this post was submitted on 10 Dec 2023
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Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.

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Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.

As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades: Graph of temperature as observed with significant warming, and simulated without added greenhouse gases and other anthropogentic changes, which shows no significant warming

How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world: IPCC AR6 Figure 2 - Thee bar charts: first chart: how much each gas has warmed the world.  About 1C of total warming.  Second chart:  about 1.5C of total warming from well-mixed greenhouse gases, offset by 0.4C of cooling from aerosols and negligible influence from changes to solar output, volcanoes, and internal variability.  Third chart: about 1.25C of warming from CO2, 0.5C from methane, and a bunch more in small quantities from other gases.  About 0.5C of cooling with large error bars from SO2.

Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:

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[–] Not_mikey@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago

This is a problem of over-consumption in a society and system whose only solution to everything is consumption.

[–] blazera@kbin.social 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It's always just been another excuse to keep the economic status quo. We've had all the technology we need for a long time to solve emissions. We're not waiting on any battery tech breakthrough that can sustain a renewable grid, hydroelectric has been doing it this whole time. Motor pumps water uphill, water turns generator when it goes downhill, congratulations you have stored renewable energy with water and a hill. Use pulleys and weights, use tanks and air pressure, whatever you want, it just has to be built. There's no missing link here, it's just boring and doesnt have much opportunity for tech startup investment.

[–] catch22@startrek.website 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)
[–] Candelestine@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Just so long as we realize that forcing other countries who are unfriendly towards us is a similarly magical solution. We cannot control the globe. The UN cannot. China cannot. People get to make their own decisions, whether good ones or bad ones. I mean, we can't even rein in our ally Israel from hurting themselves when we want.

So if we pump all our effort into some kind of possibly unrealistic hope that global carbon neutral is possible in time, and then we fail ... it's just too perilous. Other methods need investment and attention too.

None of our possible solutions are without a little "magic", so maybe we should diversify our efforts a little. That's the gist of it imo.

Unless there's a proposed solution somewhere I don't know about, that has realistic details on how to successfully negotiate these deals. One made by people in the field of international politics, preferably, who know how to consider things like money earmarked for one thing being stolen by someone greedy. Which happens all the time, even in the US.

edit to clarify

[–] kurwa@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

All solutions should be considered because we shouldn't put all of our eggs in one basket, but going the more obvious / simple route, as least for ourselves, should be the main solution. We don't need to create roundabout solutions that somehow allow us to have our cake and eat it too.

[–] Candelestine@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

For ourselves for sure. But even if 100% successful, we would still lose Florida to the seas. While the ultimate value of that is debatable, it would still be a slow humanitarian catastrophe.

It's about what'll work, what'll keep the world going for our kids. Whatever it takes at this point, cake, no cake, all the cake, burn the cake. Don't care.

[–] demesisx@infosec.pub 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I have an idea: what if we were to bomb the shit out of countries that are major polluters. We should go to war over the fate of this earth but instead we go to war over the need to execute millions of people so we can get at their oil.

[–] Jaded@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

We are the major polluters

[–] Scubus@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] Jaded@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

There's nobody to bomb and go to war with, we literally just have to stop.

[–] Scubus@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 months ago

As they say, the call was coming from inside the house

[–] demesisx@infosec.pub -1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Of course we are. However, China is even worse. Obviously I am being unrealistic but it's funny how the most important thing in the world (the world itsself) is less important to the world's societies than an artificial construct like money. You can't bring your belongings with you when you die.

[–] Jaded@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Per capita, we pollute twice as much as China does. On top of that, most of their pollution is directly linked to making products for us.

We are the bad guys here, no contest. Especially when looking at how our government fights the transition every step of the way.

I totally agree though, it's completely mental that the environment isn't our top priority.

[–] iHUNTcriminals@lemm.ee 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Climate change topic aside isn't this the truth for many things. People are hungry to showcase and market their product and as a result reality takes a backseat. It's part of the race. If there was no "rat race" would it be like this?

It's not even limited to products and business. Basically people do all that they can to project what they perceive reality to be, and as a result we are left with a fake world? And we are all responsible, it's a human fault? And at the same time that fake world is reality...? The base paradox of existentialism?

[–] silence7@slrpnk.net 10 points 11 months ago

In this case, we've also got the oil industry paying big bucks to showcase a tool that's a tiny and expensive part of what we should be doing, and suggest to people that we can just do that one thing, rather than do the work needed to get off fossil fuels entirely. That's putting a huge promotional budget behind it, which buys off major media outlets.