Climate Change

H

hypochondriac

Senior Member
Location
Australia
Summers are getting cooler here.Last 2 summers we hardly needed the aircon.
Also our beaches are suffering erosion. So much so that some lifesaving clubs will need to be knocked down. Too close to the waters edge.
So this is all caused by climate change?
 

Politics won't matter one way or another if we end up with an unlivable earth.

Hot or cold our oceans are pretty full of plastic, which humans put there. If we trash the oceans to the point they no longer contribute enough to our lives - lots of us are toast. We have contaminated much of the soil to produce food for larger and larger populations who eat more and more portions of food each.

What will be will be. By the time we address the problems in a serious way, it will probably be to late. After a few eons the earth will be fine again. Different, but ok.
 
I’m not denying that we humans have unfortunately contributed to global warming through our greed and carelessness but past history can’t be disregarded either. Logically it would seem that it’s a combination of both.
 
There is little doubt that the climate is warming, in most locales. While there have been warming cycles in the past, the difference now is that we have over 7 billion people on the planet, and a substantial number of them live in huge metro areas right on the ocean fronts that will most likely be inundated in another 100+ years....maybe even sooner.

Most studies by the climate experts have concluded that if present trends continue, the U.S. will loose about 17% of its land mass....putting everything from Houston, the Gulf coast, all of Florida, and all the major cities on the Atlantic coast at risk of becoming uninhabitable. That would result in a mass migration of over 150 million people inland, and the loss of trillions of dollars of property and infrastructure. Coastal regions of Europe, and Asia...and virtually all nations...face similar risks.

Given that human populations also continue to grow unchecked....and are expected to reach 10 billion, or more, by the end of this century, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that humanity is facing its biggest challenge ever in coming decades. Even if humans ceased ALL use of fossil fuels today, we have already reached the "tipping point" beyond which any efforts we make would probably be useless. Can anyone see humans giving up cars, electricity, and virtually every convenience we take for granted today?? It would take decades to transition to clean energy, and that is decades we don't have.

I'm glad I won't be here to see it, but my grandkids, and beyond will face problems that those of us living today can only imagine.
 
Don M. said:
There is little doubt that the climate is warming, in most locales. While there have been warming cycles in the past, the difference now is that we have over 7 billion people on the planet, and a substantial number of them live in huge metro areas right on the ocean fronts that will most likely be inundated in another 100+ years....maybe even sooner. Most studies by the climate experts have concluded that if present trends continue, the U.S. will loose about 17% of its land mass....putting everything from Houston, the Gulf coast, all of Florida, and all the major cities on the Atlantic coast at risk of becoming uninhabitable. That would result in a mass migration of over 150 million people inland, and the loss of trillions of dollars of property and infrastructure. Coastal regions of Europe, and Asia...and virtually all nations...face similar risks. Given that human populations also continue to grow unchecked....and are expected to reach 10 billion, or more, by the end of this century, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that humanity is facing its biggest challenge ever in coming decades. Even if humans ceased ALL use of fossil fuels today, we have already reached the "tipping point" beyond which any efforts we make would probably be useless. Can anyone see humans giving up cars, electricity, and virtually every convenience we take for granted today?? It would take decades to transition to clean energy, and that is decades we don't have.

I'm glad I won't be here to see it, but my grandkids, and beyond will face problems that those of us living today can only imagine.
Click to expand...
Here beginneth my education
 
".......Even if humans ceased ALL use of fossil fuels today, we have already reached the "tipping point" beyond which any efforts we make would probably be useless. Can anyone see humans giving up cars, electricity, and virtually every convenience we take for granted today?? It would take decades to transition to clean energy, and that is decades we don't have......".

Being involved for decades in environmental issues, there is so much that could be done today, but people just don't care. Best selling vehicle in America - Ford F150's followed by large trucks from the other manufacturers. There are just too many people commuting to work in a truck when they could drive a hybrid or something smaller. People don't know how to set their thermostats to make hvac more efficient. Americans continue to purchase far more house than they need meaning more energy needed to power the house. There is no push for Thorium reactors. If we really wanted to cut down on some energy production, every building in America could have solar panels on the roof. I realize panel efficiency is not great, but there are somewhere around 75 million houses and buildings in the U.S. People really don't care --- they just give lip service to environmental issues and expect the feds to solve everything for them.
 
About that "Time" cover., above .It's not real. It's a photoshop hack job.Time never had a news story or a mag.cover about any coming"Ice Age". It's made up.

I understand that some do not believe in global warming. And there is the chorus that the climate changes over time. Well, what one believes does not always concur with science, nor are the changes taking place over millenia, but in a few decades. We are polluting the atmosphere with tons of greenhouse gases from billions of autos, homes, and factories. It is folly to pretend that those enormous amounts of gases does not affect the planet. Global warming may have been debatable 50 years ago, but science has predicted the changes we are now seeing in our weather. It's no longer whether you "believe". It's happening. Our grandchildren, who are the ones closest to the ill effects of global warming, take this issue very seriously. What legacy will we bestow on their children, and on future generations?
 
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retiredtraveler said:
" People really don't care --- they just give lip service to environmental issues and expect the feds to solve everything for them.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Those living today know they will be gone before the crisis occurs. Humans have polluted in excessive amounts since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and this behavior has become ingrained in our lifestyles. 90% of those driving gas guzzling trucks could probably get by with a Mini Cooper. Solar panels are not economically practical for most homeowners....the high costs of the panels and batteries required would require almost 20 years to "break even", and then the devices would need replacement....I know, because I have a Son-in-Law who is an executive for a solar company, and even at his cost, it would not make financial sense for most.

If/When the ice on Greenland melts, it will raise the oceans by 20 ft., and there goes most of our Gulf Coast/Atlantic Coast cities, the low lying Pacific coast cities...Seattle, Portland, LA/SanDiego...and the entire state of Florida. If Antarctica were to melt, the sea level rise would be somewhere around 200 Ft., and coastline property would be for sale in Arkansas, Arizona and Kentucky. Anyone who has any financial interests in current coastline property would be wise to sell out, while it still has some value. When the streets in NYC, Boston, and Houston, etc, etc., become rivers, it will be too late.

Most conversations regarding Greenhouse gas are centered around CO2, but Methane release from the melting permafrost in Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada is a far greater risk for the future....and that doesn't include the millions of tons of Methane that are locked in the oceans depths, and which will begin to be released if the oceans warm substantially.

The Only feasible solutions I have read about involve a transition to Hydrogen power for vehicles, and Thermonuclear power for electric generation....neither of which is anywhere near fruition. And....as for the Feds taking any action...good luck on that....the politicians are all owned by the special interests and corporations who profit from pollution.
 
retiredtraveler said:
Yup. Shows you the crappola people post on Facebook and not knowing what really is 'fake news'.
Click to expand...

Yes, the cover was a fake and I used it to catch your attention. However Time has warned of ice age comings in several articles . Feb 22 1971, Dec. 3 1973, Jan 31 1977, Dec 24 1979, and I see you completely ignored the reference to the AP story. Sorry, I don't buy into the story that man is capable of changing anything on this planet. We are but a speck of carbon compared to the entire earthly eco-system, so you have to be very vain to believe that we can alter nature. Another thing, when are people going to quit calling oil a "fossil fuel" ? You can't really believe that all the oil we get today still comes from dead dinosaurs. Truth be know, I believe oil is actually a renewable energy source that the earth produces naturally from decaying matter. This raises the question If dead dinosaurs made the oil, who made the tar pits that killed a bunch of dinosaurs?
 


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