Global warming
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Global warming
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10-24-2017, 11:09 AM
(10-24-2017, 02:13 AM)Galen Wrote: In my experience Boomers are about the most gullible people I have ever met. Eric the Obtuse is the archetype of the gullible Boomer. Xers are more likely to be Trump followers than any other generation, making your statement foolish by definition.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.
10-24-2017, 01:47 PM
(10-24-2017, 02:13 AM)Galen Wrote:(10-22-2017, 09:36 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: As a Boomer I have my own detectors of mierda del toro -- like probabilistic analysis, scrutiny for internal inconsistency (great for detecting a fraud like Donald Trump, whom I regret to say is a fellow Boomer), objective fact, and such basic knowledge as the laws of thermodynamics (economics is a monetary expression of such laws), and knowledge of the means of the hustle. Sure, the world and human nature are full of paradoxes, but you can expect that I would never fall for a 419 scam. You must have met too many Fundamentalist Christians. They may not be bad people, but they are certainly gullible.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
10-24-2017, 02:48 PM
(10-24-2017, 02:11 AM)Galen Wrote:(10-22-2017, 04:51 AM)Kinser79 Wrote: What do we know? There have been numerous environmental predictions that have been made, none of them have come true, and the moral panic that is being whipped up fits nicely into the per-packaged solutions of a certain cabal of individuals. And no I'm not speaking of these scientists--though those polls are probably a scam. A nuclear engineer is a scientist sure, but does he really know shit about the environment beyond what the average everyman does? Probably not. Furthermore science does not concern itself with consensus--that's politics--it concerns itself with facts and simply put we do not have enough facts to say for certain what is going to happen with the climate.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
10-25-2017, 01:59 AM
(10-24-2017, 01:47 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:(10-24-2017, 02:13 AM)Galen Wrote:(10-22-2017, 09:36 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: As a Boomer I have my own detectors of mierda del toro -- like probabilistic analysis, scrutiny for internal inconsistency (great for detecting a fraud like Donald Trump, whom I regret to say is a fellow Boomer), objective fact, and such basic knowledge as the laws of thermodynamics (economics is a monetary expression of such laws), and knowledge of the means of the hustle. Sure, the world and human nature are full of paradoxes, but you can expect that I would never fall for a 419 scam. More like I spent too much time at PSU listening to air-headed professors who had a specialty that ended with the word 'studies'. Currently, I live in the People's Republic of Portland which means that there are large numbers of Boomer lefties around and they tend to be way more detached from reality. They can't even handle basic math which is probably one of the reasons they are broke and too stupid to realize it.
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. -- H.L. Mencken
If one rejects laissez faire on account of man's fallibility and moral weakness, one must for the same reason also reject every kind of government action. -- Ludwig von Mises
10-25-2017, 02:55 AM
(10-25-2017, 01:59 AM)Galen Wrote:(10-24-2017, 01:47 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: [quote pid='29779' dateline='1508829194'] More like I spent too much time at PSU listening to air-headed professors who had a specialty that ended with the word 'studies'. Currently, I live in the People's Republic of Portland which means that there are large numbers of Boomer lefties around and they tend to be way more detached from reality. They can't even handle basic math which is probably one of the reasons they are broke and too stupid to realize it. [/quote] Is "PSU" Penn State? I am a liberal, and I would prefer that education be more rigorous and dedicated to essential knowledge instead of to arcane but vapid studies. College professors seem to be detached from many realities (like manual labor and certain forms of mass low culture). On the other hand, who isn't detached from something? Heck, I generally avoid blockbuster movies heavy on special effects and weak on writing. Maybe you would be happier in the rural Midwest where the culture is sold at Wal*Mart (because the nearest Target is forty miles away), where most FM radio stations offer country music or religious programming, and where the economy relies heavily on dairies and slaughterhouses, and where one must leave town to get beyond the education available at a community college.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
10-25-2017, 09:49 AM
(10-25-2017, 01:59 AM)Galen Wrote: More like I spent too much time at PSU listening to air-headed professors who had a specialty that ended with the word 'studies'. Currently, I live in the People's Republic of Portland which means that there are large numbers of Boomer lefties around and they tend to be way more detached from reality. They can't even handle basic math which is probably one of the reasons they are broke and too stupid to realize it. If you live in Portland and think it sucks, vote with your feet. There are plenty of places to live that better suit your temperament.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.
10-25-2017, 10:06 AM
(10-25-2017, 09:49 AM)David Horn Wrote:(10-25-2017, 01:59 AM)Galen Wrote: More like I spent too much time at PSU listening to air-headed professors who had a specialty that ended with the word 'studies'. Currently, I live in the People's Republic of Portland which means that there are large numbers of Boomer lefties around and they tend to be way more detached from reality. They can't even handle basic math which is probably one of the reasons they are broke and too stupid to realize it. I think he would be far happier in a rural community in which people are much closer to the nitty-gritty of economic life and generally show few pretensions of elevated learning. Places with active mines, feed lots, and timber to be felled. That is reality for many people. Maybe he can drive a truck. Long haul? He could listen to the realism of country music instead of the Haydn string quartets at the cocktail parties of what he considers pretentious intellectuals. One sees few pretentious intellectuals at Wal*Mart, let alone Dollar General. If he is a medical professional -- there are plenty of small-town hospitals in clinics begging for medical staff. Communities in which one is more likely to encounter a high-school dropout born and raised here than anyone with a graduate degree except perhaps for some high-school teacher who lives to get away from the dreary hick town. All in all, it is the dreariest lily-white communities that voted so heavily for Donald Trump.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
10-25-2017, 09:52 PM
(10-25-2017, 10:06 AM)pbrower2a Wrote:(10-25-2017, 09:49 AM)David Horn Wrote:(10-25-2017, 01:59 AM)Galen Wrote: More like I spent too much time at PSU listening to air-headed professors who had a specialty that ended with the word 'studies'. Currently, I live in the People's Republic of Portland which means that there are large numbers of Boomer lefties around and they tend to be way more detached from reality. They can't even handle basic math which is probably one of the reasons they are broke and too stupid to realize it. And back to the pretention. It would be understandible in someone who had earned it but you PBR simply have not. I won't speak for Galen, but I will for me. Given the choice between a string quartet and having to be with effete empty-headed intellectual snobs or drinking beer and listening to country music with my huntin' buddies (most of which are white) I'll take the latter thank you. As for willy white communities...I've yet to ever encounter one, but then again my mere presence probably makes them not lilly white anymore. I think I'm pretty much done with you PBR. You've really started to bore me on a level I didn't think you could achieve. Not even Eric the Obtuse has managed to bore me to this level. I'm not sure if that is an accomplishment or not though.
It really is all mathematics.
Turn on to Daddy, Tune in to Nationalism, Drop out of
10-26-2017, 12:21 PM
Let's get back to the topic of global warming and stop discussing personalities.
I know that I am a flawed person who has made many mistakes in my life. Whopper mistakes, indeed. Haven't we all? Some of us are even living in places incompatible with our beliefs. There are parts of the state in which Galen and I live in which either of us would be happier. I'm not saying that Galen would be happy in Ann Arbor or Dearborn, or that I would be happy in logging or ranch country in Oregon. What is the problem? Family connections in the past that we can't quite shake off? Economic reasons? ...I find the long gray winter nights of southern Michigan depressing. I might find much the same even in the southernmost part of Oregon even if the winters aren't as harsh, let alone in Portland. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a good explanation of Michiganders going south to Florida or west to Arizona for the winter -- after their kids are out of school (Arizona and Florida reputedly have execrable K-12 education). But back to the point. Not that it matters to either us, neither Galen nor I have any chance of living into the 2080s, when Portland will probably have a climate much like Sacramento (whose summers are about as hot as those of Dallas, but 'it's a dry heat') and winters like those of San Francisco. One will get to retire the snowplow in Michigan, where climatic conditions in Birmingham, Michigan (a Detroit suburb) will become like those of Birmingham, Alabama -- unless the summer rains fail, in which case Toledo, Ohio will have a climate much like Toledo, Spain today. (I experienced the closest thing to the "Year without a Winter" in 2012... and southern Michigan was about as parched as the Central Valley of California usually is in the summer). And also note well: if we do nothing to mitigate global warming, whatever the Crisis of 2020 will be, the Crisis of 2100 will probably have much of its cause in global warming, especially inundation of prime farmland in low-lying areas including Bangladesh and much of northeastern India, the lower Yangtze and Huang Ho valleys in China, the Nile Valley in Egypt, the Indus Valley of Pakistan, and much of such countries as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. That implies hundreds of millions of poor people who will need to be relocated or consigned to death. And that is before I mention large numbers of people in the Low Countries, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, much of France and Britain, the Baltic Republics, and the southeastern USA. Global warming could be a form of genocide. Just imagine the wars that people will wage just to get a chance for survival on a shrinking landmass. The horrors of World War II resulted from the moral pathology of leaders such as Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Antonescu, and Tojo. The horrors of the Crisis of 2100 will be upon Humanity even if the leadership of the time is more like that of Merkel or Obama.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
10-30-2017, 09:00 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-30-2017, 09:03 PM by Eric the Green.)
The horrors of 2100 could be severe, but meanwhile we already have the horrors of circa 2020 in the current 4T, which are bad enough.
Solar energy and wind do have their problems; the prospects for quick and easy energy transition seem poor. Solar energy plants and wind farms face environmental hazards. Some of them can be overcome, but these hazards limit where they can be put. There's plenty of space for solar energy on rooftops, but these for now just take care of the energy needs of those particular buildings. Utilities show no inclination to pay homeowners and commercial building owners to put solar panels up, so the owners have to pay for them. Solar panels are still too expensive for many people, and another wrinkle now is that most residents are not owners of their home. The USA is becoming more of a feudal society every day, in which aristocrats own the land and property where people live and work, and the people have to pay exorbitant rent to the landlords. The residential or commercial building owners have little incentive to put panels on the roofs of their properties, since they weren't paying the utility bills. Unless, that is, the utilities pay these property owners to put them up, or the state pays, and/or makes the owners pay. So, I'm feeling more pessimistic today. The political will does not exist yet among voters to pay the subsidies that will be needed to put up the panels and wind farms in the right places. And all-electric cars are not a bargain either. Renters may not have access to electricity for their cars either. Some hybrid owners report great gas mileage, but hybrids still use some gasoline. And again, most people today are living paycheck to paycheck and can't afford new cars, let alone Teslas. So this transition is taking a while too. I do see quite a few of these all-electric and hybrid cars on the roads here in Silicon Valley though. Those who are both wealthy and environmentally-conscious are making the switch, and electric cars in CA don't run on coal-generated electricity.
11-04-2017, 12:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-04-2017, 12:17 PM by Eric the Green.)
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/gl...eport-says
Global warming is stronger than ever — and nearly all of it is man-made, new government report says Politics Nov 3, 2017 2:48 PM EDT — Updated on Nov 3, 2017 4:37 PM EDT A massive U.S. report concludes the evidence of global warming is stronger than ever, contradicting a favorite talking point of top Trump administration officials, who downplay human’s role in climate change. The report released Friday is one of two scientific assessments required every four years. A draft showing how warming affects the U.S. was also published. Despite fears by some scientists and environmental advocates, David Fahey of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and several authors said there was no political interference or censoring of the 477-page final report. It’s the most comprehensive summary of climate science since 2013, showing a warming worsening world. “A lot of what we’ve been learning over the last four year suggests the possibility that things may have been more serious than we think,” said Robert Kopp of Rutgers University, one of the dozens of scientists inside and outside the government who wrote the studies. Since 1900, Earth has warmed by 1.8 degrees (1 degree Celsius) and seas have risen by 8 inches. Heat waves, downpours and wildfires have become frequent. Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt have repeatedly said carbon dioxide isn’t the primary contributor to global warming. It’s “extremely likely” — meaning with 95 to 100 percent certainty — that global warming is man-made, mostly from the spewing of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, scientists concluded. “Over the last century, there are no convincing alternative explanations,” the report said. It’s “extremely likely” — meaning with 95 to 100 percent certainty — that global warming is man-made, mostly from the spewing of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, scientists concluded. Scientists calculated that human contribution to warming since 1950 is between 92 percent and 123 percent. It’s more than 100 percent on one end, because some natural forces — such as volcanoes and orbital cycle — are working to cool Earth, but are being overwhelmed by the effects of greenhouse gases, said study co-author Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech. “This period is now the warmest in the history of modern civilization,” she said. For the first time, scientists highlighted a dozen “tipping points” of potential dangers that could happen from warming, things that Hayhoe said “keep me up at night.” They include the slowing down of the giant Atlantic Ocean circulation system that could dramatically warp weather worldwide, much stronger El Ninos, major decreases in ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, which would spike sea level rise, and massive release of methane and carbon dioxide from thawing permafrost that could turbo-charge warming. Researchers did not provide an estimate of how likely tipping points would occur, but “there is certainly some chance of some of these things happening,” Fahey said. The report also documented how different climate change-caused events can interact in a complex way to make life worse such as the California wildfires and Superstorm Sandy five years ago. “It shows that if anything the findings of scientists have become more dire” since 2013, said University of California Berkeley climate scientist Zeke Hausfather, who wasn’t part of the work. By — Seth Borenstein, Associated Press
11-04-2017, 03:48 PM
(10-30-2017, 09:00 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: The horrors of 2100 could be severe, but meanwhile we already have the horrors of circa 2020 in the current 4T, which are bad enough. Even the most rapacious plutocrats have strong incentives to reduce costs. That tenants get no economic benefits (they will still be gouged), and especially if the Master Class is exempted from taxes because they own the political system and everything in America, including the people who are degraded to serfs, cost-cuts raise profits. Quote:And all-electric cars are not a bargain either. Renters may not have access to electricity for their cars either. Some hybrid owners report great gas mileage, but hybrids still use some gasoline. And again, most people today are living paycheck to paycheck and can't afford new cars, let alone Teslas. So this transition is taking a while too. I do see quite a few of these all-electric and hybrid cars on the roads here in Silicon Valley though. Those who are both wealthy and environmentally-conscious are making the switch, and electric cars in CA don't run on coal-generated electricity. There will have to be means of taxing electricity for use in motor vehicles just for upkeep of roads unless tolls or mileage taxes become the norm. But maybe the serfs of a new and rotten America, the one that Donald Trump seeks to establish, people won't need cars. The slums will also be the homes of the sweatshops in which they toil. Yes, a political leadership that denies climate change is a big problem.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
11-30-2017, 02:30 PM
Oceans on the Brink: Dying Plankton, Dead Zones, Acidification
By Stephen Leahy https://stephenleahy.net/2016/04/28/ocea...ification/ stephenleahy.net/2016/04/28/oceans-on-the-brink-dying-plankton-dead-zones-acidification/ [Originally published Jul 31, 2010 for the Inter Press Service (IPS)] The oceans are the lifeblood of our planet and plankton its red blood cells. Those vital “red blood cells” have declined more than 40 percent since 1950 and the rate of decline is increasing due to climate change, scientists reported this week. (Update Dec 2016: New analysis show this is an overestimate. See my comment below.) “Phytoplankton are a critical part of our planetary life support system. They produce half of the oxygen we breathe, draw down surface CO2, and ultimately support all of our fisheries,” said Boris Worm of Canadas Dalhousie University and one of the worlds leading experts on the global oceans. “An ocean with less phytoplankton will function differently,” said Worm, the co-author of a new study on plankton published this week in Nature. Plankton are the equivalent of grass, trees and other plants that make land green, says study co-author Marlon Lewis, an oceanographer at Dalhousie. “It is frightening to realise we have lost nearly half of the oceans’ green plants,” Lewis told IPS. “It looks like the rate of decline is increasing,” he said. 
12-01-2017, 06:44 PM
(11-30-2017, 02:30 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: Oceans on the Brink: Dying Plankton, Dead Zones, Acidification Yes that and the oceans are basically sewers: Plastics, it's what's for dinner. But hey, plastics have 0 calories, man. Look at the bright side. #MAGA : Make America Gilded Again. 
---Value Added
12-15-2017, 01:54 AM
Future arctic sea ice loss could dry out California
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...092142.htm sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171205092142.htm Date: December 5, 2017 Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Summary: Arctic sea ice loss of the magnitude expected in the next few decades could impact California's rainfall and exacerbate future droughts, according to new research.
02-03-2018, 07:08 PM
Wind Is Expected to Blow Past Water to Become the Renewable Resource Leader
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plu...81210334=1 Quote:… "Hydroelectric power plants (a.k.a. water and dams) have long been the leading source of renewable electricity in the United States. However, wind power is expected to surpass hydroelectricity by 2019, according to a new forecast published this month by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).”…
… whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Phil 4:8 (ESV)
07-28-2018, 01:38 AM
CNN has 2018 on pace to be the 4th hottest year.
That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.
07-28-2018, 07:17 AM
Plastic flotsam in the seas may have no obvious connection to global warming except as examples of trashing the planet. They have no obvious nutritive value to any forms of life (although some bacteria evolved to feed off nylon, a material introduced in the 1930s). Plastics that contain fluorine or chlorine that we take for granted (including Teflon and PVC) might never degrade except with the release of some very nasty substances.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
09-10-2018, 11:11 PM
North Carolina climate denier hacks get a calling card from mother nature.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/north-carolina...d=16913782 ![[Image: 024408_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png]](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT06/refresh/AL062018_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind+png/024408_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png) ![[Image: 024408WPCQPF_sm.gif]](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT06/refresh/AL0618WPCQPF+gif/024408WPCQPF_sm.gif) Some folks are strange. Why do they want that beachfront property when it can end up being part of the beach? Just because you ignore the changing climate doesn't mean it isn't happening. ![[Image: cdas-sflux_ssta_global_1.png]](https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/ocean/cdas-sflux_ssta_global_1.png)
---Value Added
09-11-2018, 09:45 AM
(07-28-2018, 07:17 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: Plastic flotsam in the seas may have no obvious connection to global warming except as examples of trashing the planet. They have no obvious nutritive value to any forms of life (although some bacteria evolved to feed off nylon, a material introduced in the 1930s). Plastics that contain fluorine or chlorine that we take for granted (including Teflon and PVC) might never degrade except with the release of some very nasty substances. Apparently, some bright young guy promoted a solution: a self-positioning floating boom and drop net that moves through the affected area and sends an "I'm Full" message to support ships every so often. The ships come, empty the net and send the boom on its way. It will take years -- maybe decades -- but it should work.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.
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