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What if we stopped pretending the climate apocalypse can be stopped?
81–90 of 145 posts
Re: What if we stopped pretending the climate apocalypse can be stopped?
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did you read the article? That's not what it's about at all. The author is saying that we aren't going to "stop" climate change. So instead we should be strategizing how to proactively invest in systems (both natural and man-made) to make them more resilient in the face of changes to come.
The best systems to proactively invest in are renewable energies and technologies that reduce our energy demand, like building insulation, heat pumps, and electric cars.
Yep, this is advisable by at least one actual scientist, too: https://medium.com/otherlab-news/decarbonization-and-gnd-b8d...
Also eating less or no meat helps on an individual level.
Re: What if we stopped pretending the climate apocalypse can be stopped?
#83I have honestly wondered whether a rational, amoral planner would be readying the release of some pathogen(s) from which a reasonable number of people would survive. I wonder what the signs of such preparation would be? Obviously you would want to make sure that nuclear power stations, refineries and dangerous chemical plants were either capable of a graceful shutdown or that there would be enough trained operators i…
There is a tick that renders people allergic to meat. The villain could start with that and let the market work out the details.
Re: What if we stopped pretending the climate apocalypse can be stopped?
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
The survival of our technological civilization is very much uncertain. It has been since the nuclear age. If someone wanted to take meaningful action, they would be sinking container ships. In aggregate, they contribute to more pollution (of all kinds), than most singular countries. Nobody is going to war over this, so it's inevitable. If it's inevitable, it's not healthy to pretend otherwise. The earth will survive,…
Serious question: I always see 'humans will survive' in these kinds of posts. Why? We know most of the past species are extinct, we are in the middle of a mass extinction event, the climate crisis hasn't even fully begun, and there are other serious problems coming. So I don't want to be negative, but I do want to stay realistic. Does someone know why humans will survive, and on which time scale this prediction is va…
We don't have reliable data that an advanced civilization of our level (yes, we're advanced comparing to many our ancestors) goes extinct. Particularly for reasons like this. So we naturally not sure. On the other hand, we see some examples of wonderful inventiveness - say, in time of a war, but also in time of great geographical discoveries, technology and science achievements etc. So for many it feels like an open question.
As for validity time scale, I'd like to see research myself.
Re: What if we stopped pretending the climate apocalypse can be stopped?
#85What if we stop pretending there is a climate apocalypse
It won't stop it either, unfortunately.
Re: What if we stopped pretending the climate apocalypse can be stopped?
#86One solution, which I admit is out there, is what if we actively cook the earth? While yes, it would be an engineering challenge, I think it is quite reasonable to create an “adjustable solar shade”. Basically build up enough reflectors at the Lagrange point to selectively “cool” parts of earth. Yes, it would be a massive undertaking, but could potentially be done mostly autonomously. If our timeline is 30 years, thi…
> what if we actively cook the earth?
We're already doing that. ;)
Re: What if we stopped pretending the climate apocalypse can be stopped?
#87I have heard meat-eating car-drivers push this line of thinking for at least two decades. You know the sort of person: willing to rag on the republicans or the Koch brothers for being bad, but ultimately unwilling to do anything except moan about how it is all too hard.
Individual decisions are not going to affect economic signals meaningfully.
How many Brazillian ranchers stop clear-cutting if you or I go vegan? The impact on their market is essentially immeasurable.
In contrast, a state level policy can move the needle. If the rest of the world slaps a $10/kg tariff on Amazonian beef, their business collapses rapidly. Of course, then we get into unknown consequences where we don't know what they'll try next to salvage the wreckage of the industry.
Re: What if we stopped pretending the climate apocalypse can be stopped?
#88I'm not sure I follow the author's reasoning. He says that what we do won't make a difference but then says that we should do things anyways. It seems to me like if he's right, then there is just no hope.
Re: What if we stopped pretending the climate apocalypse can be stopped?
#891. Even if we can't completely prevent it, we can stop it from being much worse. 2. Regardless of the climate changer factor, polluting the air causes cancer, damages ecosystems, harms our food supply, etc. The mentality of "we can't prevent it, so why bother trying" is like accidentally shooting yourself in the foot, and when finding out it'll have to be amputated, proceeding to shoot your other foot because "what's…
Did you read the article? That's not what it's about at all. The author is saying that we aren't going to "stop" climate change. So instead we should be strategizing how to proactively invest in systems (both natural and man-made) to make them more resilient in the face of changes to come.
Most versions of the Green New Deal that I've seen heavily incorporate resilience into the plan, it's not solely focused on trying to reverse climate change.
Re: What if we stopped pretending the climate apocalypse can be stopped?
#90Jonathan Franzen is a mediocre writer and uh not a scientist. There will be hardships in the future. The poor will feel them the hardest. The rich might eventually feel them too. Franzen has no qualms throwing you into despair because if he feels despair its a very far off despair because he will never feel the consequences of inaction. The guy just straight up said these are my feels so you should believe me.