OT: General OT MEGATHREAD (No Politics) - Read OP before posting

[RandyHolt]

hold onto your lug nuts its time for an overhaul

 

[Cush]

 

[kicksavedave]

Holy shit... Look how long the eye wall sat on that one poor island. Brutal.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

This is like one of those simulations that show us what the world will look like in 2100 if sea levels continue to rise. Brutal.

 

[Calicaps]

This is like one of those simulations that show us what the world will look like in 2100 if sea levels continue to rise. Brutal.

There's no 'if'. I was reading something this week about the 1.5 degrees Celsius mark, which we're already going to hit based on completed emissions and what that will mean for ocean warming. Terrifying.

Oceans turning from friend to foe, warns landmark UN climate report

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

There's no 'if'. I was reading something this week about the 1.5 degrees Celsius mark, which we're already going to hit based on completed emissions and what that will mean for ocean warming. Terrifying.

Oceans turning from friend to foe, warns landmark UN climate report

I honestly can't even read this stuff. It gives me anxiety.

 

[usiel]

Looks like Lan has been cast in the WoT series. Seems like a good choice.

al'Lan Mandragoran Cast for The Wheel of Time - IGN

 

[usiel]

I honestly can't even read this stuff. It gives me anxiety.

Any of you here who have a horse in the race (kids), imho, can't put there heads in the sand on this global human issue. The below podcast/transcript that Chris Hayes did with the author of The Uninhabitable Earth is basically a must (again my humble imho) listen/read.

Why Is This Happening? | Fighting for climate action with author David Wallace-Wells

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Any of you here who have a horse in the race (kids), imho, can't put there heads in the sand on this global human issue. The below podcast/transcript that Chris Hayes did with the author of The Uninhabitable Earth is basically a must (again my humble imho) listen/read.

Why Is This Happening? | Fighting for climate action with author David Wallace-Wells

Will give it a listen but I wouldn’t say my head is in the sand. I know exactly what the issues are and what’s at stake. I have two little ones and it angers me to no end, without getting political, the total lack of willpower or even interest that our and other governments have towards making drastic and sweeping changes in how we treat this planet to ensure that my kids have a chance to have kids and that those kids have a chance to live their lives without fear of the earth consuming them.

 

[twabby]

Will give it a listen but I wouldn’t say my head is in the sand. I know exactly what the issues are and what’s at stake. I have two little ones and it angers me to no end, without getting political, the total lack of willpower or even interest that our and other governments have towards making drastic and sweeping changes in how we treat this planet to ensure that my kids have a chance to have kids and that those kids have a chance to live their lives without fear of the earth consuming them.

You’re hardly the only one who is angry about this and that’s why I’m confident that we’ll avert this crisis even if it’ll be a long and brutal struggle.

Look up Greta Thunberg if you don’t know who she is already. She’s a 16 year old climate activist from Sweden who is pretty much the international face of the movement. There are millions more young people out there like her who are fed up with corporate interests running this world and pillaging the Earth for short term profits and it’s heartening to see these young people out there fighting to do good. I have kids on the way, and while I am scared what the world will be like for them in 20+ years I am also excited that they have the opportunity to be part of something big like saving the planet.

 

[g00n]

Climate should not be political, but it has become so because far-reaching corporate interests are involved, and they are influencing people through the media outlets they've acquired. Nothing will change unless those interests are dealt with. We all have a stake in this and that is not political, it's just nature:

Global heating made Hurricane Dorian bigger, wetter – and more deadly | Michael Mann and Andrew Dessler


People rarely act unless something is urgent and threatens their standard of living directly. It wasn't until "Acid Rain" took hold that people finally did something about the smog in the 70s and 80s. "Global Warming" sounds too pleasant. "Climate Change" sounds like a gradual progression through seasons or possibly a shift to something better.

Some spitball suggestions for new terms:

Pollution-Fueled Human Extinction
Imminent Planetary Climate Catastrophe
Deadly Weather Imbalance

...or something more pithy but urgent/scary.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Geostorm is coming true! Damn you Gerard Butler!

In all seriousness, So many scary climate things...

 

[Raikkonen]

Is it sure thing human population changes much? Or is it just periodical fluctuation?

 

[twabby]

Is it sure thing human population changes much? Or is it just periodical fluctuation?

Probably just lost in translation, but what do you mean?

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Looks like Lan has been cast in the WoT series. Seems like a good choice.

al'Lan Mandragoran Cast for The Wheel of Time - IGN

Not enthused. Was hoping for someone with some better acting chops.

 

[Calicaps]

Climate should not be political, but it has become so because far-reaching corporate interests are involved, and they are influencing people through the media outlets they've acquired. Nothing will change unless those interests are dealt with. We all have a stake in this and that is not political, it's just nature:

Global heating made Hurricane Dorian bigger, wetter – and more deadly | Michael Mann and Andrew Dessler


People rarely act unless something is urgent and threatens their standard of living directly. It wasn't until "Acid Rain" took hold that people finally did something about the smog in the 70s and 80s. "Global Warming" sounds too pleasant. "Climate Change" sounds like a gradual progression through seasons or possibly a shift to something better.

Some spitball suggestions for new terms:

Pollution-Fueled Human Extinction
Imminent Planetary Climate Catastrophe
Deadly Weather Imbalance

...or something more pithy but urgent/scary.

A few news outlets have officially switched to Climate Crisis and Climate Emergency.

Personally, I continue to do everything I can to minimize my carbon footprint, but I have very little hope that the world will do what's needed. I'm old enough that I'll get to live most of my life before we're all cooking in our own skins like boiling frogs. On the other hand, my baby nieces are not even 2. The UN says the situation will reach global catastrophe by 2040 or 2050 (I forget). So those sweet girls will be 20-30 when everything goes to shit.

Everyone focuses on the 10 or 12 year horizon to 2 degrees Celsius laid out in the Paris accord. But the accord also states that emissions must peak by the end of 2020--so a little less than 18 months from now--and then begin a rapid and steep decline in order to hit the 12 year deadline. Who seriously thinks that's gonna happen?

 

[usiel]

A few news outlets have officially switched to Climate Crisis and Climate Emergency.

Personally, I continue to do everything I can to minimize my carbon footprint, but I have very little hope that the world will do what's needed. I'm old enough that I'll get to live most of my life before we're all cooking in our own skins like boiling frogs. On the other hand, my baby nieces are not even 2. The UN says the situation will reach global catastrophe by 2040 or 2050 (I forget). So those sweet girls will be 20-30 when everything goes to ****.

Everyone focuses on the 10 or 12 year horizon to 2 degrees Celsius laid out in the Paris accord. But the accord also states that emissions must peak by the end of 2020--so a little less than 18 months from now--and then begin a rapid and steep decline in order to hit the 12 year deadline. Who seriously thinks that's gonna happen?

I totally agree climate change is not a political issue and I don't treat it as such as it is an ALL human kind problem being tied down on the train tracks and a slow moving freight train closing in.

And yeah it is soo easy to be pessimistic on this. Imho the US should be the tip of the spear and leading the world on this and investing in technology and research and providing incentives to private industry. And sharing current or new technology to any other country for free. In some ways though eyes have to be on China because its looking like we can do everything we can and if China does not the bettings odds get much more grim.

I think China has 30+ nuclear reactors now and another 40+ coming on line in the next three years or so to get off coal (random factoid 60 of their rail capacity is just to transport coal). But at the same time the all that silk road pavement/concrete construction doesn't even get counted in pollution calculation.

 

[usiel]

Not enthused. Was hoping for someone with some better acting chops.

Oh my positive feeling was on look only. Dude has got some size at 6'2. But you have to admit Lan's personality will not demand much acting chops. Hell The Beastermaster Mark Singer could have played Lan.

Though I do admit I would have been fine in the early books if Rand got killed off and Lan became the the cool central story. But once the brodudes started channeling kinda made all the cool sword/skill stuff pretty tame.

 

[Raikkonen]

Probably just lost in translation, but what do you mean?

This climate changing panic you have, guys.

 

[twabby]

This climate changing panic you have, guys.

It's real, unless you just don't believe science.

 

[Ajax1995]

It's real, unless you just don't believe science.

I don’t think anyone can argue with whether it is real or not. It is either getting warmer compared to so many years ago or it isn’t IMO.

But I think you can rationally argue against some of the predicted consequences as, IMO of course, it isn’t like we have a rich history of getting those correct, going back 50 years or so at least.

 

[twabby]

I don’t think anyone can argue with whether it is real or not. It is either getting warmer compared to so many years ago or it isn’t IMO.

But I think you can rationally argue against some of the predicted consequences as, IMO of course, it isn’t like we have a rich history of getting those correct, going back 50 years or so at least.

You’d need to make a pretty convincing argument that the consequences won’t be bad for 2 reasons:

1. As it stands most of the predictions from several years ago have actually been revised because they were too conservative. Things are now predicted to be worse than previously imagined.

2. Understating the problem and being wrong about it would lead to disastrous consequences. Why not err on the side of caution especially when the scientific consensus is saying we need to act now?

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Forget Global Warming, I mean Climate Change. Its Friday. Watch and enjoy.

 

[g00n]

You’d need to make a pretty convincing argument that the consequences won’t be bad for 2 reasons:

1. As it stands most of the predictions from several years ago have actually been revised because they were too conservative. Things are now predicted to be worse than previously imagined.

2. Understating the problem and being wrong about it would lead to disastrous consequences. Why not err on the side of caution especially when the scientific consensus is saying we need to act now?

I think he's talking about how some scientists used to warn about "global cooling" or a "coming ice age", but falling back on that as a reason to dismiss the progress in analysis/measurement/technology is like being a moon landing conspiracy theorist just because we used to think the Earth revolved around the Sun, or the moon and stars behaved according to different rules of physics.

There is no period in history that's the least bit similar to today. Not in population, technology, emissions, anything. We have to look at changes with that in mind, not a default mentality that there are "natural cycles" that are somehow immune to these massive differences.

And besides, even if it all was some natural cycle why wouldn't we try to fight it to survive? If we know the measures we can take to make it less catastrophic why wouldn't we do that? Non-action is like seeing a comet heading for us and throwing up our hands "oh well, comets happen, they're natural".

 

[Raikkonen]

I wont argue. You have your own scientists.