3 ms·

I don't have any evidence to support it, I just feel like it would be easy to reduce global emissions in a short space of time as we already have the technology

by pattle 8y ago

I don't have any evidence to support it, I just feel like it would be easy to reduce global emissions in a short space of time as we already have the technology. E.g mass installation of renewal energy like wind and solar which we already have the tech for. Eating more plant based foods as animal products are incredibly wasteful, again we can easily do this it's just changing people's habits. More recycling etc, lots that can be done. Is it really true that with zero emissions tomorrow we'd still be in trouble? I find that hard to believe

danaris 8y ago
> I don't have any evidence to support it, I just feel like it would be easy to reduce global emissions in a short space of time as we already have the technology. Unfortunately, none of our feelings are going to be helpful when we pass tipping points that cause the effects to compound on each other. We've already started that process—melting arctic ice means that the ocean there absorbs massive amounts more heat, rather than it reflecting off the surface of the ice. By the time it's obvious enough that even deniers might believe in it—that is, by the time we have sea levels rising enough to start to drown coastal cities, and formerly fertile places start to become genuine deserts—it will be much, much too late to just "reduce global emissions in a short space of time" or "just change people's habits." If it were possible to have zero emissions tomorrow, it would still take many years for the climate to return to what we consider "normal"—and some parts might not be able to do so at all, as weather patterns have already begun to change enough that they might not return to a previous equilibrium, but find a new one that shifts moisture or heat from one region to another to the great detriment of both (at least for a few generations). And zero emissions isn't something we're going to be able to get to this century. Not unless the political situation changes hugely worldwide. So...we're in trouble. Not "we will be". We are. Now. And it's going to get a lot worse. It is possible to make things better, but it will take massive shifts in patterns of consumption, and probably won't happen until we've seen several parts of the world devastated by famine and war.

by pattle 8y ago

danaris 8y ago

> I don't have any evidence to support it, I just feel like it would be easy to reduce global emissions in a short space of time as we already have the technology. Unfortunately, none of our feelings are going to be helpful when we pass tipping points that cause the effects to compound on each other. We've already started that process—melting arctic ice means that the ocean there absorbs massive amounts more heat, rather than it reflecting off the surface of the ice. By the time it's obvious enough that even deniers might believe in it—that is, by the time we have sea levels rising enough to start to drown coastal cities, and formerly fertile places start to become genuine deserts—it will be much, much too late to just "reduce global emissions in a short space of time" or "just change people's habits." If it were possible to have zero emissions tomorrow, it would still take many years for the climate to return to what we consider "normal"—and some parts might not be able to do so at all, as weather patterns have already begun to change enough that they might not return to a previous equilibrium, but find a new one that shifts moisture or heat from one region to another to the great detriment of both (at least for a few generations). And zero emissions isn't something we're going to be able to get to this century. Not unless the political situation changes hugely worldwide. So...we're in trouble. Not "we will be". We are. Now. And it's going to get a lot worse. It is possible to make things better, but it will take massive shifts in patterns of consumption, and probably won't happen until we've seen several parts of the world devastated by famine and war.