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Climate Change

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by ItsMyFault, Nov 9, 2016.

  1. Amiga

    Amiga Member

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    How about painting the southern roof with a white color? That seems to be a doable (?) and easy solution to reduce energy needs for cooling during the super hot summer, but it's probably a big no-no to the HoA.
     
  2. Amiga

    Amiga Member

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    The weather patterns have already shifted. In the South, we used to have a cold blast every 10-20 years, which could kill plants if not protected. However, in the past 5 years, we have experienced three of those. The heat has also become much more intense, arriving earlier and lasting longer. We are witnessing more extremes with a warmer baseline. Winters are milder on average, summers are hotter, and there are occasional days of extremely cold snaps and consecutive days of scorching heat with no rainfall. These extreme swings make it more challenging to manage the usual crops grown in the South. We have to bring plants indoors or provide them with more frequent coverage during late winter (all the way through March). We have to move them to shadier areas during the blazing summer and, of course, water them more often. It also means less plants in the ground and more in pots, which aren't as productive.

    This is just my personal experience with my garden and fruit trees. I imagine that farmers face similar challenges, and it will be more costly to produce and maintain fruits, nuts, vegetables, etc. I'm sure that the northern regions have their own challenges with similar extreme swings as well.
     
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  3. AroundTheWorld

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  4. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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    Ok, so he's a hypocrite...
     
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  5. London'sBurning

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  6. AroundTheWorld

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    Far from being the only one.
     
  7. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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    Sure, but what does John Kerry or others being hypocritical have to do with climate change?
     
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  8. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Member
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    John Kerry is the Climate Czar for one
     
  9. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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    So if you are the climate czar you can't fly in private jets?
     
  10. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Member
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    you shouldn't. even Greta Thornberry rode a boat across the ocean to shmooze at a climate event

    Kerry living it up on a private jet is like Boris Johnson throwing that drinking party during covid
     
  11. AroundTheWorld

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    It raises suspicion that if they don't practice what they preach, they don't really believe what they preach, and it's all a giant grift.
     
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  12. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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    I don't expect rich people to ever practice what they preach. My experiences of people both on the left and right. People in general.

    I've said this before - solving climate change isn't about personal responsibility. It's not about telling people to do X less. It will fail. It has to be solved at a policy level and a technological one. So what Kerry doesn't do or what Greta does do means little. It's just symbolism and honestly I don't think most people across the political spectrum gives an F if Greta rides a boat or Kerry uses a private plane.
     
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  13. rockbox

    rockbox Around before clutchcity.com

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    #butwhatabout
     
  14. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Member
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    https://www.wsj.com/articles/john-k...xi-jinping-beijing-e50b9ef4?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

    John Kerry Tilts at Chinese Coal Plants
    The U.S. climate envoy pleads with Beijing to hurt its economy.
    By The Editorial Board
    Updated July 17, 2023 at 6:33 pm ET

    China said Monday that its economy nearly stalled to a 0.8% growth rate in the second quarter, but never fear, John Kerry is here. The U.S. climate envoy is in Beijing this week to tell Chinese officials that they need to follow America in putting their economy further at risk by moving away from fossil fuels at a rapid pace.

    Mr. Kerry said last week that he’ll discuss cuts to methane emissions and coal, among other items. Somehow we doubt his Chinese counterparts will take Mr. Kerry’s advice, though they might do their diplomatic best to humor him. That’s how they’ve strung the world along on climate for years.

    China signed the 2015 Paris climate accord, but that deal gave Beijing a pass to increase its emissions until 2030. And that’s exactly what it’s doing. According to the Climate Action Tracker, which monitors national progress under the Paris agreement, “China’s emissions under current policies remain sky high with no sign of substantial emission reductions before the 2030 peaking timeline.”

    The Climate Action Tracker says that between 2015 and 2022 China’s greenhouse gas emissions increased nearly 12%, while U.S. emissions declined some 5%. China’s methane emissions rose about 3% from 2015 to 2021, the latest year with good data, while the U.S. cut them by 5%.

    Mr. Kerry will have an uphill climb on Chinese coal in particular. The Climate Action Tracker says China’s “coal production reached record levels in 2022 for the second year running,” and “coal is set to remain the backbone” of China’s energy system. No kidding: Between 2020 and 2022, China added some 113 gigawatts of new coal-fired power plants, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. The entire world managed to retire some 187 gigawatts of coal plants between 2017 and 2022.

    As of January China had some 306 coal-fired power stations proposed, permitted or under construction, according to Global Energy Monitor, a nonprofit that tracks worldwide coal-fired power projects of 30 megawatts or more. When finished those plants would generate some 366 gigawatts, or about 68% of the world’s total coal capacity under development.

    As of April China also had 180 new coal mines or mine expansions proposed, permitted or under construction, the nonprofit reported. These would produce some 657 million metric tonnes per year upon completion and could release as much as eight million tonnes of methane emissions a year.

    Some of China’s coal plants serve as back-up capacity for renewable energy. But the energy think tank Embernoted in May that coal still accounted for 61% of China’s electricity generation last year. That’s down from 78% in 2000—but China’s “total power sector emissions were five times higher than in 2000 . . . due to rising coal generation to meet soaring power demand,” Ember reported.

    All of this suggests the Communist Party won’t make climate concessions at the expense of economic growth, and you don’t have to take our word for it. In a January 2022 speech, President Xi Jinping said carbon goals shouldn’t come at the expense of the “normal life” of Chinese people or energy or food security, according to a Reuters article citing the state-run Xinhua news service.

    Carbon-neutrality goals “can’t be detached from reality,” Mr. Xi reiterated in March, according to a South China Morning Post article citing the state-run People’s Daily. “We can’t toss away what’s feeding us now while what will feed us next is still not in our pocket.”

    The post-Covid economic boom that China expected isn’t happening. And data earlier this year revealed that one in five Chinese youth are jobless. Mr. Kerry can tilt at climate targets all he wants, but Beijing isn’t going to risk the political upheaval of mass unemployment to meet emissions targets while raging wildfires in North America offset any CO2 reductions.

    The risk for U.S. interests is that the Biden Administration will make consequential concessions on technology export controls, arms to Taiwan or something else of strategic importance in exchange for climate promises Beijing has no intention of keeping.

    Appeared in the July 18, 2023, print edition as 'Kerry Tilts at Chinese Coal Plants'.
     
  15. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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    Again, and I say this with all due respect and seriousness - I'm not sure what the point of this article?

    Kerry is fairly inconsequential of a figure.
     
  16. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Member
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    pretty sure it's this paragraph:

    Carbon-neutrality goals “can’t be detached from reality,” Mr. Xi reiterated in March, according to a South China Morning Post article citing the state-run People’s Daily. “We can’t toss away what’s feeding us now while what will feed us next is still not in our pocket.”
    hope that helps
     
  17. Amiga

    Amiga Member

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    That was around 16 months ago. It’s a statement made by Xi that China won’t achieve carbon neutral overnight, but they are on track to reach their goal of peaking emissions before 2030 and becoming carbon neutral by 2060.

    They will probably want to phase out coal sooner. When I was in Beijing a few years ago, coal particles were falling like snow on a daily basis. You could literally see it descending, and the sky was consistently hazy.
     
  18. AroundTheWorld

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    Are you defending the CCP now?
     
  19. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Member

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    I'm still not sure what the point you are trying to make. What does that have to do with Kerry?
     
  20. Os Trigonum

    Os Trigonum Member
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    well for one thing Kerry is mentioned in the editorial
     

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