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Earth

We're On a Highway To Climate Hell, UN Boss Says 275

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres told countries gathered at the start of the COP27 summit in Egypt on Monday they face a stark choice: work together now to cut emissions or condemn future generations to climate catastrophe. From a report: The speech set an urgent tone as governments sit down for two weeks of talks on how to avert the worst of climate change, even as they are distracted by Russia's war in Ukraine, rampant consumer inflation and energy shortages. "Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish," Guterres told delegates gathered in the seaside resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. He called for a pact between the world's richest and poorest countries to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels and funding to ensure poorer countries can reduce emissions and cope with the climate impacts that have already occurred. "The two largest economies -- the United States and China -- have a particular responsibility to join efforts to make this pact a reality," he said.
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We're On a Highway To Climate Hell, UN Boss Says

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  • by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Monday November 07, 2022 @11:10AM (#63032063) Homepage Journal

    What about current generations? This fool is understating the case to everyone's detriment, that is literally part of how we got here! AGW is already causing crisis and chaos, and pandering to people who will never believe in it by using minimizing language and pretending the problem isn't already upon us is actively harmful.

    • But it's just weather! And it doesn't affect us! And it isn't man-made! And ... I'm sure I forgot something.

  • We keep hitting the snooze button hoping the problem won't get worse, but it does every single time. Do you believe "Dr. Doom" who is predicting that much of the Southwest US, and Texas, are going to become essentially unlivable? That Florida and some other Gulf states will become cesspools experiencing disaster after disaster? Then you should try to beat the migration North. Look at a map, find Springfield, IL and draw an East/West line... that's kind of your new livable zone.

    Prior to seeing all this, b
    • by nasch ( 598556 )

      We keep hitting the snooze button

      If you mean we're not doing anything about climate change, that is not true. Not enough, and it should have started much earlier, but actions are being taken.

    • by kackle ( 910159 )
      Will it matter if one "beats" a northern mass migration? If you're settled in a nice place, then hordes of people will migrate and "overrun" the locality, many of them unskilled, poor and desperate... That's another reason the amount of illegal immigration concerns me.
      • I'm more concerned about Texans trying to escape the inhospitable hellhole their country will be.

        Unlike Mexicans, they are not only armed, they think they have a right to survive on your expense.

    • by myrdos2 ( 989497 )

      That Florida and some other Gulf states will become cesspools experiencing disaster after disaster?

      What's this "will become" business?

  • Yeah, right (Score:4, Interesting)

    by spaceyhackerlady ( 462530 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @11:26AM (#63032117)

    The Beautiful People fly to a posh resort and tell us peasants how to live our lives? Yeah, right.

    That the weather is nuts is obvious. We've solved harder problems. Let's solve this one. With answers, not dogma and hypocrisy.

    ...laura

    • That the weather is nuts is obvious. We've solved harder problems.

      Name one.

      • by sfcat ( 872532 )

        That the weather is nuts is obvious. We've solved harder problems.

        Name one.

        The ozone hole and acid rain. There are two for you.

        • The ozone hole and acid rain. There are two for you.

          The ozone hole was solved by switching away from CFCs to equally cheap to produce and direct replacement HFCs. Acid rain was solved with catalysts to reduce SO2. Those are trivial solutions compared to what it will take to solve AGW. It's not even the same motherfucking sport. Not surprised to see such a gross misunderstanding of the situation from someone who thinks we can solve the problem by taking decades to build power plants with a finite fuel supply and greater lifecycle emissions, though.

      • by drnb ( 2434720 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @01:07PM (#63032635)

        That the weather is nuts is obvious. We've solved harder problems.

        Name one.

        Pick a malthusian crisis from history. Let's say the population crisis of the late 19th century, global famine was predicted. Science and Engineering solved that problem (industrial scale chemical fertilizer), as it had the preceding malthusian crisis, as it will solve the current if we can put the scientists and engineers in charge instead of the politicians and pop stars.

    • by nasch ( 598556 )

      We've solved harder problems.

      I'm skeptical of that claim.

      • by drnb ( 2434720 )

        We've solved harder problems.

        I'm skeptical of that claim.

        Ex. Population crisis, projected global famine, solved by industrial scale chemical fertilizers.

        • by nasch ( 598556 )

          Yeah, I'm skeptical that was harder than climate change. That required some engineering that produced a product that didn't need any extra incentives to distribute. It made things better for farmers, food buyers, everyone. Very different situation than fossil fuels.

        • Yeah, after millions died in the famines... but hey, fine by me, I'm one of those that can still afford food. Dance, monkey, for my entertainment and this banana!

    • In my opinion, the only way this particular problem will be 'solved' is if the 'solution' doesn't inconvenience the common citizen in any way, especially if it doesn't cost them more money every month. Otherwise everyone will just keep on doing what they're doing. If you make fossil fuel for ICE vehicles more and more expensive to try to persuade people away from ICEs and into EVs, they'll just complain to their Congresscritters about it, and then some other candidates (usually Republicans) will claim they
    • But at least we created lots of shareholder value

      https://i.redd.it/yo3qo75qfs56... [i.redd.it]

  • by Joe_Dragon ( 2206452 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @11:28AM (#63032131)

    sounds like an job for nuclear power!

    • by RobinH ( 124750 )
      ... or a nuclear winter. Am I right?
  • by clawsoon ( 748629 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @11:30AM (#63032147)
    I bet AC/DC could make our future sound awesome.
  • by Artem S. Tashkinov ( 764309 ) on Monday November 07, 2022 @11:53AM (#63032257) Homepage

    There are three main reasons why the world's population isn't doing enough to solve the problem:

    - In terms of intelligence we have not evolved to think globally: "Not my concern".

    - We are all mortal. Tackling the issue means sacrifices by those who live now for the sake of those who will inherit this planet from us. "Why should I care?"

    - Our entire lifestyle is based on constant population and productivity growth. The planet can sustain only so much. There are already way too many of us for the planet to support.

    I won't say we are doomed but entire state ideologies, economies and religions must be changed for the issue to be resolved. Nothing even remotely enough will be done any time soon. It's only when global wars (due to starvation, waves of migration and fights for resources/survival) start raging again, people will reconsider their decision.

    • What about small problems that are relatively easy to solve? How about microplastics? We have it in our bodies, we breath and eat it. It's been found on mount Everest and on the ocean floor. Newborns are born with it. What have we done to prevent it from happening? Almost nothing? Damn!
      • What about small problems that are relatively easy to solve? How about microplastics?

        What the actual what? That's a massive problem that's nightmarishly difficult to solve. You think modern society couldn't function without fossil fuels? Imagine trying to operate it without plastics. Now explain how you're going to clean up distributed microplastic pollution when plastics can persist in the environment for millennia. It's like trying to clean up the radioactive isotope emissions from coal power, it's just not possible.

        • I wasn't talking about removing microplastics which is already everywhere in the environment. I meant the issue of minimizing plastics use every-fucking-where even where it's totally unnecessary. It looks like everything is wrapped/packaged in layers of it even stuff which can be safely transferred packaging-free.

    • by sfcat ( 872532 )
      The problem is that the folks in charge put in place solutions that we know won't work. Why do we know, because we can do math and lookup data and ask engineers who work on power product and scientists who are involved in power research. Don't confuse refusing to march over a cliff with you, with not caring about the problem. We care, the reason why the posts in this thread are so acrid is because we care. We are frustrated that the issue is being used for things that have nothing to do with the environ
    • There are three main reasons why the world's population isn't doing enough to solve the problem:

      - In terms of intelligence we have not evolved to think globally: "Not my concern".

      - We are all mortal. Tackling the issue means sacrifices by those who live now for the sake of those who will inherit this planet from us. "Why should I care?"

      - Our entire lifestyle is based on constant population and productivity growth. The planet can sustain only so much. There are already way too many of us for the planet to support.

      I won't say we are doomed but entire state ideologies, economies and religions must be changed for the issue to be resolved. Nothing even remotely enough will be done any time soon. It's only when global wars (due to starvation, waves of migration and fights for resources/survival) start raging again, people will reconsider their decision.

      Another one is, what else can I do about it? According to a couple websites, my CO2 generation is way less than average because I hardly drive anywhere, consume way under my means and do what I can to reduce heat and AC usage. Many of the suggestions to fix global warming is way over what I can do as an individual.

  • "You've got no arms left!" - King Arthur


    "Yes I have!" - The Black Knight
  • Twitter (Score:2, Insightful)

    We just learned that Twitter had an office dedicated to suppressing opinions contrary to the UN, based on conference with UN officials.

    When you have the truth on your side you don't need censorship. Their Malthuaianism is now on display for all to see.

    And, yeah, lots of maladjusted Malthusians here too.

  • When people in governance say thing like adapt or perish I canâ(TM)t help but hear, âoesubmit or weâ(TM)ll make you perish and itâ(TM)ll be a virtue to excuse authoritarian dictates that weâ(TM)ll make you submit withâ like burning witches to save your soul. Like with Covid regulations, it didnâ(TM)t matter what the science said or didnâ(TM)t say, what mattered was we found a consensus that you must abide by and if you donâ(TM)t weâ(TM)ll ruin and punish you
  • UN is pushing global socialism with green panic. They should be ignored.

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