AdamSmith Posted October 9, 2018 Posted October 9, 2018 And HEEERE we go... We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report Latbear4blk 1 Quote
Members Candyman Posted October 9, 2018 Members Posted October 9, 2018 I'm sure Trump will get us on the right path ASAP. AdamSmith 1 Quote
Members MsGuy Posted October 10, 2018 Members Posted October 10, 2018 Headlines like this one touting a deadline are misleading. What matters is the total cumulative amount of CO2 dumped into the system. And it is already too late to make that 1.5 degree threshold. Modern civilization runs on fossil carbon fuels. Switching off that to something (anything) else would be enormously expensive and painful. And that pain would be felt in every nook and cranny of our world and it would be felt now, not decades from now. Our species just is not equipped to make collective decisions that hurt like hell in the present for the sake of some distant nebulous future benefit. ------- In a more practical vein, the only political vehicle for any such effort appears to be the environmental movement which is joined at the waist with the anti-nuclear movement, not unlike Republicans with anti-abortionists and Democrats with anti-gun folks. There being no serious solution to the CO2 problem that does not have nuclear power as a central component, the climate change folks are trapped into silly, inadequate proposals that are easily attacked by folks intent on preventing their own particular ox from getting gored. BigK and RA1 2 Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 10, 2018 Author Posted October 10, 2018 2 hours ago, MsGuy said: Headlines like this one touting a deadline are misleading. What matters is the total cumulative amount of CO2 dumped into the system. And it is already too late to make that 1.5 degree threshold. Modern civilization runs on fossil carbon fuels. Switching off that to something (anything) else would be enormously expensive and painful. And that pain would be felt in every nook and cranny of our world and it would be felt now, not decades from now. Our species just is not equipped to make collective decisions that hurt like hell in the present for the sake of some distant nebulous future benefit. ------- In a more practical vein, the only political vehicle for any such effort appears to be the environmental movement which is joined at the waist with the anti-nuclear movement, not unlike Republicans with anti-abortionists and Democrats with anti-gun folks. There being no serious solution to the CO2 problem that does not have nuclear power as a central component, the climate change folks are trapped into silly, inadequate proposals that are easily attacked by folks intent on preventing their own particular ox from getting gored. I concur with every bit of that. Our only faint hope of species survival is global-scale geoengineering. But all the best ideas for that to date suck shit, and look as like to make the thing much worse as to maybe mitigate it a little bit. Been nice knowing y'all! My only realistic hope now is that the food chain does not collapse before I do. MsGuy 1 Quote
Members MsGuy Posted October 11, 2018 Members Posted October 11, 2018 global-scale geoengineering aka pixie dust P.S. AS, I thought you had come to a firm decision to live for several hundred years, minimum. Is your personal food chain sturdy enough to endure the coming shake up? AdamSmith 1 Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 11, 2018 Author Posted October 11, 2018 2 hours ago, MsGuy said: P.S. AS, I thought you had come to a firm decision to live for several hundred years, minimum. Is your personal food chain sturdy enough to endure the coming shake up? Details! Quote
Members MsGuy Posted October 11, 2018 Members Posted October 11, 2018 Serendipity lives, AS. I just ran across this bunch of scientists advocating for a 'flexitarian' diet. All you got to do is switch to a veggies (one hamburger patty or one pork chop/week is allowed) and all will be well. Assuming, of course, that all modern ag practices are turn inside out and all the myriad other solutions in all other sectors of the economy are flawlessly implemented worldwide, we will be just fine. Hmm... Me, I'm going to continue to chow down on steak every chance I get just as God intended. Fusion power, that's the trick! AdamSmith 1 Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 11, 2018 Author Posted October 11, 2018 Like that will counteract cows' flatuincilincilincillincinc alone? Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 13, 2018 Author Posted October 13, 2018 On 10/11/2018 at 4:02 PM, MsGuy said: Serendipity lives, AS. I just ran across this bunch of scientists advocating for a 'flexitarian' diet. All you got to do is switch to a veggies (one hamburger patty or one pork chop/week is allowed) and all will be well. Assuming, of course, that all modern ag practices are turn inside out and all the myriad other solutions in all other sectors of the economy are flawlessly implemented worldwide, we will be just fine. Hmm... Me, I'm going to continue to chow down on steak every chance I get just as God intended. Fusion power, that's the trick! There is actually a razor-thin chance that a globally united scientific effort to mount a geoengineering 'Manhattan Project' could ferret out, from existing science, enough things to do that we could survive. But of course the twin obstacles are (1) doing that itself and (2) getting those Entrenched Interests you mentioned to give up their short-term-gain goals and pitch in and commit their material resources to actually delivering. Ah, well. Quote
Members MsGuy Posted October 13, 2018 Members Posted October 13, 2018 Clearly you've hit on the one crucial factor I was totally overlooking, AS. Pixie dust just doesn't work unless we all think happy thoughts. AdamSmith and Lucky 2 Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 15, 2018 Author Posted October 15, 2018 On 10/12/2018 at 11:30 PM, MsGuy said: Clearly you've hit on the one crucial factor I was totally overlooking, AS. Pixie dust just doesn't work unless we all think happy thoughts. But OTOH (revising my previous absolute pessimism just a little bit), as Karellen, Supervisor for Earth, observed in Childhood's End: 'Human beings are remarkably ingenious, and often very persistent. It is never safe to underrate them...' Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 15, 2018 Author Posted October 15, 2018 Especially as this, that or the other event gets our back up against the wall. Quote
Members MsGuy Posted October 15, 2018 Members Posted October 15, 2018 2 hours ago, AdamSmith said: ... as Karellen, Supervisor for Earth, observed ... 'Human beings are remarkably ingenious, and often very persistent. It is never safe to underrate them...' Adam, you do understand that Karellen was Arthur C. Clarke's sock-puppet, yes? And that the old dear did not accumulate the cash for that Sri Lanka estate (very adequately staffed with native houseboys) by misjudging his audience's expectations. "Bwana, is it playtime yet?" Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 15, 2018 Author Posted October 15, 2018 47 minutes ago, MsGuy said: Adam, you do understand that Karellen was Arthur C. Clarke's sock-puppet, yes? And that the old dear did not accumulate the cash for that Sri Lanka estate (very adequately staffed with native houseboys) by misjudging his audience's expectations. "Bwana, is it playtime yet?" Whose sock-puppet do you think was really whose? I'm not gay, merely very cheerful.' But then a number of delightful openly queer characters in the later novels. With a fairly broad wink & a nod. Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 15, 2018 Author Posted October 15, 2018 52 minutes ago, MsGuy said: Adam, you do understand that Karellen was Arthur C. Clarke's sock-puppet, yes? And that the old dear did not accumulate the cash for that Sri Lanka estate (very adequately staffed with native houseboys) by misjudging his audience's expectations. "Bwana, is it playtime yet?" PS You will know he did not "own that estate." But only rented an apartment from the father of his late lover (always denied, but still), one Hector Ekaniyake. it was a nice main house occupied by said owner, + outbuilding rented by ACC, but "estate" is a bit ridiculous overstatement. Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 15, 2018 Author Posted October 15, 2018 The rumors of his pedophilia are of course almost certainly true. Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 15, 2018 Author Posted October 15, 2018 53 minutes ago, AdamSmith said: The rumors of his pedophilia are of course almost certainly true. Ephebophila at any rate. Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 16, 2018 Author Posted October 16, 2018 22 hours ago, MsGuy said: Adam, you do understand that Karellen was Arthur C. Clarke's sock-puppet, yes? PS His cash came from '2001' royalties. Your point being? https://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/07/26/when-stanley-kubrick-made-first-contact-with-arthur-c-clarke/ Quote
Members MsGuy Posted October 16, 2018 Members Posted October 16, 2018 My point? Substitute 'Americans' for 'human beings' in the Kerellian quote and you will immediately see both ACC's audience and the mindset he catered to. Young White male Americans (the folks buying & reading SF in the 50's and 60's) were pretty much convinced that they could take on whatever might come their way and emerge victorious. USA! USA! USA! As to ACC, my remarks were merely intended to clue in those not in the know that one of the Big Three writers of SF's golden age was queer as he could possibly be. AdamSmith 1 Quote
AdamSmith Posted October 16, 2018 Author Posted October 16, 2018 14 hours ago, MsGuy said: My point? Substitute 'Americans' for 'human beings' in the Kerellian quote and you will immediately see both ACC's audience and the mindset he catered to. Young White male Americans (the folks buying & reading SF in the 50's and 60's) were pretty much convinced that they could take on whatever might come their way and emerge victorious. USA! USA! USA! As to ACC, my remarks were merely intended to clue in those not in the know that one of the Big Three writers of SF's golden age was queer as he could possibly be. Can't find it right now, but shortly after his death (if I recall) there were some interviews with then-teenage boys who said in effect 'There were a lot of pervy Euro/US expats here whom we knew would come proposition us,' etc., 'and he was certainly one of them.' Quote
