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Speed matters. It makes a big difference if a glacier field providing a large chunk of water for your city disappears over the course of 50 years or 500 years.
by thinkcontext 8y ago
Speed matters. It makes a big difference if a glacier field providing a large chunk of water for your city disappears over the course of 50 years or 500 years.
- RobLach 8y ago“I’ve been dying since I was 20 so what makes it special now that I have cancer”
- ThomPete 8y ago50 years is still plenty of time to deal with that especially in todays society.
- saagarjha 8y agoThat doesn't preclude us from starting to deal with it now.
- ThomPete 8y agoDealing with what and how and at what price? Should we stop poor countries from using fossil fuels which is what they primarily are using right now?
- saagarjha 8y ago> Should we stop poor countries from using fossil fuels which is what they primarily are using right now? I mean, that would one thing we could work on.
- ThomPete 8y agoSo basically let them starve and freeze so you can feel better about yourself? Or what's your solution exactly?
- saagarjha 8y ago> So basically let them starve and freeze so you can feel better about yourself? This is a strawman argument, and you know it. The rest of the world is hard at work trying to come up with better ways to meet energy needs that have a smaller impact on our climate.
- ThomPete 8y agoNo it was a question and you havent answered it. How do we do that?
- saagarjha 8y agoWe come up with alternative energy sources and implement them, as we are slowly doing already.
- ThomPete 8y agoIf you are talking about wind and sun then they are only providing a fraction of what the world needs right now less than 1%. Even with unheard improvements they wouldn't be getting much above 5%. Don't believe the hype.
- thinkcontext 8y agoThere will be costs either for action or inaction on climate change, economists attempt to put numbers on both of those. Here's an editorial from Nature that introduces a recent study, as well as a skeptical rebuttal. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05219-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05219-5 In this thread I've had a hard time figuring out what you mean by "dealing with" the effects of climate change, by mentioning "price" you give some hint that economic analysis. Do you consider this a worthy way of deciding whether to take action or not? It sounds like you've made up your mind on costs, but again, I can't tell.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y agoYou're far more optimistic than I. What changes have humans made in the last 5 years that indicate we're doing to make a massive turn around? When IS it time to panic?
- ThomPete 8y agoI wish someone would tell me exactly what it is I should be worried about. I get that there will be consequences to climate change that's how it's always been, but nature throws that at us all the time and have always been doing that. If anything we've just become better and better at dealing with it. So I wish someone could provide anything other than speculation here.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y agoWhat level of evidence are you willing to accept? And how can we do anything BUT speculate on future events?
- ThomPete 8y agoYou don't have to speculate if you can prove it scientifically. Yet this discussion is being had AS IF we are debating what is scientifically true when in fact we are debating which interpretation of the science we should prioritize. If someone can demonstrate scientifically to me that it's a cataclysmic event and that humans have no way of dealing with it you have my attention. Other than that I prefer to worry about the current generations issues not panicking and rushing to conclusions making absurd political decisions like we are doing today, btw decisions that won't actually solve the very problems they are claiming to deal with.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y agoSo the fact that, while the evidence and scientific consensus is overwhelmingly in favour of climate change causing issues for our planet, and let me be clear it's the mainstream scientific consensus, as we don't have a "this is how it's going to kill us" smoking gun, and we might somehow magically figure out how to save ourselves, it's a non issue? Do places like Flint Michigan not make you think that maybe your hope in the collective power of mankind is a little misplaced? It's well within our means to solve that particular problem, but no one can be bothered.
- thinkcontext 8y agoBut you don't know whether its 10 years or 50. You don't know that if you implement water recycling to replace the glacier water the amount of rain won't also change. You don't know if your city won't be inundated by farmers who are fleeing drought.
- ThomPete 8y agoI don't know if an astroid will hit earth in 10 minutes either. Thats not really a useful way of living life. Guessing what the problem is have never been a good way to spend our resources.
- saagarjha 8y agoThere is little we can do today to prevent an asteroid impact, which is significantly more unpredictable than climate change is.
- ThomPete 8y agoPlease stop yourself. We aren't debating climate change v.s astroid we are debating cataclysmic climate change vs. astroid thats quite a different discussion which is the whole point here.