Fifty years ago, when I attended events for the first Earth Day at my college campus, I really thought there was an excellent chance that people would see the danger of global warming and climate change, and that action would be taken. Youth and optimism have been replaced by age, experience and realism.
As often happens, I don't like the news, but really appreciate the way you deliver it. "Youth and optimism have been replaced by age, experience and realism," says it all. Great Earth Day reality check! Thanks!
The anthology intelligence, which is the human species, has done some remarkable things, but never on the scale required to reverse global warming. The free rider problem is too much in evidence, there are competing theories of social justice to contend with, the adverse effects will be manifested mainly in immigration flows, and thus will be misdiagnosed as legal issues instead of science issues. Absent a technological marvel, there will be a planet wide population collapse someday in the deep future. We should still keep trying to fix things yet be prepared for it to be a constant struggle.
Thank you TC. I have a couple of disagreements. First I sincerely doubt all of us will die. Unlike the dinosaurs, we are capable of recognizing danger and getting the hell out of the way. Unfortunately, the wrong ones may survive - among them, those who actually helped cause the disaster or their parent did - the fossil fuel industry folk. The least likely to survive are the poor, unhealthy people, and of course those living on islands in the ocean.
The other point is El Nino which can either bring devastating drought as you mentioned. Or it can bring equally devastating flooding as it did to California in the very late 1990's.
For the rest I am in agreement. I do think, if the news I heard is true, and the Biden government is about to brings free solar power for all, that can alleviate, somewhat the rising levels of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide. We definitel;y need more storage batteries. But, we could also send some of California's excess energies to States that don't have as much sunlight as us.
I was teaching at a high school about 6 miles from home on the First Earth Day. Everyone at school biked to school that day. I'd been biking about campus (my husband was still in grad school so we lived close) since freshman year. But man--that 6 miles was something. Compared to where I live now the route was flat, but my legs didn't believe it.
Blaming it all on "humans" or "humanity" is missing something significant. The humans on this continent managed to live sustainably until white Europeans arrived, many of them refugees from hierarchical social and economic systems that treated them as beneath contempt. I gather that back before the dawn of agriculture, humans managed to treat their surroundings, flora and fauna, with respect because they understood interdependence. (Did they treat their fellow humans from Elsewhere with similar respect? I don't know. Maybe they just kept their distance.)
To your "Youth and optimism have been replaced by age, experience and realism" I'd add "Reaganomics" or "unfettered capitalism" or whatever you want to call it. After the first Earth Day, we *were* on track -- but the backlash was growing, and with Reagan it took control and didn't let go. We lost four full decades of opportunity to deal with climate change. No wonder younger people are pissed off.
I am at present taking care (prends de soin) of geese, ducks, chickens, dog, cat ( uses too much claw) at an off grid house. The solar doesn’t work on rain full cloud days, so yesterday I attempted to use no generator. It has a pull cord (even my boat had a button) and costs money. I turned off the internet at night (saving 10% of clocked battery energy) used the wood stove (still cold in Ontario) and so only the freezer (full of last year’s fowl etc) and fridge we’re using power. It was like a puzzle. I don’t want to haul gas.
The thing about it, is I read a book and have to get up at 6am to let everybody out. I am really impressed and also enjoying nature, watching nature (and Cheep Cheep a very great mom who I see kicking other ducks away from the eggs she sits on) very impressed.
I learned about global warming in the spring quarter, 1975. I also got grounded in a general way in environmental science. The professor was John Holdren.
Holdren and Paul Ehrlich had come up with the equation I = PAT, those letters standing for, in order,
Impact (total), Population, Affluence, and Technology.
Since I was in that class, the US population has grown from slightly over 200 million to ~336 million--an expansion of well more than 50 percent. Yet, in our efforts to reduce American CO2 emissions, we totally ignore population, as immigration has become a sacred cow, at least on the Democratic and liberal side. (I am a fairly left wing Democrat--my great uncle ran the Colorado Democratic Party for nearly half a century--but I differ with the current orthodoxy (carefully chosen word) on population.
The average immigrant's GH emissions rise threefold after arrival in the US. That shouldn't be surprising. They come here because they want to consume like Americans, and they are coming from countries which have quite low per capita GH emissions. I'm not blaming them for wanting to come here, although I think if they used their energy and abilities on their home countries, they'd make this a better world instead of boosting GH emissions. They could avoid all the mistakes we made in our country--cars instead of public transportation, and emphasis on making money and consuming, instead of education and social life.
Our population explosion, combined with our affluence and our technology, is killing nature. In the last 50 years, insects, a large chunk of the bottom of the food chain, have diminished in number by around a third. That's a good part of the reason why mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, are diminishing similarly in numbers, along with invertebrates other than insects, and fish.
We're killing nature.
In '09, I went to a town hall meeting with Senator Markey. At the time, he was working on the Waxman-Markey bill which was an attempt at greatly reducing CO2 emissions. I raised my hand, and I told him that his immigration policy was undermining his environmental policy. Senator Markey pulled himself up to his full height, and boomed, THAT MAN'S A PESSIMIST! I'M AN OPTIMIST! If I'd had a chance, I would have said, "No. I'm a realist." And indeed, Waxman-Markey never made it into law.
I don't hold a grudge. Aside from his immigration policy, I think he's one of the better senators. I voted for him in the primary against young, wet-behind-the-ears Joe Kennedy III, and again, in the general, against whoever the Republican was.
But if the US is going to make inroads on global warming, we need to stabilize the population.
If we don't stabilize the population, the US is going to be even more of a mess several decades from now, when MILLIONS of Americans become climate refugees, as per Propublica
Climate change migrations have been underway for some time now as natural disasters have forced humans and critters to seek safer habitats. The current flooding in China has forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate. Many will be unable to return just as victims of Katrina were forced to relocate. Where will people go. Politicians need to look ahead and do some serious planning for their countries, but then again, that's not the nature of politics as currently practiced, is it? Keep feeding it scenarios and maybe AI will figure it out.
Humanity “that can foresee the results of its actions and modify its behavior accordingly to maximize its survival” seems to be a pipe dream. Some can see (like Rachel Carson) but some major things interfere with the modify part. First, the ostrich syndrome afflicting many means that such serious business is denied, ignored, and excused. Then, the “powers that be” are too busy “acquiring comforts” to worry about problems that they think will not affect them. Then there are the ones who say that God is in charge, so no worries. This does not mean that some don’t take the problems seriously. It just means that they feel frustrated and helpless as the ship heads for the berg. It’s sort of like we board the ship knowing where it’s headed, but not how long it will take to get there. And warnings just seem like harmless fog.
As often happens, I don't like the news, but really appreciate the way you deliver it. "Youth and optimism have been replaced by age, experience and realism," says it all. Great Earth Day reality check! Thanks!
How much pollution are all the wars around the world adding? It can’t be nominal, especially in Ukraine.
The anthology intelligence, which is the human species, has done some remarkable things, but never on the scale required to reverse global warming. The free rider problem is too much in evidence, there are competing theories of social justice to contend with, the adverse effects will be manifested mainly in immigration flows, and thus will be misdiagnosed as legal issues instead of science issues. Absent a technological marvel, there will be a planet wide population collapse someday in the deep future. We should still keep trying to fix things yet be prepared for it to be a constant struggle.
But I need my shiney black Four Wheel Drive Ford Raptor NOW!!! ZOOOMMM!!!
Happy Earth Day to all.
What a beautiful planet we
live on. The ONLY one in our
entire galaxy that can
support human, animal and
plant life, in all its
diversification.
The Milky Way is gigantic.
100 million miles huge! James
Webb telescope sits out at
the,very edge of it and has
not found another habitable
planet we could dream of
ever reaching, yet.
Did any of you see the
pictures of Lebanon today?
It's covered in a smog from
the use of gas powered
generators. Their power
failed in 2019 and this is the
only way they get power.
Cancer, from the carcinogens
in this smog, has risen 30%
in the last year.
We are killing the ONLY home
we have in this vast universe.
Within our vast galaxy.
There is one system here
that's fighting back though.
Mother Nature. Gaia to some.
I don't believe we've come
close to seeing the full scope
of what Nature can do, to
even the score up and re-balance the equation. El
Nino will be in strong condition by summer end
NOAA is predicting a high
incidence of major hurricanes.
I have spent Earth Day in my
garden. Earth has been kind
to my flowering plants and I,
in turn, am kind to Earth.
Thank you TC. I have a couple of disagreements. First I sincerely doubt all of us will die. Unlike the dinosaurs, we are capable of recognizing danger and getting the hell out of the way. Unfortunately, the wrong ones may survive - among them, those who actually helped cause the disaster or their parent did - the fossil fuel industry folk. The least likely to survive are the poor, unhealthy people, and of course those living on islands in the ocean.
The other point is El Nino which can either bring devastating drought as you mentioned. Or it can bring equally devastating flooding as it did to California in the very late 1990's.
For the rest I am in agreement. I do think, if the news I heard is true, and the Biden government is about to brings free solar power for all, that can alleviate, somewhat the rising levels of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide. We definitel;y need more storage batteries. But, we could also send some of California's excess energies to States that don't have as much sunlight as us.
I was teaching at a high school about 6 miles from home on the First Earth Day. Everyone at school biked to school that day. I'd been biking about campus (my husband was still in grad school so we lived close) since freshman year. But man--that 6 miles was something. Compared to where I live now the route was flat, but my legs didn't believe it.
We were so full of hopes then. Sigh.
Blaming it all on "humans" or "humanity" is missing something significant. The humans on this continent managed to live sustainably until white Europeans arrived, many of them refugees from hierarchical social and economic systems that treated them as beneath contempt. I gather that back before the dawn of agriculture, humans managed to treat their surroundings, flora and fauna, with respect because they understood interdependence. (Did they treat their fellow humans from Elsewhere with similar respect? I don't know. Maybe they just kept their distance.)
To your "Youth and optimism have been replaced by age, experience and realism" I'd add "Reaganomics" or "unfettered capitalism" or whatever you want to call it. After the first Earth Day, we *were* on track -- but the backlash was growing, and with Reagan it took control and didn't let go. We lost four full decades of opportunity to deal with climate change. No wonder younger people are pissed off.
I am at present taking care (prends de soin) of geese, ducks, chickens, dog, cat ( uses too much claw) at an off grid house. The solar doesn’t work on rain full cloud days, so yesterday I attempted to use no generator. It has a pull cord (even my boat had a button) and costs money. I turned off the internet at night (saving 10% of clocked battery energy) used the wood stove (still cold in Ontario) and so only the freezer (full of last year’s fowl etc) and fridge we’re using power. It was like a puzzle. I don’t want to haul gas.
The thing about it, is I read a book and have to get up at 6am to let everybody out. I am really impressed and also enjoying nature, watching nature (and Cheep Cheep a very great mom who I see kicking other ducks away from the eggs she sits on) very impressed.
I learned about global warming in the spring quarter, 1975. I also got grounded in a general way in environmental science. The professor was John Holdren.
Holdren and Paul Ehrlich had come up with the equation I = PAT, those letters standing for, in order,
Impact (total), Population, Affluence, and Technology.
Since I was in that class, the US population has grown from slightly over 200 million to ~336 million--an expansion of well more than 50 percent. Yet, in our efforts to reduce American CO2 emissions, we totally ignore population, as immigration has become a sacred cow, at least on the Democratic and liberal side. (I am a fairly left wing Democrat--my great uncle ran the Colorado Democratic Party for nearly half a century--but I differ with the current orthodoxy (carefully chosen word) on population.
The average immigrant's GH emissions rise threefold after arrival in the US. That shouldn't be surprising. They come here because they want to consume like Americans, and they are coming from countries which have quite low per capita GH emissions. I'm not blaming them for wanting to come here, although I think if they used their energy and abilities on their home countries, they'd make this a better world instead of boosting GH emissions. They could avoid all the mistakes we made in our country--cars instead of public transportation, and emphasis on making money and consuming, instead of education and social life.
Our population explosion, combined with our affluence and our technology, is killing nature. In the last 50 years, insects, a large chunk of the bottom of the food chain, have diminished in number by around a third. That's a good part of the reason why mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, are diminishing similarly in numbers, along with invertebrates other than insects, and fish.
We're killing nature.
In '09, I went to a town hall meeting with Senator Markey. At the time, he was working on the Waxman-Markey bill which was an attempt at greatly reducing CO2 emissions. I raised my hand, and I told him that his immigration policy was undermining his environmental policy. Senator Markey pulled himself up to his full height, and boomed, THAT MAN'S A PESSIMIST! I'M AN OPTIMIST! If I'd had a chance, I would have said, "No. I'm a realist." And indeed, Waxman-Markey never made it into law.
I don't hold a grudge. Aside from his immigration policy, I think he's one of the better senators. I voted for him in the primary against young, wet-behind-the-ears Joe Kennedy III, and again, in the general, against whoever the Republican was.
But if the US is going to make inroads on global warming, we need to stabilize the population.
If we don't stabilize the population, the US is going to be even more of a mess several decades from now, when MILLIONS of Americans become climate refugees, as per Propublica
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/15/magazine/climate-crisis-migration-america.html
And what kind of species doesn’t seem to give a (insert expletive of choice) about their children and grandchildren?
Climate change migrations have been underway for some time now as natural disasters have forced humans and critters to seek safer habitats. The current flooding in China has forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate. Many will be unable to return just as victims of Katrina were forced to relocate. Where will people go. Politicians need to look ahead and do some serious planning for their countries, but then again, that's not the nature of politics as currently practiced, is it? Keep feeding it scenarios and maybe AI will figure it out.
Humanity “that can foresee the results of its actions and modify its behavior accordingly to maximize its survival” seems to be a pipe dream. Some can see (like Rachel Carson) but some major things interfere with the modify part. First, the ostrich syndrome afflicting many means that such serious business is denied, ignored, and excused. Then, the “powers that be” are too busy “acquiring comforts” to worry about problems that they think will not affect them. Then there are the ones who say that God is in charge, so no worries. This does not mean that some don’t take the problems seriously. It just means that they feel frustrated and helpless as the ship heads for the berg. It’s sort of like we board the ship knowing where it’s headed, but not how long it will take to get there. And warnings just seem like harmless fog.
I wonder if they celebrate Earth Day in China. Somehow I doubt it.