this post was submitted on 29 May 2024
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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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Note that there are two common "wet bulb" temperatures used in discussion:

  • Wet Bulb Globe Temperature - this tells you that physical activity (including work) in unshaded locations can kill healthy adults and is used in this article
  • Wet Bulb Temperature - this tells you whether it is hot enough to kill the bulk of the population for just sitting still in the shade with access to plenty of water

A Washington Post analysis found that the wet-bulb globe temperature, which measures the amount of heat stress on the human body, reached 97 degrees to 100 degrees (36 to 38 Celsius) in Delhi on Tuesday. That is higher than the 89.6 Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) threshold that researchers have identified as posing a risk to human survival if such heat is prolonged. The wet-bulb globe temperature is based on a combination of factors including temperature, humidity, wind and clouds, and was calculated by The Post using data from a nearby weather station.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 months ago (4 children)

What's horrible is what the hell are we going to do? We can't evacuate 2 billion people out of the Indian subcontinent.

[–] [email protected] 52 points 3 months ago (2 children)

We need the rich to accept making less money, worldwide.

That's really it.

We can probably slow the rate of increase and even begin to reverse it, but we need to convince the rich that they need to accept making less money.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I believe there's a mediaeval device that suitable for convincing billionaires to not be billionaires anymore

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago

Medieval? It was invented in 1789.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Bro its probably too late for that. We might be committed to 5 degrees total warming at this point. Thats like, infrastructure failing levels of heat.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yup, but it's possible to slow that rate and (if we're smart and motivated) geoengineer ways to reverse it.

Again, though, it would require the rich to make less money.

But yes, in general I agree with you; even if we pull out the stops we're already locked into some kind of increase, but that worse part is that it seems like we're going to do is go hell-for-leather because the rich don't have all the money yet.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Not defending billionaires here, cause fuckem.

But it would also mean complete upending of what everyone "normal" expects out of their lives too.

No more cars, no more bananas, no more Amazon, no more Netflix, etc.

Every normal thing people expect would have to go, and be replaced with whatever local version exists,if it relies on global trade.

Again, I'm not defending anything in particular, but highlighting that getting general consensus will be very, very hard.

I personally believe most humans are good with billions dying if it means they can try to live on in their "normal" fashion.

When it really gets to their doorstep, the option to make changes will be fully, fully gone

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

I guess i'll die

-India, probably

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

what the hell are we going to do?

In the very long term, stop climate change.

In the long term - dig in and design heat shelters, most likely. Because it's cooler underground and heat waves will pass. When a bad one comes, people would stop working and find shelter from it. One can even accumulate cold in a thermal store during cool periods and distribute the cooling effect to premises during heat waves.

In the short term - those who can (there will be an equality and access problem) and those who must (who cannot stop working) would install air conditioners and similar stuff.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You're going to run through your cold storage pretty fast.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Well, a heat wave cannot last forever. And in terms of cold storage - it's +30 C over here currently already for a week, it has been 1.5 months since the last snowfall - and the last pile of snow on the local airport is still melting. Darkened, not recognizable as the substance it used to be, but existing, without people making the slightest effort to protect it. :)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

How likely are people going to wait until it's a heat wave. They're going to burn through it on normal 30 to 35 C days.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 3 months ago

Nothing and they are going to die. That was the plan all along.