ones own ideals.

Re: World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded

#65

Is anyone on HN reconsidering having children because of climate change? Recently I've had a big shift myself on this topic, probably influenced by not many women my age (younger than 30) having any interest in bringing a child into a world where they could potentially suffer real physical danger due to climate change.

Of much greater concern to me is the stability of my income potential in a world that's increasingly automated and career stability is gone. I feel like my default is no children, and that will only change if and only if I reach a level of wealth that I can feel very comfortable committing to the ~18 years of directly raising a new human, the 4+ years thereafter for continuing education, and all the costs associated…

Can you inherit zero? Where I live, there is a mandatory minimum inheritance for children - I think it’s 1/6 of the total?

Cutting off financial help might result in them feeling stuck with their past choices, resulting in depression etc - I wouldn’t do that. Many successful entrepreneurs come from supportive households.

Re: World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded

#67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course. And I also know a single instance isn't proof of climate change. But I wanted to point out / rant about how the winters have changed over time here. It's sad. And summers hotter than ever. Have had to buy AC, as if we're in Southern Europe.

Just interested in what temperatures have risen to that you need an AC? I also understand that buildings in normally colder climates are optimised to keep warm so that if things get hotter in general they are not going to cope well so an AC may well be necessary at temperatures that in other regions would be considered relatively cool.

It can get above 30C here[1][2], which is pretty hot for us. As you say, buildings are well insulated for the winter which means that the walls retains a lot of heat into the night once they've been baking for several days.

Keep in mind the sun goes down at around 11pm, so it doesn't really get cold outside until well past midnight. In my home, that means it can be 25C inside for hours after bedtime unless I use AC and keep the interior cold during the day.

One could get used to 25C I suppose, problem is it's just for a few weeks at a time, then it goes back down. So you never really get used to it.

[1]: https://www.yr.no/en/statistics/table/1-72837/Norway/Oslo/Os...

[2]: https://www.yr.no/en/statistics/table/1-72837/Norway/Oslo/Os...

Re: World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded

#68
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of much greater concern to me is the stability of my income potential in a world that's increasingly automated and career stability is gone. I feel like my default is no children, and that will only change if and only if I reach a level of wealth that I can feel very comfortable committing to the ~18 years of directly raising a new human, the 4+ years thereafter for continuing education, and all the costs associated…

Can you inherit zero? Where I live, there is a mandatory minimum inheritance for children - I think it’s 1/6 of the total? Cutting off financial help might result in them feeling stuck with their past choices, resulting in depression etc - I wouldn’t do that. Many successful entrepreneurs come from supportive households.

I've never heard of a law like that.

Where I live, a person has full discretion on who inherits their estate if they explicitly write their will. Your offspring and next of kin are the default inheritors, but can be excluded if you explicitly say so in your will.

Re: World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded

#69
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of much greater concern to me is the stability of my income potential in a world that's increasingly automated and career stability is gone. I feel like my default is no children, and that will only change if and only if I reach a level of wealth that I can feel very comfortable committing to the ~18 years of directly raising a new human, the 4+ years thereafter for continuing education, and all the costs associated…

The opportunities for our children is dwindling. I am a full time health care worker who works lots of overtime and I can not even come close to affording a house that fits me and my kids. I am desperately trying to save up but would need $100k to even get my foot in the door at today’s market. To hear you say you would want to cut your child off seems so foreign to me. I want to get ahead enough in life that I can l…

Part of the reason opportunities are dwindling is because generational wealth is accumulating more and more resources and rent seeking from the plebs who toil to survive. If you're not born into that club, it's very unlikely you'll enter it.

Re: World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded

#70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the birds aren't going to fix climate change. I can't speak for the women you know, but the women I know in their 20s-30s tell me they aren't thinking about children at all probably thanks to the empowerment of women of the last 100 years. Over my life, I've heard all kinds of excuses for all people to not consider children until they are in their late 30s or 40s, then it's a rush. I did the same. I'm not sure…

Most people I know are not having children because they don't have the economic stability to do so. Housing, individual low/middle income tax burden, cost of living, stagnated wages over the last several decades for all but the top 25%.

Let me tell you one thing I've learned: There's never ever a good time to have children.
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