[WRnative]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

Since so many of you feel the Republicans created an environmental catastrophe of Florida, this is a pertinent news flash:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sta...akes-rare-lead

The poll Fox News is reporting on is the St. Pete Times poll, NOT a Fox poll. If it turns out to be accurate, and your claims of Rick Scott being the polluter-in-chief are correct, then things are about to get much worse for Florida's environment.

Last minute polls, like this one, tend to be more accurate than polls taken earlier on in the campaign process. Also, the St. Pete Times is traditionally a left leaning media outlet.

I don't have a clue who will win the Florida governor and U.S. Senate races.

What I am certain of is that if deniers Scott and DeSantis win, Florida will move further down the path towards an environmental catastrophe even though the need to transition away from fossil fuels is NOW.

What I don't know is why deniers, let alone the Florida electorate, is so indifferent to the destruction of Florida's coral reef and the ongoing inundation of the state. What do they think is happening to Miami Beach? Do they think other communities will escape accelerating sea level rise? Don't Floridians care about the loss of their beaches and great coastal natural areas? Do they believe that Donald Trump is an infallible pope and that Scott is a bishop? Or do deniers believe they'll personally escape the environment ravages and don't care about subsequent generations of Floridians and Americans?

My hope is that the deniers lose these Florida mid-terms, and, as a result, the debate will change towards empirical evidence and scientific reality and the need for proactive action, breaking the "Denier Power" both in Florida and nationally. If not, we'll just plunge further into an eventual environmental hellhole.

[craigiri]

Originally Posted by WRnative

I don't have a clue who will win the Florida governor and U.S. Senate races.

Democrats pulled ahead of Republicans statewide as of today. Last election they were 4% behind in early voting. Independents are supposed to break blue.
Election day itself is projected to break blue.

But I'm with you. The races are all too close to call. But the trend is somewhat the friend.

Unfortunately, it will take many years to even start down the path of really cleaning up this mess. And I'm sure the usual suspects will try to turn back the clock.

This is somewhat the story of our species. It may have to get much worse before it gets better. We keep learning the same lessons over and over again.

All we can do is teach our children well (I know I have...).

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by craigiri

Democrats pulled ahead of Republicans statewide as of today. Last election they were 4% behind in early voting. Independents are supposed to break blue.
Election day itself is projected to break blue.

But I'm with you. The races are all too close to call. But the trend is somewhat the friend.

Unfortunately, it will take many years to even start down the path of really cleaning up this mess. And I'm sure the usual suspects will try to turn back the clock.

This is somewhat the story of our species. It may have to get much worse before it gets better. We keep learning the same lessons over and over again.

All we can do is teach our children well (I know I have...).

Unfortunately if a vicious methane feedback loop kicks in, or if ocean warming and acidification destroys the marine plankton much as they are killing off coral, there will be no recovery for much of the environment and likely a mass extinction event (with the elimination of marine protein sources, mankind will kill off most mammals, as has already occurred in parts of Africa). Plankton are at the bottom of the marine food chain and also provide much of the world's oxygen.

https://www.ifaw.org/united-states/n...-national-park

Sickeningly, the only positive that I can see is that impacted areas may finally get relief in the U.S. from deer overpopulations.

[beach43ofus]

At least Al Gore figured out how to make Millions of $'s off these hoax's.

it's another beautiful day in Florida, and millions continue to flock here to bask in its beauty.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Unfortunately if a vicious methane feedback loop kicks in, or if ocean warming and acidification destroys the marine plankton much as they are killing off coral, there will be no recovery for much of the environment and likely a mass extinction event (with the elimination of marine protein sources, mankind will kill off most mammals, as has already occurred in parts of Africa). Plankton are at the bottom of the marine food chain and also provide much of the world's oxygen.

https://www.ifaw.org/united-states/n...-national-park

Sickeningly, the only positive that I can see is that impacted areas may finally get relief in the U.S. from deer overpopulations.

I have a great solution for your Deer overpopulation worries....

https://www.macon.com/news/special-r...221025890.html

Kill them and feed them to the hungry like they do just North of here

[Corrie22]

Originally Posted by WRnative

ocean warming and acidification destroys the marine plankton much as they are killing off coral,.

"Coccolithophores need carbon dioxide dissolved in seawater for photosynthesis, and bicarbonate ions, in equilibrium with carbon dioxide, to build their calcium shells. But it was assumed that too much carbon dioxide would jeopardise the delicate balance of this two-way chemical reaction.

Not so, it seems, with the coccolithophore, or at least with the most abundant species, called Emiliania huxleyi. The latest study into this species shows that it appears to thrive on high levels of carbon dioxide. Instead of finding it difficult to make its calcium carbonate plates, as some scientists had expected, the organism can, in fact, make bigger and bigger plates as carbon dioxide concentrations are increased artificially, according to a study published in the current issue of the journal Science."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...ld-813915.html

=====

"More acidic water may be a sign of healthy corals, says a new study, muddying the waters still further on our understanding of how coral reefs might react to climate change.

Andreas Andersson of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, California, and his colleagues carefully monitored a coral reef in Bermuda for five years, and found that spikes in acidity were linked to increased reef growth.

The team found that coral growth itself made the water more acidic as the corals sucked alkaline carbonate out of the water to build their skeletons. The corals also ate more food during these high-activity periods and pumped more CO2 into the water, increasing acidity further.

These corals didn’t seem to mind the fluctuations in local acidity that they created,,,,,,,,,

/////which were much bigger than those we expect to see from climate change.////

This may mean that corals are well equipped to deal with the lower pH levels.

https://www.newscientist.com/article...fering-damage/

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

At least Al Gore figured out how to make Millions of $'s off these hoax's.

it's another beautiful day in Florida, and millions continue to flock here to bask in its beauty.

Sticking your head in the sand and pretending there are no problems won't make them go away.

That's pretty much the Rick Scott mentality

[beach43ofus]

Why do nearly all the tree huggers:
burn fossil fuels in their gas cars?
burn fossil fuels in their hvac systems?
buy lots of chinese goods when China's co2 emmissions re 2x that of the U.S.
live in homes that are larger than they need?
burn on average 20 metric tons/year of carbon dioxide when the global average is 4?

The so-called environmentalists are 5x more caustic to the environment than the average human being.

They are killing Earth, & are the cause of all the evils they talk about. They ARE the environmental catastrophe!

[beach43ofus]

We've all read posts here by the 20 metric ton/yr producing tree huggers that claim global warming causes more Hurricane's.

In the past 13 years, only 2 Hurricane's have struck Florida.

In the 13 years prior to that, 7 hit Florida.

If we apply their same logic, then the significant reduction in Hurricane's striking Florida must be due to global cooling.

[Henry10]

Originally Posted by craigiri

The strange part of Florida and "immigration" is that without the vast billions from foreigners, the economy of Florida would be really hurting. Yet another case of hypocrisy and probably some jealousy. I'm not sure what the retiree in the Villages thinks of the Brits, Russians, Brazillians and others buying multi-million dollar condos in SE Florida. My thinking is that they really don't think about it.....but are led down the path of "hating immigrants" based on propaganda.

Again, I really do take exception with condescension towards seniors as idiots. It always tells me more about the speaker. Sorry, but I do have to tell you that outfront.

About immigration -- nobody is confusing poor, illiterate illegal aliens wih foreign investors. And btw, most countries do have laws against foreign investments, and much tougher than ours. Naturalization and citizenship is a privilege, that we as a society grant selectively to foreigners, when, why, and how we want it. It is not there for the taking for anybody that wants it.

Citizenship is like a club. Club members have to consent to new members, and new members have to apply lawfully for membership. They just can't barge in and usurp it.

Actually our immigration policy also has a charity component to it -- that is to certain political asylees, war refuges, and extraordinary talents. But we can't be admitting economic "refuges" while 80% of world population qualifies as "poor". WTF