Greta Thunberg

[LSUmiss]

Am I the only one who is rather indifferent to the climate change debate? Look I wish more was being done but at the end of the day, I will be long gone before any of the repercussions are felt. I just can't see spending what little time I have on this Earth worried about that which I cannot control.

I don’t deny the science, but I admit I mostly feel this way. And, we all have our causes that are important to us & as a social worker I got bigger fish to fry in my community than climate change.

 

[RamblingMad]

I don’t deny the science, but I admit I mostly feel this way. And, we all have our causes that are important to us & as a social worker I got bigger fish to fry in my community than climate change.

When the folks you’re helping out have to start subsisting on lab grown food, you’ll care.

 

[JoeA]

When the folks you’re helping out have to start subsisting on lab grown food, you’ll care.

I’m really curious, where have you read we’ll “start subsisting on lab grown good”?

 

[LSUmiss]

When the folks you’re helping out have to start subsisting on lab grown food, you’ll care.

Many of them subsist irl now so the possibility of it maybe getting worse one day is hardly a blip on their radar.

 

[RamblingMad]

I’m really curious, where have you read we’ll “start subsisting on lab grown good”?

Climate change directly impacts the food the supply. That’s why it’s a big deal.

 

[shelemm]

Actually she can just like millions of kids.

Not if you care. Your admonition, the equivalent of 'get over it.' does not work.

 

[Sandeep1]

Climate change directly impacts the food the supply. That’s why it’s a big deal.

I haven't seen any tomato shortages at my local supermarket.

 

[mousefan73]

How do you think your life will be impacted by climate change?

ask those living in the Bahamas, they have some stories to tell. I am aware Hurricanes/ typhoons have always been there but the heated ocean waters have made them stronger and more frequent.

 

[Sandeep1]

ask those living in the Bahamas, they have some stories to tell. I am aware Hurricanes/ typhoons have always been there but the heated ocean waters have made them stronger and more frequent.

Yea that is certainly true for people living in the Caribbean.

 

[MrsDuck]

I don’t deny the science, but I admit I mostly feel this way. And, we all have our causes that are important to us & as a social worker I got bigger fish to fry in my community than climate change.

Agreed. I guess we all have different priorities and that's okay!

 

[Praying Colonel]

Without dabbing in the political...

I must admit, I am amazed at Greta Thunberg. It doesn't matter whether you agree with her or not - and I know people who think all things - the force of her convictions is truly amazing.

It was a nice thought....

 

[FlightlessDuck]

You can't deny she's certainly gotten people paying attention. Whether they agree with her or think she's a mouthpiece for Big Environmentalists, they all agree she certainly has gotten attention. Since we're all talking about her. And she spoke at the UN.

When's the last time you spoke at the UN?

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Am I the only one who is rather indifferent to the climate change debate? Look I wish more was being done but at the end of the day, I will be long gone before any of the repercussions are felt. I just can't see spending what little time I have on this Earth worried about that which I cannot control.

I don’t deny the science, but I admit I mostly feel this way. And, we all have our causes that are important to us & as a social worker I got bigger fish to fry in my community than climate change.

The sad thing is, research has shown exactly how much emissions need to be cut to halt the progress of anthropogenic climate change ... to hold the warming at the 2C limit set out by the Paris accord, and it's hardly an impossible task .. they already know exactly how to do it ... making upgrades to carbon capture on coal and natural gas plants, increasing fuel economy standards on vehicles, protecting and expanding forest land, etc. We already know how to do all these things. Look up "wedge approach to climate change," it's all laid out. Estimates indicate that if all the necessary things were put in place to meet the emissions targets, this would cost 0.5% of worldwide GDP right now. However, waiting a couple of decades, it's going to cost more like 20% of global GDP. Personally I think it's smarter to spend some money now vs. spending a lot of money later. For instance, I get oil changes for my car - I would rather spend $40 a few times a year than spend $4k to replace the engine after it seizes up.

And for those who don't really care because they don't think it affects them, well that's pretty sad too. You're right, most of us in the developed world (or those of us on the Disney boards anyway) are going to be able to afford to deal with this. Rising food prices, needing more AC, recovery from increasing natural disasters, ok, we will just be spending a bit more, maybe we'll space out our Disney trips a little longer apart. It's the people in the developing world that are really going to bear the brunt of this. The island nations that are losing their land to rising oceans, the subsistence farmers who are dealing with harsher and more frequent droughts, those already dealing with food insecurity, and the tens of millions of people expected to become climate refugees by 2050 - those looking to leave areas where climate change has made survival next to impossible. Personally, I feel a duty to fellow humans to commit to action that can save lives - whether I know them or not.

 

[LSUmiss]

The sad thing is, research has shown exactly how much emissions need to be cut to halt the progress of anthropogenic climate change ... to hold the warming at the 2C limit set out by the Paris accord, and it's hardly an impossible task .. they already know exactly how to do it ... making upgrades to carbon capture on coal and natural gas plants, increasing fuel economy standards on vehicles, protecting and expanding forest land, etc. We already know how to do all these things. Look up "wedge approach to climate change," it's all laid out. Estimates indicate that if all the necessary things were put in place to meet the emissions targets, this would cost 0.5% of worldwide GDP right now. However, waiting a couple of decades, it's going to cost more like 20% of global GDP. Personally I think it's smarter to spend some money now vs. spending a lot of money later. For instance, I get oil changes for my car - I would rather spend $40 a few times a year than spend $4k to replace the engine after it seizes up.

And for those who don't really care because they don't think it affects them, well that's pretty sad too. You're right, most of us in the developed world (or those of us on the Disney boards anyway) are going to be able to afford to deal with this. Rising food prices, needing more AC, recovery from increasing natural disasters, ok, we will just be spending a bit more, maybe we'll space out our Disney trips a little longer apart. It's the people in the developing world that are really going to bear the brunt of this. The island nations that are losing their land to rising oceans, the subsistence farmers who are dealing with harsher and more frequent droughts, those already dealing with food insecurity, and the tens of millions of people expected to become climate refugees by 2050 - those looking to leave areas where climate change has made survival next to impossible. Personally, I feel a duty to fellow humans to commit to action that can save lives - whether I know them or not.

See this is where the science gets a little fuzzier not that climate change exists or even why but the severity & imminence of the consequences of it. So for now, like I said, my immediate concerns are the ppl who are actually in front of me who face dire situations daily now & not the hypothetical ones of the future. I’m not against changes & agree with you about spending money now vs more later, but, overall, I really don’t care that much right now b/c I have more pressing current things to deal with.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Without dabbing in the political...

I must admit, I am amazed at Greta Thunberg. It doesn't matter whether you agree with her or not - and I know people who think all things - the force of her convictions is truly amazing.

It was a nice thought....

Also pretty sad that science is considered political these days. Think back to the 80s when it was discovered that chlorofluorocarbons were depleting the ozone layer. Countries worldwide came together under the Montreal Protocol to phase out and ban the use of these CFCs, and it's now one of the most heralded environmental accomplishments ever undertaken. Because of their commitment and global action, the ozone layer is repairing, and should be fully back to pre-CFC levels by the year 2049. It wasn't politicized. No one accused the scientists who discovered the ozone layer hole (or the cause of it) of fabricating data or being out to just make money. I was an 80s kid, and I remember being worried and concerned about the ozone layer. I'm glad the adults at that time were able to come together and create and implement a solution. It's sad that the same thing can't happen in today's world.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

As someone who works with autistic children, I feel sorry for her. From everything i have seen I don't think her handler or her parents have her best interest at heart. I think they are looking for publicity to further her parents careers.

I do however agree 100% with the idea that we need to effect a radical change in the way we are handling our environment.

ask those living in the Bahamas, they have some stories to tell. I am aware Hurricanes/ typhoons have always been there but the heated ocean waters have made them stronger and more frequent.

Actually, that's a common fallacy. There has been an increase in strength but not frequency. When I taught environmental science we did a data mining activity on NOAA data for this. My students thought the same as you until we saw the data.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

ask those living in the Bahamas, they have some stories to tell. I am aware Hurricanes/ typhoons have always been there but the heated ocean waters have made them stronger and more frequent.

Actually, that's a common fallacy. There has been an increase in strength but not frequency. When I taught environmental science we did a data mining activity on NOAA data for this. My students thought the same as you until we saw the data.

Not only an increase in strength, but a decrease in forward motion of the storms.

"The forward speed of tropical cyclones (which includes all hurricanes, tropical storms, and tropical depressions) has decreased globally by about 10% since 1949." As a result of their slower forward motion, these storms are now more likely to drop heavier rains, increasing their flood risk. Most significantly, the study reported a 20% slow-down in storm translation speed over land for Atlantic storms, a 30% slow-down over land for Northwest Pacific storms, and a 19% slow-down over land for storms affecting the Australia region. A storm moving 20% slower over land has the opportunity to dump up to 20% more rain atop a given point over land, increasing the flood risk for flood defense systems designed for a 20th Century climate with less extreme precipitation events. The paper concluded that “these trends have almost certainly increased local rainfall totals in these regions.” Another increased hazard slower storms bring is increased wind damage, due to an increase in the duration of damaging winds structures are exposed to. "

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/o...one-motion-may-portend-more-harvey-rainstorms

 

[skyblue17]

I haven't seen any tomato shortages at my local supermarket.

Yet!

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

If I may?

A couple of points...

1. The supposed impact will be chiefly felt by the younger generations. It is their inheritance we are leaving behind.
2. According to archaeological evidence, climate change is NOT only caused by the human race; it has happened before on more epic scales than we can imagine and will happen again. Heck, it is happening right now, slowly but surely
3. Over the short term, the world is warming and the ice caps melting, However, I believe I'm right in saying that if temperatures are sampled over much longer periods of time, we're actually cooling?

Hope that helps address some people's opinions. As I said in my original post, I'm not remarking on Greta's being right or wrong, merely on the strength and drive of her opinion.

1) Not sure what you are saying with this point? It's okay to ignore climate change because it's the younger generations that will have to deal with it? (Maybe that's the attitude that kids and young adults like Greta are upset about) (Also, we're already feeling it and dealing with it ... natural disaster relief spending increased 9x from the 5 year period in the early 80s to the past 5 year period, in inflation adjusted dollars).

2) Yes, there is natural climate variability that can be attributed to the Milankovitch cycles - the tilt of Earth's axis, the wobble, and the changes in the elliptical route around the sun. However, the current global average temperature anomalies can not be explained by natural variation alone. In fact, according to where we are in the Milankovitch cycles, we should be in a very stable climate right now, which is not the case.

3) This is not correct. We are not in a long term cooling trend.
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

I haven't seen any tomato shortages at my local supermarket.

Yet!

I’m not exactly sure if it can be blamed entirely on the weather, but the price of pure vanilla extract is through the roof.

I’m going to miss the cookies when they’re gone.