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I don't think he claims to be a scientist. I read all 12 pages of his resource materials. Science is so divided on the subject, we are left to our own conclusions.
Science is not divided at all. There is a very string consensus among scientists that anthropogenic climate change is real and a threat.
Science is not divided at all. There is a very string consensus among scientists that anthropogenic climate change is real and a threat.
Yep. But that is at cross purposes with maximizing profit by burning hydrocarbons instead of an alternative energy source that doesn't produce CO2 emissions. This is no different from the tobacco industry fighting the "smoking causes cancer" data.
I'd love to use only renewables for energy but...
A) You have to be pretty affluent to do it
- Solar panels, windmills, batteries, and electric cars ain't cheap
B) The products you buy and install were typically manufactured and transported in very non-green ways.
- Photovoltaics largely come from China. I'm just exporting my pollution to China. Silicon tetrachloride is pretty nasty stuff. Ditto hydrofluoric acid. Ditto cadmium. Ditto all the coal burned in those Chinese electric plants.
I think the best most of us can do is try to minimize our carbon footprint and minimize the amount of stuff that ends up in the landfill. That smug guy with the huge house with all the solar panels on his roof and the electric car has a way worse carbon footprint than I do when you factor in manufacturing the photovoltaic panels.
I'm of the opinion that the health of the planet is indeed more important than individuals' imaginary 'rights'. The planet (or any other higher power) did not endow any individuals with rights of any kind. Any so-called rights that individuals think they should have over and above the holistic needs of the planet are rooted in gluttony and a constant greed for more resources to consume and are simply a figment of each individual consumer's imagination. The 'rights' do not exist.
I agree that climate change is self correcting but I think that resorting to the reasoning that eventually the world will run out of useable petroleum and coal is a poor reason that people use to excuse gluttony. If humans were not indulging their gluttony and using up resources beyond their practical needs then the resources would never run out and the health of the planet would not be impacted.
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What gluttony are you referring too. Modern medicine? Clean water and affordable electricity? Cheap transportation that allows for the worldwide shipment of food that most can afford? I don't see any gluttony in any of that. The only gluttony I see are the same millionaire liberal wackadoos that continue to harp about saving the planet while sipping Champaign on their million dollar yauchts that burn 10 gallons of diesel to the mile, or ride in their private jets to their movie premiers while talking about the new Tesla they purchased to "save the planet". I have said time and again that I will purchase an electric vehicle when they cost the same as a comparable compact car. So the second Tesla makes a vehicle that costs $18,000.00 brand new I am on board. I would be ecstatic if my local utility switched to 100% renewable energy, as long as the price stays the same as I am paying now. My household income is 3k above the poverty line in my area. I simply can't afford this "saving mother earth" stuff. Neither can most of the worlds population. So coal is still going to be used in most of the world as long as it is cheap and plentiful. Gasoline and Diesel will continue to dominate transportation as long as the price is less than Ethanol and Bio-Diesel. That is the hard cold economic reality, and all of the yelling that the sky is falling isn't going to change that.
I said "..... If humans were not indulging their gluttony and using up resources beyond their practical needs then the resources would never run out and the health of the planet would not be impacted......"
I think that the concept of using up resources beyond practical needs should not require explanation. We are all consumers and we all consume or waste whatever we can afford. That over-consumption includes everything, including modern medicine, clean water, food, electricity, transportation ..... everything. Whether or not we actually need it, if we can afford it we consume and when we consume it we all do so beyond practical needs. That is gluttony.
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Last edited by Zoisite; 02-03-2017 at 04:46 PM..
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