#61
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I continue to wonder where we'd be now if someone other than Al Gore had been the messenger.
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©2004 The Elefantino Corp. All rights reserved. |
#62
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I don't think there is the political will to make the really hard decisions that would need to be made, and in the end a lot of people think that changes to consumption and lifestyle are essential..........as long as it's someone else making them.
I'm pessimistic and basically the human race (and the planet) is f****d. But my wife and I keep doing whatever little things we can. |
#63
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I stop and pick up 98% of recyclables I encounter on my daily rides. it's what I do to help the planet. I'm an environmentalist with OCD.
but, now I'm reading that China and Africa have dramatically reduced the amount of materials they will accept, so recyclables are simply landfilled, incinerated, or dumped in the ocean. we're totally losing the battle on waste management. |
#64
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I work on a project related to climate change. I was discussing with a friend the other day, who was very doom-and-gloom about our prospects and seemed to be suggesting we might as well throw in the towel and focus on adaptation instead of mitigation.
I tried to let him know that while we may indeed be quickly approaching the "point of no return", we still need to focus on mitigation, because otherwise keeping up with adaptation is going to be increasingly more challenging... For us, we don't have kids (the biggest offender, though we had other equally important reasons for not wanting them), we compost and recycle, don't buy unnecessary stuff, I commute on an e-bike, our house is very energy efficient, and we are largely meat free (I am vegetarian; my wife eats very little meat). It does feel like a battle that can't be won at times, but also feels good to know that we are doing what we can. Last edited by fa63; 07-15-2019 at 07:09 PM. |
#65
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Quote:
Climate change became much less driven by the USA/Europe in the mid/late 1990s. India, China and Africa are now the main drivers of each and every environmentally destructive process or category under study - with the exception of Nickel mining for rechargeable batteries - Canada has that one wrapped up forever. However, it's extremely hard to discuss and almost impossible to publish any research as most work is decried as racist, caught and killed by the country under study or buried in some other way. I work with a team of scientists that was deported from India after their climate change study for the period 1900-2010 in Uttar Pradesh was sent for review. Quote:
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#66
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^This is funny (and kind of depressing). It's definitely in line with Velotel's perspective.
I was hesitant to even open this thread and wade into the discussion. The subject really depresses me. I agree with Carlin's position that the earth will be fine in the long run. We really are just a fleeting blight on the planet. However, from an ethical and religious perspective, it depresses me how much we've F'd this place up and how much life we've destroyed in the name of blatant capitalism and consumerism (says the guy with 10 plus bikes and a huge SUV.). I think it's more a feeling of guilt that I (and we) haven't been better stewards of the gift that we've been given. In my adult life, I've made the effort to be fairly conscious (for the most part) and make life choices that align with the need to conserve and protect the environment and life as much as possible. However, there really is only so much that we can do. That realization came to me about 15 years ago when I was working on a public service project and helping in a local Goodwill recycling center. Seeing the piles of crap stacked to the ceiling in that one single facility made me realize that we have produced so much unnecessary junk that puts a massive strain on our resources just to produce, ship, store, and sell all of it. And then, there's the disposal aspect of it. Consumerism and capitalism are the two biggest human forces that are wrecking our planet's natural state and negatively impacting our own physical and mental health. Quote:
I continually try to communicate the basic message to my family - stop buying so much junk that we don't need! Reducing the number of purchases can have a positive impact on so many levels. Texbike Last edited by texbike; 07-15-2019 at 06:13 PM. |
#67
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If it's any consolation, Ra's Al-Ghul was also right. But Batman's stopped him several times. He eventually ran out of Lazarus Pits I think.
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#68
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^haha! Thanks for bringing a bit of levity to the discussion.
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#69
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Why? I think it's responsible & likely well considered. We don't all need or want 2+ children.
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#70
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So in 500,000 years none of the will matter. Humans will be gone and the planet will go a different direction, it always has.
IF humans want to make a difference, it's not straws and plastic bags, it's birth control. Ready to be banned... |
#71
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I saw a tweet the other day that went something like this:
"I shouldn't know your view on climate change just because I know your views on gun control." Somewhere along the lines they figured out that they can marry together various culture war attributes and pack them into silo's that will become votes, and it works. |
#72
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A few points:
--- We seem to be the only species on the planet that is intent on destroying its own nest. --- Whether you believe that there is a linkage between Man's influence on climate change - oh, let's just call it GLOBAL WARMING because we can measure that and know it's factual - or not, if you look at the 'hockey stick' trends of atmospheric CO2 since the ~beginning of the Industrial Revolution, you almost have to be blind, or blatantly unwilling to even accept the possibility that it could be Man-induced. To just dismiss this out of hand because you don't accept the science, or that you feel you may 'know better', is just nutz, IMO! --- Even if the worst catastrophic effect happened and we literally destroyed out ability to sustain life on this planet, the universe would go on, unaffected. We are just a blip.....
__________________
“A bicycle is not a sofa” -- Dario Pegoretti |
#73
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And I have a bridge for sale.
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#74
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I distinctly remember a terrible episode of Sliders, the awful group Quantum Leap-esque sci-fi story of the week show on Fox in the late 90s, where the group lands in a place where humanity has instituted a death lottery to preserve the resources on the planet.
Oh here it is: https://sliders.fandom.com/wiki/Luck_of_the_Draw God that show was terrible. |
#75
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Quote:
Jeff |
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