BBO Discussion Forums: Climate change - BBO Discussion Forums

Ok so this thread is really about racism, ok.

mike777, on 2014-March-31, 22:29, said:

Maybe not consciously. However, any time people make arguments that its cheaper to "adapt" to climate change or that cutting carbon emissions will hurt economic "growth" too much, what they're really saying is

"We don't bear most of the costs of these policies. They're being paid by Bangladesh and India and Africa.
Why should I cut back on my consumption for that lot over there on the other side of the world?"

hrothgar, on 2014-March-31, 16:13, said:

How confident are you about that?

The thing that has always worried me about prevention is that is impossible. Whatever measures we take, they are never going to prevent CO2 concentrations rising. (As I pointed out a few posts back, even if the UK eliminated ALL net emissions, it would still only delay the inevitable by two years.) So adaption is, and always was, going to be required (as has always been the case in the past, too, as the climate has changed). Obviously that doesn't mean that there is no point in some measures to reduce emissions alongside some adaption, but putting all the focus on the former has diminished the credibility of climate change activists in my opinion.

hrothgar, on 2014-March-31, 16:13, said:

WellSpyder, on 2014-April-01, 05:05, said:

Agree with WellSpyder. This is a point I have ventured previously, if slightly less directly.

For prevention to be less expensive, it has to work. If it does not work (which it likely will not, IMO, under prevailing conditions), then any investment is mostly wasted.

Perhaps we could further argue that such waste is racist, harming "brown and black" people by failing to apply resources in a way that would actually benefit them. I think this makes at least as much sense as claiming that adaptation efforts are racist.

Charging racism is something of an all purpose bludgeon as the above remarks show. It's true that I care more about what happens in the U.S. than I do about what happens in Bangladesh but I also care more about what happens in the U.S. than what happens in Australia or France, or even in Canada. This is partly because I live here, and partly because I simply know more about it. Maybe there are some saints somewhere who have equal and deep interest in the well-being of everyone on the planet, but I don't think I have ever met any. It is, I think, reasonable to hope that we take a responsible view of the world, and it is probably in our self-interest to do so, but if we designate everyone as a racist who has more interest in his own welfare than that of others, we are going to have a lot of name calling.


Anyway, back to what should be done.
We are thinking of putting a patio in our back yard. We will think about what we want, then we will contact people that we trust and we will largely follow their advice. They know how to do this, I don't. I would hope for a similar approach with the much more complex problem of climate change. I don't understand the science, I expect Obama doesn't either, and in my view neither of us is supposed to. What is needed is good judgement about who can be trusted on this. Some folks are ideologues, they just can't help themselves, others are very knowledgeable and can be trusted in doing their very best to get it right. Obama, and other leaders, are supposed to be able to judge people well enough to be able to tell the ideologues from the serious folks. There will be differences of opinion, the subject is too complex to expect unanimity, but we can probably get widespread agreement among the open minded in the scientific community. Some mixture of prevention and adaptation might well be their conclusion. Then we do it.

What's harming the third world here is not racism by the first world, but the third world's desire to/insistence on "catching up" - which to them means spewing CO₂ into the atmosphere because, after all, they have to industrialize to catch up, and they can't afford all this fancy "clean" energy. I suppose one "solution" would be for everyone in the first world to voluntarily divide his wealth into two piles, and then just give one of the piles to the third world. Human nature says that's not gonna happen. Not racism, just "protect me and mine first" and "I earned it, I'll keep it". So not a solution after all. What's the next idea? Take from the first world by force? Good luck with that too. "We have a Hulk".

billw55, on 2014-April-01, 06:24, said:

I assume you are referring largely to the continent of Africa. In this regard, prevention would be considered more "racist" than adaption. Prevention is aimed at stemming the growth of traditional power generation, which would hit areas like Africa hardest. Should global temperatures rise another 1 degree, Africa would feel this effect least. First off, the greatest prediction temperature rises would occur in the polar regions and least in the tropical regions. Second, any sea level rise associated with rising temperatures would have a negligible impact on the continent, as much of Africa is a plateau, with very little coastal areas (population or agriculture) in harms way. Third, rising ocean temperatures tend to increase rainfall in the major growing regions, spurring increased food production - Lord knows they need it. Historically, the Sahara has expanded during cooler epochs, and diminished during warmer one. Africa is not known for their storms, so any effect, positive or negative, will not be felt.
While local effects may differ, adaptation would better serve the peoples of Africa.

kenberg, on 2014-April-01, 08:43, said:

The change in thrust of the comments above and below Ken's makes it appear that the sheep costumes are slipping from the wolves. It really looks now as though the deniers were only spewing political beliefs and trying to pass them off as scientific doubt.

This is one group we do not need to listen to.

Daniel1960, on 2014-April-01, 08:49, said:

Quoting from the introduction to Africa Regional report from the IPCC Fifth Assessment

http://ipcc-wg2.gov/...ap22_FGDall.pdf

Quote

Furthermore

Quote

WellSpyder, on 2014-April-01, 05:05, said:

Many effects of climate change are already irreversible for the foreseeable future and so adaptation will be forced. I don't know of any dispute about that. Sea levels are going to rise substantially, for one thing, but the adaptation will be less painful if the rate of that rise is slowed. The need to adapt requires no advocacy; it will be a necessity.

On the other hand, the need to institute a carbon tax does require advocacy. Irresponsible people often use the requirement to adapt as an excuse to evade our need to institute the tax.

hrothgar, on 2014-April-01, 09:36, said:

A few other quotes: "Greening is especially pronounced in dry areas like the Sahel region of Africa, where satellites show a big increase in green vegetation since the 1970s. The decline of famines in the Sahel in recent years is partly due to more rainfall caused by moderate warming and partly due to more carbon dioxide itself: more greenery for goats to eat means more greenery left over for gazelles, so entire ecosystems have benefited."

"And, according to the World Bank, the growth of agricultural GDP in sub-Saharan Africa rose from 2.3 percent per year in the 1980s to 3.8 percent annually from 2000 to 2005 — a 65 percent jump. Contrary to what the media and charities report, fewer Africans face famine now than at any time since the world began counting. In Uganda and the 15 countries of West Africa, food production now outpaces population growth. In Ghana, for instance, farm output has jumped 5 percent every year for the past 20 years, while the poverty rate has fallen in half. Even Malawi and Ethiopia, infamous for food insecurity in recent years, now grow record amounts of crops, exporting surpluses."

"The [Sahel] region has undergone multicentury droughts, most recently from 1400 A.D. to 1750 A.D.," during the depth of the LIA.

http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba796
http://www.spectator...rry-on-warming/
http://phys.org/news159111684.html
http://en.wikipedia....l_1982-1999.jpg

Daniel1960, on 2014-April-01, 11:46, said:

All quotes are not created equal

As a practical example, your first quote comes from Matt Ridley, a well known climate change skeptic who is infamous for

1. Inheriting control of Northern Rock from daddy
2. And then driving into the dirt

Since then, he's taken his trust fund and started boviating about climate change.

I give less credence to his pronouncements than I do to your own, and that's saying something given that I consider you a sociopathic piece of excrement.

hrothgar, on 2014-April-01, 13:27, said:

I could say the same about yours from pseudo-scientific beaurocrats. However, the scientific research (to which I linked) supports my statements.

Daniel1960, on 2014-April-01, 13:41, said:

Last week you asked why I didn't seem to be able to direct posts at you without resorting to insults...

The last ***** that you've been spewing is a perfect example why.

You've invented your own pathetic little parallel reality with its own fake science and irrelevent authorities and then get confused people call you an idiot.
You may have quoted finding, but they are completely irrelevant to the discussions at hand.

Why should I give a damn that you can cherry pick a specific location and a very limited time period and claim that this is relevant to long term trends or findings. When don't you crawl back into your parent's basement and leave us in peace?

Oh, that's right, you get a twisted perversion in trolling bridge sites and pretending that complaints mean that people care about you and your opinions... At least you and Al have you're little circle jerk going on.

Thank god most people are able to differentiate between attention and approval starting about age eight...

Cherry-picking? The research contains data spanning the last millenium, and the prime agricultural areas. All showing greater instances of drought associated with cooler temperatures. This includes increased rainfall and greening since 1980. This is based on published scientific research, to which you refer to as "fake" and "irrelevant."
You may choose to continue your belittling attempts. However, I believe that most people here can tell what statements are supported by scientific research and which are just rhetoric. Resorting to name-calling is typically a desperate attempt by someone who cannot defend their position through reason or logic. Good luck with that.

Sadly, name-calling (racist, denier, etc.) is, as you say, a crutch to not have to recognize that the actual data refutes ALL of the modeled results as well as what the bureaucrats/technocrats have to say from the IPCC.

The "consensus" was manufactured from whole cloth, to hide the decline, in temperatures, danger as well as interest (as the warming temps of the 80s and 90s started back down as usual, following the global climate patterns that continue to operate no matter how much CO2 is "spewed"...)

Those that prefer to "care" in such a way are invited to spend their time and money backing up their principles, not mine or a growing number of informed and aware people. As John Brunner wrote: "The sheep look up."

Al_U_Card, on 2014-April-01, 16:33, said:

Who has used the word "racist" other than you, Daniel1960, and billw55? We certainly know that the people in Bangladesh don't look like northern Europeans. Why shy away from that?

You forgot about Blackshoe, Kenberg, Mike777, Hrothgar, and yourself. The discussion was concerning the peoples of Africa, and whether adaption would affect them disproportionately. The data appears to indicate otherwise. Bangledesh is a different matter entirely. If sea level were to rise substantially or tropical cyclone were to increase in their region, then they would be affected negatively. These are not "racist" statements to say one area is affected more or less than others.

Daniel1960, on 2014-April-01, 17:46, said:

Exactly! It is simply a fact. A poster here would have to feel pretty damned defensive to imagine that he or she had been called a racist.

PassedOut, on 2014-April-01, 17:20, said:

Well, for example, brothgar didn't use the word "racist" he only observed that "Oh well, we can comfort ourselves in the fact that its mainly brown and black people that will end up suffering." I think it is fair to regard this as an accusation of racism. I certainly don't comfort myself with this fact. I see no reason to think that anyone who has posted on this topic comforts themselves with that fact. Call me naive, but I accept people as decent until I have good reason to believe otherwise.