[PassedOut]

Looks like 2010 will be the hottest year on record and climate change is hitting the arctic particularly hard. But because politicians in the US are bought and paid for by companies that profit from pollution, another year will go by without dealing with emissions. So I appreciated this quote from Canadian Thomas Homer-Dixon, written aboard the Louis S. St-Laurent, Disaster at the Top of the World:

Quote

Policy makers need to accept that societies won’t make drastic changes to address climate change until such a crisis hits. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing for them to do in the meantime. When a crisis does occur, the societies with response plans on the shelf will be far better off than those that are blindsided. The task for national and regional leaders, then, is to develop a set of contingency plans for possible climate shocks — what we might call, collectively, Plan Z.

The US didn't do well with Katrina nor with the BP oil spill. Other countries -- Russia, Pakistan, and China, for example -- have their hands full with their own environmental catastrophes.

We can't give up on efforts to rein in emissions, but in the meantime it makes sense to plan for the crisis situations that all but the most obtuse can see coming. It's something we can pressure our representatives about, and this is a good year to apply that pressure.

[kenberg]

I am pretty much a pessimist. What is needed is a worldwide view holding that we are not the Inheritors of the Earth, we are the Trustees for the Earth. Lots of luck on that one.


Preparing for disaster is probably better than not preparing for disaster but it won't stop it from being a disaster.

[PassedOut]

kenberg, on Aug 24 2010, 10:14 AM, said:

I am pretty much a pessimist. What is needed is a worldwide view holding that we are not the Inheritors of the Earth, we are the Trustees for the Earth. Lots of luck on that one.

Preparing for disaster is probably better than not preparing for disaster but it won't stop it from being a disaster.

Sadly, I agree with this completely. And I've already had a full, wonderful life, as have you. But I hate that we are passing a completely forseeable disaster on to everyone's kids and grandkids, and want to take any practical steps, no matter how modest, to mitigate the effects on them.

[hrothgar]

Seem to recall that discussion about this topic are one of the few things that are out of bounds on the Water Cooler.

(BTW, things have seemed a bit more pleasant since said changes were introduced)

[JoAnneM]

I helped a little, I love my new Prius.

[mike777]

JoAnneM, on Aug 24 2010, 01:52 PM, said:

I helped a little, I love my new Prius.

I do wonder what the carbon footprint was for getting the materials, shipping them, putting them together to build the Prius and generate the fuel. Also I wonder about the carbon footprint that went into the roads it drives on.

In any event having a choice is good, making the taxpayers help pay for any car is bad.

[ArtK78]

While there was a lot of screaming and carrying on, I don't see that the response to the BP oil spill was inadequate.

Unless you mean to imply that the only proper response would be to concentrate 100% of the resources of the entire nation on the oil spill ignoring all else.

Unlike the Katrina debacle, there was an immediate response to the crisis. Whether it was adequate or appropriate is something that can be argued about, but there is no doubt that the problem was not ignored.

One could argue that the problem existed only because of a lack of oversight caused by the regulatory "reforms" of the prior administration.

[luke warm]

ArtK78, on Aug 24 2010, 03:41 PM, said:

While there was a lot of screaming and carrying on, I don't see that the response to the BP oil spill was inadequate.

it wasn't, imo... that's the minority view down here though

Quote

One could argue that the problem existed only because of a lack of oversight caused by the regulatory "reforms" of the prior administration.

it's only been a couple years, i imagine blaming bush for things will stop one day...

[OleBerg]

The problem is capitalism.

Whenever this topics is described, an Indian quote springs to mind. It goes something like this:

"Only when the last river runs dry, and the last fish is eaten, will the white man acknowledge, that you cannot eat money."

And surely enough, the day the Earth ends in environmental disaster, there will still be people rejoicing in the fact, that they have blue numbers on the bottom line.

[JoAnneM]

Where is the list of things that are out of bounds - what changes, when?

[Elianna]

OleBerg, on Aug 24 2010, 02:12 PM, said:

The problem is capitalism.

I'm not so sure of that. I think that the problem is that no one owns these resources/Earth, and so they are completely free to use. I think that if there were a major fee for polluting that governments across the globe enforced, we might be doing better. In other words, I view this as a classic Tragedy of the Commons situation, and think that there could be solutions within capitalism to solve it, instead of saying that it's the system's problem, oh well.

[helene_t]

Agree with Elianna.

[Lobowolf]

ArtK78, on Aug 24 2010, 03:41 PM, said:

Whether it was adequate or appropriate is something that can be argued about

Wow, whom do you have ready to take the side that it was adequate and appropriate?

[Phil]

Pretty hot today in OC (95 I think) but this year up until about the middle of July, Southern California was unseasonably cool. As a matter of fact there were a few days in July that were downright COLD.

I know the east has been blistering all summer. I don't know what was prevalent in other parts of the world. If anyone says the planet was 1 degree hotter this year than an average of the past 50, I don't doubt them.

Personally, if you want to use a short-term trend (i.e., this summer) to advance a cause, I don't have a problem with it, but as long as there isn't an alarmist ring to it.

In other news, Proposition 23 is 48-30 against.

[PassedOut]

ArtK78, on Aug 24 2010, 03:41 PM, said:

While there was a lot of screaming and carrying on, I don't see that the response to the BP oil spill was inadequate.

Unless you mean to imply that the only proper response would be to concentrate 100% of the resources of the entire nation on the oil spill ignoring all else.

I mean that when forseeable disasters do occur, plans should be in place to deal with them. It shouldn't be necessary to waste time figuring out what to do while the disaster gets worse.

[Winstonm]

Phil, on Aug 24 2010, 06:50 PM, said:

Pretty hot today in OC (95 I think) but this year up until about the middle of July, Southern California was unseasonably cool. As a matter of fact there were a few days in July that were downright COLD.

I know the east has been blistering all summer. I don't know what was prevalent in other parts of the world. If anyone says the planet was 1 degree hotter this year than an average of the past 50, I don't doubt them.

Personally, if you want to use a short-term trend (i.e., this summer) to advance a cause, I don't have a problem with it, but as long as there isn't an alarmist ring to it.

In other news, Proposition 23 is 48-30 against.

California, where they care more about the sexual orientation of engaged couples than they do the environment.....

[Lobowolf]

Uh...riiiiiiiiiiight. And how are are the gay marriage and global warming bills coming along in Oklahoma?

[y66]

We've had a few hot spells here in Virginia. Right now it's very pleasant and I am in no rush for summer to end.

I don't know why anyone in their right mind thinks policy makers are going to solve this problem. I have not observed that they get elected for making constituents do things they clearly aren't interested in doing.

[jjbrr]

106 everyday for the past few weeks in dallas.

dont complain.

[Winstonm]

Lobowolf, on Aug 24 2010, 09:34 PM, said:

Uh...riiiiiiiiiiight.  And how are are the gay marriage and global warming bills coming along in Oklahoma?

Ask Oklahoma Senator Inhofe - he will tell you there is no such thing - on either subject.