a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by steve
steve  ·  1296 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: September 9, 2020

everything is fine.

everything is fine.

it was 93F on Monday and I swam in a pool.

It was 32F yesterday and snowed 2 inches yesterday.

I have never switched my AC off and my Furnace on in the same day.

everything is fine.

edit: I know I'm being a little glib... but I gotta say - these cute little anecdotes aren't just anecdotal... like.. the science is becoming more, and more, and more clear. And we're actually seeing actual, abnormal, non-cyclical climate change. I'm trying to keep a lid on my temper... because hey... I'm the hypocrite heating my house right now with fossil fuels... so crap... how are we going to turn this around? (insert mild panic attack here)





mk  ·  1295 days ago  ·  link  ·  

user-inactivated  ·  1294 days ago  ·  link  ·  

now for wrath, now for ruin...

goobster  ·  1296 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Dude. Cannot imagine how weird that is, to go to such extremes in a single day. I mean, I've camped in the desert A LOT, and going from 90 during the day to high 20s at night is a thing that happens.... but... my friends in Colorado are going through the shit right now, that's for sure.

And yeah, you are burning fossil fuels, but not enough to even matter. There's 10 companies that create something like 70% of the carbon emissions that are destroying our planet. What you, a single individual can do to mitigate that, or make it worse, is meaningless, really.

Which can either be a crushing thought, or at least give you a little peace when you switch off the AC and turn on the furnace....

What a weird time we live in...

steve  ·  1296 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Which can either be a crushing thought, or at least give you a little peace when you switch off the AC and turn on the furnace.

I appreciate that perspective a lot actually... thank you for the reminder.

wasoxygen  ·  1295 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    actual, abnormal, non-cyclical climate change

List of Weather Records Record extreme temperature differences

Various current records have been standing since 1943, 1972, 1911, 1885, 1892 and 2020. When we measure so many things, we should not be surprised to observe new extremes, like the record 11-year hurricane drought.

Today's record levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide aren't random variation, though. I think it's fair to look at commercial activity.

Here are the top ten "Carbon Majors" and the percent contributions to cumulative emissions from 1988 to 2015.

  14.3% China (Coal) 

4.5% Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco)

3.9% Gazprom OAO

2.3% National Iranian Oil Co

2.0% ExxonMobil Corp

1.9% Coal India

1.9% Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex)

1.9% Russia (Coal)

1.7% Royal Dutch Shell PLC

1.6% China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC)

Source PDF: CDP Carbon Majors Report 2017

If you have ever bought products manufactured in China, or purchased gasoline, you do have some responsibility for carbon emissions. ExxonMobil doesn't profit by releasing carbon dioxide, they profit by selling you gas. The report distinguishes "Scope 1" direct operational emissions and "Scope 3" emissions from the use of sold products:

    Scope 3 emissions account for 90% of total company emissions and result from the downstream combustion of coal, oil, and gas for energy purposes.

But of course Scope 1 wouldn't exist if we were not buying the products. The best explanation for corporate behavior is customer demand.

WanderingEng suggests voting; I was going to say that a single individual voting to mitigate carbon emissions is in fact meaningless. I think it's likely, in fact nearly certain, that after an election you can look back and conclude that your vote did not change the outcome. "Civic duty" and "making my voice heard" and "being part of something bigger than myself" are valid considerations, but my goal in voting would be to get the best candidate in office, and it seems clear that my vote won't in fact make that happen. I also don't have a reliable way to know which candidate will actually perform best, since campaign promises are often abandoned.

On the other hand, your purchasing behavior does make a difference. You are a miniscule amount of ExxonMobil's total demand, but you control 100% of the demand that you are responsible for. Any time you walk instead of drive, you are reducing your contribution, and every step counts, every decision moves the needle. You don't have to be perfect, either. If you are concerned about animal welfare and reduce your consumption of animal products by half, which is pretty easy, you create half as much benefit as eliminating all use of animal products, which is very difficult. Be the change!

TL/DR: If you're going to abdicate personal responsibility, skip voting, and no one will notice. Your behavior as a customer counts, and small choices over a lifetime add up to a significant part of your total personal contribution, which is all you should be held responsible for anyway.

WanderingEng  ·  1294 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    but you control 100% of the demand that you are responsible for

You're talking about Exxon, but I'll start with an easier counter example of electricity (for obvious reasons). I have little to no control over the energy sources that respond to my electric demand. My refrigerator will definitely kick on here in a bit. That isn't usage I can eliminate by biking or walking. When it does, fossil fuel plants will increase output and add to carbon emissions because all the zero emissions generation is already at max output. Having government support for zero emission, dispatchable energy sources can change that, but I as a user cannot. I can't vote with my money because I need my food to stay cold.

For transportation, I think there are similarities. I need to drive places. Food is again an obvious one, and work is another. Is it possible for me to live near work and groceries so I could walk or bike most of the year? Maybe. Is it practical? Not really. Is it possible for everyone to do? Probably not. So I think it again falls to governments to support things like public transportation and electric car infrastructure.

Further, we're talking about this and aware our actions and usages have impacts. But most people don't. How do we get them to do better? I argue it's again government to educate and provide means to have them change without even knowing (such as cleaner electricity, cleaner supply chain, and EVs as convenient as gas).

    ExxonMobil doesn't profit by releasing carbon dioxide, they profit by selling you gas.

I can't agree with this more. But I look at it kind of like using drugs. Arresting drug users has little effect on stopping drug use. Acting to push out suppliers while also providing individuals with means to not get sucked into drug use (e.g. social programs) sees better results. We're the drug users, and even if some of us get clean too many others won't.

wasoxygen  ·  1294 days ago  ·  link  ·  

My main point is that blaming the corporations is a cop-out. The corporations do what they do because of customer demand. As long as people offer money for gasoline, there is a strong incentive to produce gasoline, even if Exxon is persecuted. We are the ones burning the fuels and releasing the carbon.

A carbon tax would be a more efficient way to reduce carbon emissions, but people don't want to pay the price to achieve the goal, they want someone else to pay.

There are familiar ways to reduce consumption, whatever the composition of the energy source. Good old Energy Star is a starting point. You can combine trips, make your next car a more efficient model, eat less meat.

    Having government support for zero emission, dispatchable energy sources can change that, but I as a user cannot.

But do you have a way to change government? It's easy to imagine the way things should be, just as we can imagine a world running on solar power. I think you have a better chance of changing a few people's minds here than changing government behavior.

    Further, we're talking about this and aware our actions and usages have impacts. But most people don't. How do we get them to do better? I argue it's again government to educate and provide means to have them change without even knowing (such as cleaner electricity, cleaner supply chain, and EVs as convenient as gas).

You may have heard of the National Energy Education Development Project; I hadn't. How about energy.gov or the Center for Energy Education or The Fourth Generation. The information is out there, but it's hard to get people to pay attention. A carbon tax would get people's attention and provide incentive aligned with the goal.

    Arresting drug users has little effect on stopping drug use.

Do you have evidence for this claim? "In the United States, legalization has been associated with increased use by adults, but not by youth." one source

I have a strong presumption that when something costs more, people buy less of it. A carbon tax isn't ideal, but in my view it has fewer disadvantages than alternatives, and has the advantage of probably working if the goal is to reduce carbon.

WanderingEng  ·  1296 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    What you, a single individual can do to mitigate that, or make it worse, is meaningless, really.

Other than to vote and to encourage others to vote and be informed on candidates who support good environmental goals. Because an individual can't move the needle on carbon emissions, we need to band together through government to do it.

goobster  ·  1295 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Even voting isn't really going to help, because it won't affect the large corporations that are at fault. Sure, a minor regulation may require a carbon catcher to be installed on the smokestack of that factory, or a tarp over the train cars full of coal (dust) powering though downtown, but those are band-aids on a severed limb.

The only force that will get these companies at the top to change is public opinion. A massive hit to their bottom line from a sustained and comprehensive strike across the nation.

And that isn't possible with politics.

WanderingEng  ·  1294 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Emissions regulations do hit their bottom line, though. It's a big part (though not the only part) of why coal power is dying. Let them emit all the mercury, particulate matter, SOx and NOx they want and watch the industry come back.

goobster  ·  1294 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Except, all regulations are heavily edited by people who listen to lobbyists. And the energy industry spends more on lobbying than any other industry.

So sure, write some new SOx and NOx legislation. That draft goes out. Your calendar then fills up with lobbyists and industry "experts" who water it down in dozens of little ways - "You're going to kill too many jobs in Poughkeepsie, where you have a close upcoming race against someone from the other party..." - and the final regulation is mostly feel-good - like a new carbon catcher on the smokestack at the coal-fired power plant - and does almost nothing to address the core problem, which is that alternative energy sources aren't even being considered, much less built.

Put all the carbon catchers on the smokestacks you want... you now have to do something with that carbon.

To replace the power plant with solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, whatever, you have to hit the power company in their bottom line and make their coal-fired plant unsustainable, so the only fiscally responsible solution is to go with another form of power generation. (This is why carbon taxes always fail, or are so weakened they have little to no effect on the power company's bottom line.)

Regulation absolutely has its place. I don't disagree with your point there.

But regulation is a band-aid after the bad decisions have already been made, and an attempt to mitigate the knock-on effects of an original bad decision, instead of making a better decision and making the legislation unnecessary.

kleinbl00  ·  1296 days ago  ·  link  ·  

steve  ·  1296 days ago  ·  link  ·  

it's so strange because so much of that smoke is blowing into other western states... I wonder how often that wind pattern shifts.

kleinbl00  ·  1296 days ago  ·  link  ·  

jetstream be broke, dawg

steve  ·  1296 days ago  ·  link  ·  

go home jetstream... you're drunk...

kleinbl00  ·  1296 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Don't blame the jetstream. It's a wandering refugee whose home has been destroyed by global warming.