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charlesnaismith and I were discussing this only last night.
Thought of the day
Dec. 18th, 2009 10:27 pmToday I went to an ACF rally about Climate Change, and a woman from Tuvulu talked about higher king tides washing away houses and farmland. And then, as I was reading an article suggesting that the current cuts suggested at Copenhagen are still likely to result in a 3 degree temperature rise, I suddenly thought, "hey, the disaster's really going to happen this time".
When I thought about my response, I realised that none of the worries of the future I had in my childhood and young adulthood have come to pass. We have not had a nuclear war, the world didn't end on 1 Jan 2000, and the hole in the ozone layer is basically under control.
Subconciously, my brain has been putting climate change into the same bucket, with the same likely conclusion. I wonder how many other people have the same response going?
Edit: How many other people think that climate change will be resolved somehow, based on this erroneous thinking?
When I thought about my response, I realised that none of the worries of the future I had in my childhood and young adulthood have come to pass. We have not had a nuclear war, the world didn't end on 1 Jan 2000, and the hole in the ozone layer is basically under control.
Subconciously, my brain has been putting climate change into the same bucket, with the same likely conclusion. I wonder how many other people have the same response going?
Edit: How many other people think that climate change will be resolved somehow, based on this erroneous thinking?
Philosophy question of the day
Jul. 24th, 2009 02:03 pmWhat would the world be like if we'd had renewables instead of coal fired power stations when electricity first became available for doing stuff?
Prompted by this:
Do they want the world's poor to have access to electricity? If so, how do they propose to generate it? The answers would be yes and renewables. Admirable, but impossible today. I have yet to meet anyone who opposes the use of cheap, reliable renewable energy. However, the factors limiting the uptake of renewables remain technical, not political. We must have a rational, science-based pathway to overcome those hurdles. Faith alone will not get us there.
Because I know that some of the major changes to quality of life in developing countries include renewables - solar powered lights to reduce kerosene use and extend the day, wind powered pumps for easier access to water.
Here in Melbourne, our buildings would be a different shape - to take advantage of daylighting, there'd be more solid state stuff in computers (if you've got photovoltaic chips in 1880, you've got pc's), we'd have shorter buildings (not as many lifts, pumping water).
What else?