Climate Change: Post up your Phd. dissertation, coward

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Dead Reckoning: Sep 13, 2011

Polio Vax Scene posted:

people die when they get old enough. its true!

Unfortunately, they don't stop consuming resources while they get old, and the social & technological development that is a prerequisite for universal access to family planning also tends to permit greatly improved lifespans and lower mortality rates.

Notorious R.I.M. posted:

"9 billion instead of 30 billion" hmm yes both numbers I've heard thrown around with RCP 8.5 quite a lot :thinking_emoji:

The actual numbers don't really matter, since [our ever growing world population] still greatly exceeds [the number of people the planet can sustainably support at a standard of living you would accept for yourself and those you care about] by orders of magnitude, no matter what metric you use.

# ? May 5, 2017 19:34

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# ? May 14, 2024 10:36

Mozi: Apr 4, 2004; Forms change so fast
Time is moving past
Memory is smoke
Gonna get wider when I die; Nap Ghost

Accretionist posted:

You can get the idea out there by pushing it at Whole Foods and on Instagram. Weave it into the whole organic anti-GMO thing through social media marketing, branding, etc. Get vegetarians to incorporate climate change into their pitches and propaganda. Apply slight, constant pressure and hope it snowballs or at least enters the culture. If it succeeds, it'll help downstream.

I really hope you don't seriously believe something like this has a snowball's chance in future Earth of having a meaningful effect. The time has come and gone.

# ? May 5, 2017 19:47

Dead Reckoning: Sep 13, 2011

And while you are explaining to people in the Whole Foods parking lot that overconsumption is killing the planet, there exists an entire subculture of "rolling coal" dedicated to burning fossil fuels in the most inefficient manner possible, primarily out of tribal spite towards the people who shop at Whole Foods.

# ? May 5, 2017 20:10

Notorious R.I.M.: Jan 27, 2004; up to my ass in alligators

Dead Reckoning posted:

Unfortunately, they don't stop consuming resources while they get old, and the social & technological development that is a prerequisite for universal access to family planning also tends to permit greatly improved lifespans and lower mortality rates.

The actual numbers don't really matter, since [our ever growing world population] still greatly exceeds [the number of people the planet can sustainably support at a standard of living you would accept for yourself and those you care about] by orders of magnitude, no matter what metric you use.

This is a funny quote because a lot of the primary differences between RCP 6 and RCP 8.5 come down to changes in population dynamics. I guess none of that matters when you're just looking for any excuse whatsoever to absolve yourself of personal responsibility though.

# ? May 5, 2017 20:20

TildeATH: Oct 21, 2010; by Lowtax

Mozi posted:

If we never invented fire, at least there would still be a stable world in which to scrape out an existence.

I don't know if you know this but we didn't invent fire.

# ? May 5, 2017 20:27

Star Man: Jun 1, 2008; There's a star maaaaaan
Over the rainbow

Misanthropes think there are too many people on the planet and any number is too many. News at 11

# ? May 5, 2017 20:31

Accretionist: Nov 7, 2012; I BELIEVE IN STUPID CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Mozi posted:

I really hope you don't seriously believe something like this has a snowball's chance in future Earth of having a meaningful effect. The time has come and gone.

What do you mean by, "meaningful effect?" More to the point, do you think it's stupid and harmful?

Edit: My gripe is that there's a tendency to judge policy not according its goal, it's fit to its goal or its costs/impact but rather according to whether or not it's a silver bullet. When it's time to abandon Miami and Border Patrol's job is killing climate refugees at the southern border, it's not like everyone's going to just go, "Welp," and commit suicide.

Accretionist fucked around with this message at 21:14 on May 5, 2017

# ? May 5, 2017 20:46

Mercrom: Jul 17, 2009

Every gun control, air travel company, circumcision or tipping discussion ever conducted on this forum combined are preferable to the contents of this thread. Thank you Lowtax. I never before knew the value of the ignore list.

# ? May 5, 2017 22:02

Evil_Greven: Feb 20, 2007; Whadda I got to,
whadda I got to do
to wake ya up?

To shake ya up,
to break the structure up!?

Mercrom posted:

Every gun control, air travel company, circumcision or tipping discussion ever conducted on this forum combined are preferable to the contents of this thread. Thank you Lowtax. I never before knew the value of the ignore list.

Don't worry, here's a reminder on how we're totally hosed (plus video form):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igLaQ4Gi_0Y

tl;dw - more CO2 in the atmosphere reduces nutrients in food crops (some as much as 10% - there's a graph at 4:00); also this study was only done at 550 ppm.

# ? May 5, 2017 23:16

pwnyXpress: Mar 28, 2007

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J3Ngiw7RWw

quote:

We scoff and roll our eyes
Yeah, we've heard this all before in a different guise
These shrill alarmist fears
We don't deign to entertain them, covering our ears

So where will we go when the waters threaten to wash us away?
And all of our sons and our daughters wilt in the heat of the day?
I feel the sun draw nearer, I feel the sea start to rise
Who's looking back in the mirror? Why are they closing -
Why are they closing their eyes?

Now that heavy curtain sways
And the man who stands behind tries to give his name
So we ask ourselves, "Who stands to gain?"
Soon our tired talking points are feeling awfully strained

So where will we go when the waters threaten to wash us away?
And all of our sons and our daughters wilt in the heat of the day?
I feel the sun draw nearer, I feel the sea start to rise
Who's looking back in the mirror? Why are they closing -
Why are they closing their eyes?

So where will we go when the waters threaten to wash us away?
And all of our sons and our daughters wilt in the heat of the day?
I feel the sun draw nearer, I feel the sea start to rise
Who's looking back in the mirror? Why are they closing -
Why are they closing their eyes?

Why are we closing, why are we closing our eyes?
Why are we closing, why are we closing our eyes?
Why are we closing, why are we closing our eyes?
Why are we closing, why are we closing our eyes?

# ? May 6, 2017 00:21

Slow News Day: Jul 4, 2007

New potential for death! :dance:

quote:

There are diseases hidden in ice, and they are waking up
Long-dormant bacteria and viruses, trapped in ice and permafrost for centuries, are reviving as Earth's climate warms
--

Throughout history, humans have existed side-by-side with bacteria and viruses. From the bubonic plague to smallpox, we have evolved to resist them, and in response they have developed new ways of infecting us.

We have had antibiotics for almost a century, ever since Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. In response, bacteria have responded by evolving antibiotic resistance. The battle is endless: because we spend so much time with pathogens, we sometimes develop a kind of natural stalemate.

However, what would happen if we were suddenly exposed to deadly bacteria and viruses that have been absent for thousands of years, or that we have never met before?

We may be about to find out. Climate change is melting permafrost soils that have been frozen for thousands of years, and as the soils melt they are releasing ancient viruses and bacteria that, having lain dormant, are springing back to life...

# ? May 6, 2017 01:54

Banana Man: Oct 2, 2015; mm time 2 gargle piss and shit

Haha that's pretty neat

# ? May 6, 2017 03:43

Crazycryodude: Aug 15, 2015; Lets get our X tons of Duranium back!

....Is that still a valid thing to jingoistically blow out of proportion?

Mutant alien space plague, coming right up.

# ? May 6, 2017 04:00

Mustached Demon: Nov 12, 2016

At least they won't be antibiotic resistant bacteria!

# ? May 6, 2017 04:21

susan b buffering: Nov 14, 2016

Mustached Demon posted:

At least they won't be antibiotic resistant bacteria!

You should read more of that article.

# ? May 6, 2017 04:38

Mustached Demon: Nov 12, 2016

skull mask mcgee posted:

You should read more of that article.

drat here I was trying to be positive.

Well then uh neat that they developed their own resistance many moons ago.

# ? May 6, 2017 04:52

Morbus: May 18, 2004

Star Man posted:

Misanthropes think there are too many people on the planet and any number is too many. News at 11

You would be a misanthrope too if you had to spend as much time around them as they do.

# ? May 6, 2017 05:04

Shifty Nipples: Apr 8, 2007

Accretionist posted:

What do you mean by, "meaningful effect?" More to the point, do you think it's stupid and harmful?

Edit: My gripe is that there's a tendency to judge policy not according its goal, it's fit to its goal or its costs/impact but rather according to whether or not it's a silver bullet. When it's time to abandon Miami and Border Patrol's job is killing climate refugees at the southern border, it's not like everyone's going to just go, "Welp," and commit suicide.

The time for that was the past twenty years. It is too late for a bandage.

# ? May 6, 2017 05:36

TildeATH: Oct 21, 2010; by Lowtax

Super dumb to think there's a killer human virus waiting in the ice given that the killer human viruses are the ones we carefully grew in cities for the last millennium.

There's nothing coming out of the ice to kill us except methane.

# ? May 6, 2017 06:13

Furnaceface: Oct 21, 2004

TildeATH posted:

There's nothing coming out of the ice to kill us except methane.

Encino Man 2

# ? May 6, 2017 06:22

Accretionist: Nov 7, 2012; I BELIEVE IN STUPID CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Shifty Nipples posted:

"Silver Bullets or Nothing!"

FTFY

If you didn't see my previous posts, I'm rejecting the glib, out-of-hand rejection and derision of policies which aren't 'one step plans to fix everything.' This transitioned into, 'I think pushing for dietary changes would represent negligible costs and might help grease the skids on future (forced) changes.'

# ? May 6, 2017 06:32

Conspiratiorist: Nov 12, 2015; 17th Separate Kryvyi Rih Tank Brigade named after Konstantin Pestushko
Look to my coming on the first light of the ~~fifth~~ ~~sixth~~ some day

The thawing out of old diseases is a real concern for people in permafrost regions, but by their own nature outbreaks in these places are easy to contain between the mix of remoteness and low population density.

Echoing an earlier poster, it's not going to be some paleolithic superbug that bumfucks us, but something petridished in urban slums or refugee camps.

# ? May 6, 2017 07:04

double nine: Aug 8, 2013

I'm still concerned.

# ? May 6, 2017 10:36

Ferdinand Bardamu: Apr 30, 2013

quote:

Icebergs to be towed from Antarctica to United Arab Emirates for drinking water
The United Arab Emirates is planning to tow icebergs from Antarctica to its coast to solve its issues with drinking water. The National Advisor Bureau Limited company plans to provide a new source of freshwater for the region by towing the iceberg from Antarctica to the coast of the eastern emirate of Fujairah.

The Masdar city-based company then plans to mine the iceberg for drinking water. An average iceberg contains more than 20 billion gallons of water, or enough for one million people over five years, Abdullah Mohammad Sulaiman Al Shehi, the company's managing director, told Gulf News.

He said the iceberg could create micro-climates in the region and bring rain to the arid landscape. Icebergs typically take a long time to melt, as around 80 per cent of their overall mass usually remains underwater, while the exposed white ice above reflects sunlight and thus heat, reducing the amount of water that evaporates.

Mr Al Shehi said his company's simulations predict it will take up to one year to tow an iceberg to the UAE and said the project will start in early 2018.
He also said the sight of icebergs floating along the coast could become another tourist attraction.

Once the iceberg is offshore, Mr Al Shehi said the company's water processing operation will begin. Blocks will be chipped off the iceberg above the waterline and then crushed into water, before being stored in large tanks and filtered through a water processing plant.

"This is the purest water in the world," he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnBArsrwnuE

quote:

Launch of "Filling the Empty Quarter" Environmental Initiative
2. Proposal to mine water from south-pole ice bergs which are already disintegrateing due to global warming; the ice bergs, once melted, will not only add to the rising sea level problem but billions of liters of much-needed fresh water will be lost to the sea.

# ? May 6, 2017 17:37

Burt Buckle: Sep 1, 2011

WaryWarren posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnBArsrwnuE

See? Those clever UAE scamps are actually gonna benefit from climate change maybe perhaps. It's gonna be okay guys.

# ? May 6, 2017 17:52

eNeMeE: Nov 26, 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cjx4gJFME0

I always thought this was an idea so stupid only a joke cartoon character could even entertain it. :suicide:

# ? May 6, 2017 18:21

Trabisnikof: Dec 24, 2005

We used to ship huge blocks of ice via boat from the North American Great Lakes region all the way to India and other British colonies. So this is just scaling things up!

# ? May 6, 2017 19:45

Fasdar: Sep 1, 2001; Everybody loves dancing!

Burt Buckle posted:

See? Those clever UAE scamps are actually gonna benefit from climate change maybe perhaps. It's gonna be okay guys.

The rabbit hole on UAE nonsense ideas and the general intellectual poverty that comes with extreme and sudden wealth is very deep. Look up what Mazdar city actually is and prepare for a world of LOLs.

# ? May 6, 2017 19:54

Arglebargle III: Feb 21, 2006

Wow this idea was mentioned in a popular scifi book a few years ago.

This thread is depressing.

# ? May 6, 2017 23:53

StabbinHobo: Oct 18, 2002; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

I can't wait till they get the currents or whatever wrong and a bazillion ton iceberg crashes into a major coastal city during the middle of a heat wave.

# ? May 7, 2017 15:08

Burt Buckle: Sep 1, 2011

StabbinHobo posted:

I can't wait till they get the currents or whatever wrong and a bazillion ton iceberg crashes into a major coastal city during the middle of a heat wave.

It will be a fun relief from the heat. Like when the neighborhood kids open the fire hydrant on a hot summer day.

# ? May 7, 2017 16:06

A Buttery Pastry: Sep 4, 2011; Delicious and Informative!

StabbinHobo posted:

I can't wait till they get the currents or whatever wrong and a bazillion ton iceberg crashes into a major coastal city during the middle of a heat wave.

It's probably gonna run aground before it hits any inhabited area, though it could still just sit there and prevent ships from reaching port for a long while.

# ? May 7, 2017 16:12

Uranium Phoenix: Jun 20, 2007; Boom.

I came across a climate change-related bit in the Science magazine podcast (starts at 16:10). Here's the article they're referring to, if you have access to it (I don't).

In it, they frame climate change as human behavior problem. Here's the summary:

Just providing information on what individuals can do (such as purchasing habits) or scaring people is ineffective; scaring people can actually backfire
Problems that aren't immediate and local are hard for the brain to deal with
People process information through their worldview and beliefs, and ignore information that doesn't conform and seek out information that does
Consequences are powerful at changing people's behavior (more so than most people realize). Cars have few consequences, but grant lots of freedom of movement, while cycling in car-infested streets feels unsafe, so is essentially punishing. People are also scared of non-conformity and don't want to be thought of negatively (or as dumb and wrong), so they will accept the status quo and often not push for change or do new things (like speaking up when someone denies climate change, or accepting a practice at work that causes heavy pollution)
It's very difficult to go against both social and economic systems; it requires a lot of intentional work. Since people are cognitive misers or have limited energy, very few people will be able to do this alone.
In a study where people received information about their neighbor's energy usage, high usage users lowered usage, low usage users raised it. Putting a smiley face by the low usage numbers got people to lower overall energy usage. This points to the importance of how we set up our systems, and how effective a small change in a system can be in causing lots of individuals to change.
Working in groups and supporting each other is extremely helpful in combating the psychological barriers an individual might not be able to overcome alone.

# ? May 7, 2017 17:28

aphid_licker: Jan 7, 2009

The most intelligent know species, ladies and gentlemen. "A smiley face?? Hot drat! Finally I'm motivated to save the ecosystem that keeps me alive!"

# ? May 7, 2017 17:58

Wanderer: Nov 5, 2006; our every move is the new tradition

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/05/derrick-crowe-lamar-smith-challenger

If nothing else, I hope Crowe gets to the point where he can debate Smith. One-on-one, I bet Smith, when challenged on the issue, is going to go ballistic.

A Buttery Pastry posted:

It's probably gonna run aground before it hits any inhabited area, though it could still just sit there and prevent ships from reaching port for a long while.

That'd be an interesting image. You'd have dudes taking small boats out to the beached iceberg and chipping bits off to take home and use for water.

# ? May 7, 2017 21:25

Dr. Furious: Jan 11, 2001; KELVIN
My bot don't know nuthin' 'bout no KELVIN

Wanderer posted:

That'd be an interesting image. You'd have dudes taking small boats out to the beached iceberg and chipping bits off to take home and use for water.

It'd definitely capture more attention than the image of women walking kilometers carrying buckets on their heads.

# ? May 7, 2017 23:13

Goatse James Bond: Mar 28, 2010; If you see me posting please remind me that I have Charlie Work in the reports forum to do instead

enraged_camel posted:

New potential for death!

There was a real loving cool show about that sort of thing. Fortitude.

I need to check if season two is a thing because it'll help prepare me for my inevitable future.

Edit: it's loving out :stare:

Guess I know what I'm doing this week!

# ? May 7, 2017 23:44

Morbus: May 18, 2004

Burt Buckle posted:

See? Those clever UAE scamps are actually gonna benefit from climate change maybe perhaps. It's gonna be okay guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svKq044qrYU

You know, things like this and Masdar city make more sense if you consider that its all part of a secret Brewster's Millionsesque spending challenge...

# ? May 8, 2017 06:37

ToxicSlurpee: Nov 5, 2003; -=SEND HELP=-; Pillbug

aphid_licker posted:

The most intelligent know species, ladies and gentlemen. "A smiley face?? Hot drat! Finally I'm motivated to save the ecosystem that keeps me alive!"

Never forget that as humans we're stupid, hairy apes that can't look much farther than a day's walk away. We're ruled primarily by our emotions and base urges.

# ? May 8, 2017 09:45

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# ? May 14, 2024 10:36

Orions Lord: May 21, 2012

Burt Buckle posted:

See? Those clever UAE scamps are actually gonna benefit from climate change maybe perhaps. It's gonna be okay guys.

The amount of vessels needed would create as much pollution as all the cars in the world.

# ? May 8, 2017 10:02

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