An awesome series! Originally posted here: Learn More About Climate - About [ame=http://vimeo.com/58740850]How Much Difference Do a Few Degrees Make? on Vimeo[/ame] Many more at the top link!
I just learned that glaciers are constantly receding...the only time they come back is during ice ages. Deforestation is a killer too. For trees to develop all the characteristic forest ecosystems takes 200 years. That's scary because while you may have heard companies plant two trees for every tree they cut down, they rotate back onto those newly planted trees within 20-50 years. So we're not regenerating forests; it's more like we're destroying them, to convert them into tree farms. If we hadn't deforested much land, the temperature rise wouldn't be as noticeable, as the trees would have absorbed much of the carbon. The new problem would be rather forests overgrowing into encampments, as more CO2 means more flora (see the graphic below) But realistically, do any of us contribute any less than others to global warming? We have to make compromises, like many of us drive cars, or power our houses from coal power plants. We all like wood and plastic, which contribute to the carbon crisis. As a whole, I see encouraging trends...biofuels, bioplastics, wind and tidal power. But it's decades away. I don't think that totally denouncing carbon, pollution, and unsustainable practice in general will do much to help the situation...if anything you'll just irritate people, so their indignancy leads them to be more wasteful. For example, I've tried to get my friends to recycle, but I always catch them throwing plastics in the trash. I just give up...one day, I hope, they'll recycle more than me.
Global Warming is bullshit, at least the idea that humans have any effect on it. The earth is constantly going through cycles of both ice ages and very warm climates. If we're fucking up the planet, eventually the planet will fuck us up.
We MUST switch to hemp to save the planet. It will solve all the problems. It's a clean renewable energy source. And we can leave the forests to grow and get all we need in one season because they grow so fast. And it's 10x stronger then steel. It's a miracle plant that can save the planet
So you're telling me that in tearing down forests and replacing them with tree farms which store half the carbon, in burning billions of tons of coal and oil, and in processing billions of tons of plastic, we do nothing to accelerate the natural cycles? Honestly? Either that's just a fleeting opinion of yours, or you have an unimaginable evidence to the contrary in store for us...because most of us believe that deforestation and billions of tons of carbon discharge are having terrible consequences.
Don't get me wrong, I'm filled with absolute disgust when seeing how destructive and ignorant humans can be, and there is absolutely no doubt as to the damage they are causing to the environment. What ticks me off is the fact that big government takes advantage of this whilst doing nothing to actually create change, but rather allow people to continue using outdated and destructive methods to provide for their needs and luxuries. All the government does is instill fear in people and fucking give us more taxes. Bullshit. I bet you we could easily evolve past the destructive practices we currently follow if the power hungry corporations did not have such influence on just about everything. It's pretty obvious that there have been various technologies that have been hidden from humanity in an attempt to maintain power and wealth.
That's all fine and true, but I still don't see how you get from "the government sucks" to "global warming is bullshit".
Sometimes it's not the idea that's important, but rather what it is used for, in which's context, its meaning is entirely changed. Also I was pretty high
Not only that, Sheen, but there is a new phenomena where when we buy certain products, or elect to pay optional carbon tax, our money actually goes to various financial conglomerates which buys up swathes of cheap land in improvised countries (typically in Sub-Saharan Africa, or South and Central America), and converts it into tree farms. They grow monocultures, usually of fast-growing crops, which are susceptible to disease, drought and often times even accelerate soil erosion. In the end, you're footing the bill for them to OWN the land. They have no obligation to return it, to care for it after they harvest the trees, or not just turn it into farmland for some other cash crop like palm oil. It actively disenfranchises marginalized agricultural communities who have historically relied on the land for grazing, rotational horticulture and ecosystem management. It has further commodified the green economy on our side. It is betraying the very commendable intentions of people who will pay more money to contribute to (what they're told is) a sustainable and conscientious program. There is shockingly little corporate oversight, so often times the program leaders themselves are oblivious to the long-reaching consequences of these half-assed ideas, and even less government regulation.
We're doing the same thing to America and Europe. Converting forests into monoculture farmland. We grow different crops (like corn and soy), but they have the same consequences: erosion, disease, loss of biodiversity, and probably drought. Yes, not only do we steal land from farmers and rural peoples, but then we destroy it and leave the mess behind, washing our hands of the guilt. We are really the enemy of small-scale farming. I'm not sure I understand your 3rd paragraph. Some people pay more for organics or solar panels, and they think eating organic or putting solar panels on their house is a generally "green idea". Would you say solar panels are green? What about organic vegetables? Do they have to be produced locally to be considered sustainable and conscientious, or is it OK to transport goods tens of thousands of miles? Is technology even acceptable, or is it fine as long as it doesn't interfere with the environment? I don't know what you have in mind, but I would not say that California's attempt to commercially produce organic produce to feed the other 49 states is half-assed or unregulated...I think it's a somewhat commendable effort, but admittedly not very green. They still don't check the soil nutrient levels or rotate crops reliably, and they rely on shipping goods thousands of miles...but I think the organics are generally better. You're still throwing your capital and money directly to big corporations either way, you're not supporting a local farmer or business, it's just this corporation happens to support organics. I like that, it's kind of like a corporation that doesn't support smoking and advocates vaporizers. Fuck yeah, I'd work for a corporation like that before I worked for one that had no recycling program or regard for the environment or its carbon footprint. How much you expect out of people or out of yourself? I don't want to live in a small commune in the equatorial regions of Earth, eating only local vegetables and produce, without any trade, oil, chemicals, or plastics. I like some of the goods that are available for me to buy, and I don't like the idea of giving them up for a rural village life. It'll be quite difficult to strike a compromise with half a billion people who take for granted a privilege you propose to take away.