NASA Study Indicates Antarctica is Gaining More Ice Than It's Losing - (1 Viewer)

[BlueSpruce]

Despite all the controversy surrounding what is causing global warming, my common sense tells me that burning fossil fuels and deforestation is not helping our planet.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

@BlueSpruce -

You are certainly at least half right. Deforestation is NOT good for the planet because it breaks the "CO2 consumption" side of the CO2 cycle, which is a continuous-action roller-coaster.

Burning fossil fuels might be bad, and I'm not going to dispute your belief. I'll just say that in comparison to deforestation, using fossil fuels isn't AS bad even if it isn't good either.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Despite all the controversy surrounding what is causing global warming, my common sense tells me that burning fossil fuels and deforestation is not helping our planet.

Then perhaps you can convince the anti-nuke crowd that nuclear reactors are pretty safe these days and the new small ones go up quickly for not a lot of money. Yes nuclear waste is a problem but think of the mess that mining coal makes. We should be using coal only for the things that we need to use coal for and not burning it. Same for oil. Gas is a byproduct of oil and finally we are capturing it and using it. We used to just burn it off at the well to get it out of the way. But wind and solar simply are not ready for prime time. Solar should be encouraged for every new house and with the new combination of roof and tiles, even new roofs can easily be converted. Having houses create their own power in climates with enough sun cuts a huge load off the grid which is our single most vulnerable point of failure. If an EMP takes out our electrical distribution system, color yourself dead within a year.

 

[Isaac]

I don't know, we can't afford to be wrong on the issue in Phoenix, we can't afford another 5 average degrees and the warming has been pretty steady the last 20 years. I'm not saying humans caused it (cuz I have no clue who caused it), but it's certainly not imaginary

 

[BlueSpruce]

I don't know, we can't afford to be wrong on the issue in Phoenix, we can't afford another 5 average degrees and the warming has been pretty steady the last 20 years. I'm not saying humans caused it (cuz I have no clue who caused it), but it's certainly not imaginary

Summer of 2023 I experienced >110°F for 30 continuous days in West Texas, and I moved far away. There's no magic wand for quickly solving the problem. As the problem worsens, people will migrate to safer places just like our caveman ancestors did. If you know a place is prone to high temps, flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc. why would you want to continue living there?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

If you know a place is prone to high temps, flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc. why would you want to continue living there?

People play the odds and take precautions to minimize bad effects. Also, there are VERY FEW places on Earth that DON'T have at least one geologic or atmospheric or oceanic catastrophe just waiting around to get the population. And the few that are relatively safer also are getting so crowded that they become criminally unsafe and overcrowded.

 

[BlueSpruce]

People play the odds and take precautions to minimize bad effects. Also, there are VERY FEW places on Earth that DON'T have at least one geologic or atmospheric or oceanic catastrophe just waiting around to get the population. And the few that are relatively safer also are getting so crowded that they become criminally unsafe and overcrowded.

I grew up and lived most of my life in a tropical oceanfront. After experiencing several hurricanes and rising water levels, our family moved further inland to a concrete house on a hill. I know many would like to move away, but are trapped because of their economic situation, employment, family, fear of living somewhere else, etc. So which environmental condition is the lesser evil? Does everyone evacuate an area when authorities tell them to do so? Everyone has decisions to make when faced with known dangers.

 

[Pat Hartman]

I'm not saying humans caused it (cuz I have no clue who caused it), but it's certainly not imaginary

Good because if you think that humans are the proximate cause of climate change, you have no way to explain 4 billion years of previous climate change. Humans need to be more conscious of their waste products but just remember, CO2 is plant food. It is not a noxious gas. More plant food means less worldwide starvation.

Some places are more dangerous to live than others. How many times have we rebuilt New Orleans? Sorry Doc. Why do we keep building on barrier islands when they are so vulnerable to hurricanes? Why do we keep building on flood plains? Why can't we just leave them as farm land or parks?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

In south Louisiana, hurricanes are catalyst for action. I've was ordered to evacuate once form my job (going to an alternate Navy work site) after Katrina. Needed roof repairs and gutted the 1st floor, rebuilt 1 1/2 years later. I've been ordered to evacuate by Jefferson Parish once via a general evacuation order due to an eminently forgettable hurricane that was a big nothing, just lost a couple of tree branches. I've voluntarily evacuated after Ida because we were without power and my wife was having troubles sleeping without her CPAP machine. That one required a new roof. Camille was a blow-hard but veered away, lost a few branches. Betsy flooded some areas but we had power for the fridge thanks to a neighbor who had power and a very long extension cord. A few others hit but were dry CAT-1 storms that didn't flood and didn't do a lot of damage. Heck, I've gone outside during storms that passed directly over my house such that I was in the eye of the storm.

Which condition is the lesser evil? Hurricanes are capricious but GENERALLY predictable. We prep for them and depart for sunnier shores if they have us in the cross-hairs. The ultimate evil would be to have a hidden volcano form under your house due to some earthquake elsewhere that causes cracks in the mantle. If your geothermal vent decides to blow, there is no rebuilding, there is only hoping you weren't there when it happened. But F3+ tornadoes are a close second. Based on odds, a meteor shower with lots of large fragments can't be higher than 3rd place. But if it is an extinction-level meteor or comet, the whole question becomes moot since there will be nobody left to say "I told you so."

 

[The_Doc_Man]

How many times have we rebuilt New Orleans? Sorry Doc.

How many times have folks rebuilt WHATEVER they called home? Whether it was a forest fire, an earthquake, a hurricane, or a tornado, folks tend to rebuild at or near the same place they lived before the disaster. Humans are stubborn that way. Even for truly man-made disasters like refineries or fertilizer factories exploding. Or rail cars full of toxic material derailing and spilling. Humans exhibit repetitive behavior, and if they rebuild in place, SOMETIMES they even rebuild it better and more resilient than it had been. Crazy humans. But I have to admit, we have a few good qualities too. We HAVE shown charity in many cases. We HAVE learned to love - and to forgive. We HAVE learned how to make life better. Just not perfect.

 

[Pat Hartman]

SOMETIMES they even rebuild it better and more resilient than it had been.

Most of the cottages on the shore in my town are being rebuilt on stilts. When I moved here 45 years ago, the cottages were just pieces of wood thrown together and frequently blew apart during hurricanes. Now they are four season homes going for a million or more despite the fact that the beach is eroding.

 

[Steve R.]

Despite all the controversy surrounding what is causing global warming, my common sense tells me that burning fossil fuels and deforestation is not helping our planet.

Human nature is the problem. People refuse to look into the mirror and acknowledge that they are the problem. The Earth (Nature) can only sustainable (naturally) support so many people. We have overcome the sustainable restraints through the use of technology, such as bringing water into a desert area such as Los Angels, eventually even technology won't be able to satisfy the living needs of the population.

As the problem worsens, people will migrate to safer places just like our caveman ancestors did.

Hate to say it, but the world is "full". The cavemen were able to to migrate to saver places, but that is no longer feasible. The "good" land has already been taken. That leaves areas not suitable for development (for a variety of environmental concerns) as being the only places left to move to for those who can't afford the "good" locations.

As a side issue. We also ignore the potential of a past historical event reoccurring thereby obliterating a "safe" place. The recent flooding in North Carolina as a result of Hurricane Helene would appear to be one such example. The narrative to allow building in potentially hazardous locations goes along the lines that the area has not flooded in 500 years, therefore it is "safe". Well, Nature has a habit of proving such beliefs wrong.

 

[Steve R.]

Most of the cottages on the shore in my town are being rebuilt on stilts. When I moved here 45 years ago, the cottages were just pieces of wood thrown together and frequently blew apart during hurricanes. Now they are four season homes going for a million or more despite the fact that the beach is eroding.

People seem to have a hard time understanding that there are limits. Hopefully, when the houses inevitably fall, the government won't step in as a form of compassion to help them rebuild.

Homes collapse as waves from hurricanes Imelda, Humberto slam North Carolina's Outer Banks

Five of the unoccupied houses collapsed within 45 minutes, the National Park Service said, as a high tide pounded the beach and washed over dunes.

www.usatoday.com