This is based on waste heat, for anyone that didn't read the article. Our current problem is actually a different, more avoidable one.
The study also assumes they just keep growing and can't decide to stop. You may or may not find that reasonable.
this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2024
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assumes they just keep growing and can't decide to stop
That sounds like anti-spiral talk to me
ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH
And always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom.
Isn't this a major plot point in Larry Niven's Ringworld in 1970?
I don't exactly remember now, but the ring-building aliens ran out of space on their local planets, one way or another.
It would make sense. In the 70's in particular people though fusion reactors were right around the corner, and were worried about the waste heat from those.
it involves the Pierson's Puppeteers
It is yes!
Well I'm glad it's something they can actually claim to simulate since social stuff and specific interactions are ridiculous to claim to compute.
Well yeah, because the scientists are limited by their knowledge of our own advancement, and don't consider there might be concepts which are... alien to us.
Scientists Use Tons Of Energy To Simulate Fake Civilization Where People Keep Dying Due To The Toxic Effects Of Energy Production. More at 11.
Cute, but no. They used a theoretical model, not a large behavioural simulation. You could probably run their calculations on a TI-83.
eh by their very nature they're basing all these civilisations on our template
fucking amateur mistake.
not even. They literally simulated a situation where energy use increases exponentially over time(1% per year). Idk why they even had to simulate it like obviously eventually your gonna use so much energy your basically standing on a star. Its just click bait. It'd be like saying omg we simulated what would happen if you ate 1% more calories everyday and it turns out you die from suffocating on food in 8 months!!
The premise is that all energy use increases entropy over time, and eventually a planetary civilization will use so much energy that the planet itself will get cooked. As a thermodynamic inevitability.
But if it's a super advanced civilization with advanced technology, Why can't the civilization cool the planet by dumping waste heat into stuff that they then launch into space?
if they kept up similar rates of growing energy consumption to our own.
...but what if aliens weren't as stupid as humans and didn't do this?
Unfortunately, the problem isn't scientists believing in climate change. Its high school dropouts who think anything that doesn't fit in a preschool popup book is fake.
Hmmm. Could they not in theory reduce their co2 levels so their planet can radiate the heat more and more into outer space?
In theory, yes. In practice, no.
Firstly, Reducing CO2 levels requires a small amount of sacrifice and minor inconveniences; both of which, while they can be overcome with relative ease are too much to ask.
Secondly, it would also reduce, and possibly redistribute, the net worth of people who have more than enough for multiple lifetimes, and that just wouldn't be right.
So as you can see, there really isn't anything that can be done.
Eat the rich.
I didn’t mean in our planet.
I meant, let’s say an alien civilization has great tech, but they use a lot of energy and thereby a lot of excess heat. Could they not lower their co2 levels and possibly even dim the sun a little to balance things out? As in using a Dyson swarm
They'd lose more in solar potential than heat they'd save by blocking the sun - sunlight is a very useful form of energy, and you don't want the planet getting too cold either. Engineering the heat balance by changing the atmosphere, the ground or adding devoted heat exchangers like were discussed elsewhere would help a bit, but not infinitely.
If they want to keep building more, they need to go to space, and yeah, that leads to a Dyson swarm pretty fast. And then on to other stars. In the really long term there's more than enough space and matter for one intelligent species; the main currency is time until the universe ends.
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Covid taught me that humanity will never work together to solve the climate crisis. I'm 100% convinced we're doomed.
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