Global warming may have already passed irreversible tipping point

[Rasulis]

Where is this "knowledge creator" that will fix things?

GOP want to fix things by pumping more oil and gas. Which was how we got into this situation in the first place.

[PC2]

Where is this "knowledge creator" that will fix things?

That's what virtually every person is or can be. So in the context of this thread anyone could create knowledge about how to better control the environment in order to solve our problems. You could become an environmental scientist, a civil engineer, a geo-engineer, or a physicist who works on the next generation of power plants, or a chemist who works on efficiently scaling up desalination facilities.

[Endus]

That's what virtually every person is or can be. So in the context of this thread anyone could create knowledge about how to better control the environment in order to solve our problems. You could become an environmental scientist, a civil engineer, a geo-engineer, or a physicist who works on the next generation of power plants or desalination facilities.

There you go, saying this (or anything) will be solved through literal magic by just having one person whisper the right magic spell in the right moment.

We literally have tens of thousands of people doing exactly that, and have been doing so for decades, and no magical fix has emerged. Nor is there necessarily any such thing that even could be found. You have no basis for claiming that. It's as realistic as me claiming that my ass is a magic portal to Fartland, and an Anti-Dragon is gonna squeeze its way outta my ass and its anti-farts will push so much anti-methane into the atmosphere, it'll fix everything.

And when it goes too far and we need to slay the Anti-Dragon, I'm sure we can convince a Fartknight to come outta my ass to save us from that apocalypse, too.

There. That's exactly as reasonable and justified as your argument.

[Nastard]

And when it goes too far and we need to slay the Anti-Dragon, I'm sure we can convince a Fartknight to come outta my ass to save us from that apocalypse, too.

You silly person. Fart Knights aren't spawned from the anus. They emerge from the butt as Poot Squires and once they prove their bravery and skill at battle, at the age of 21 they kneel before the Father of Flatulence and are dubbed a knight of the brown table.

[Shadowferal]

That's what virtually every person is or can be. So in the context of this thread anyone could create knowledge about how to better control the environment in order to solve our problems. You could become an environmental scientist, a civil engineer, a geo-engineer, or a physicist who works on the next generation of power plants, or a chemist who works on efficiently scaling up desalination facilities.

And again proving this person doesn't exist. You certainly are no example.

[Rasulis]

The rising cost of energy and limited access to housing with A/C is creating a dangerous summer for low-income Texans

Fearing the scorching Texas heat could only get worse, Lisa Vogt stopped buying meat and drove her pickup truck as little as possible to save money for two months to purchase window air-conditioning units.

The air conditioner at the home that Vogt, 32, her three children and teenage nephew rent in southeast San Antonio has been broken for several months.

At some point, Vogt gave her kids cups of ice to chew or popsicles all day long, hoping it would help them cool their bodies.

“I couldn’t let any of my kids suffer in this heat,” said Vogt, who makes a living selling custom T-shirts. The family couldn’t wait any longer for their landlord to make repairs and purchased the units a couple of weeks ago after dipping into money meant to pay their electric bill.

Millions of Americans have been living through a heat wave this week as parts of the West to New England see dangerously hot temperatures but many don’t have resources to weather it. Like Vogt, some people of color and low-income communities may not have access to cooling and if they do, many cannot afford the rising cost of energy.

Triple-digit temperatures have been reported in parts of California, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee this week, and meteorologists estimate that more than 85% of the population – or 275 million Americans – could see high temperatures above 90 degrees over the next week.

To avoid the distressing heat and its potential health risks, officials in multiple cities are encouraging residents to stay indoors in air-conditioned spaces. But that’s not an option for Americans who work in agriculture, construction and for those who can’t afford the cost of the electricity needed to power cooling units.

In Texas, where temperatures have reached more than 105 degrees this week, the cost of electricity was “beyond affordable” for most low-income households. On average, families spend about 8% of their income on energy expenses, said Andrew Robison, a research analyst with the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute.

Kayla Miranda, a housing advocate who lives in San Antonio’s oldest and largest public housing project, Alazan-Apache Courts, with her children, said many of her neighbors are constantly forced to decide between paying for electricity, food, gas or medicines because they can’t afford to cover everything with their income.

Miranda says she pays about $350 a month for electricity when the city sees triple-digit temperatures. The three window air-conditioning units in her 789-square-feet apartment are only able to cool the rooms to about 80-85 degrees.

Three window A.C. units still can't cool down a 789 sq. ft. apartment? Poor insulation and low quality windows/doors. Typical Texas construction.

“That’s the most of these little units can handle and they’re running over time,” said Miranda, adding that the complex where she lives has not had A/C installed since it was built in the 1930s.

“We have tenants that are choosing to not turn on the A/C so that they can still pay their rent and not be homeless. Or they’re choosing take their medicine over having air conditioning and that should never be the case,” Miranda added.

In Texas, there is no state law that requires landlords to provide air conditioning in a rental home or apartment. However, state property law indicates a landlord shall fix a hazardous condition impacting their tenant’s health or safety, including cooling. A recent study from the University of California, San Diego, found that low-income neighborhoods and communities with high Black, Hispanic and Asian populations experience significantly more heat than wealthier and predominantly White neighborhoods.

Good ole Texas.

This is because of the so-called urban heat island effect, which has made some urban communities even more vulnerable. Areas with a lot of asphalt, buildings and freeways tend to absorb a significant amount of the sun’s energy and emit it as heat. Areas with green space — parks, rivers, tree-lined streets — absorb and emit less.

Miranda has seen the urban heat island effect in her neighborhood. A few weeks ago, she says, her brother walked with her 5-year-old son to a convenience store a block away.

“My poor little boy came back with his face so red. He came in and he just sat on the couch for like an hour. He did not move and I’ve never seen that before,” she says.

[Rasulis]

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham says he doesn't 'want to be lectured' on what lawmakers should do to 'destroy' the US economy over climate change

In the event that Kevin McCarthy becomes Speaker of the House, his solution to climate change would be to drill and pump more fossil fuels.

[Mihalik]

In the event that Kevin McCarthy becomes Speaker of the House, his solution to climate change would be to drill and pump more fossil fuels.

If we somehow invented a system that extracts double the amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than it puts out, and if that system could be easily fueled by fossil fuels, watch how fast climate change would become the flagship issue for conservatives worldwide.

[Rasulis]

If you love hummus, I feel bad for you.

Chickpeas in U.S. grocery stores have increased in price 12% from last year, and are up 17% from the start of the pandemic, according to recent NielsenIQ data.

[Deus Mortis]

Lawn are seriously one of the dumbest fucking things ever, especially in large parts of the US that don't have remotely enough water...like the fucking desert.

Seriously, they look like shit anyways. Give me native plant gardens any way of the week, they're actually interesting and serve a purpose beyond soaking up tons of water.

What about people like myself in NCal that have a smaller lawn but still have 5 big trees on it that provide shade to the entire house(I don't use AC even in the Summer thanks to them)? Also I only water my yard once a week in the allotted time frame of 7-12. We are allowed where I am at to do it 3 times a week, but once is enough and the yard does not need to be pure green like you see some strive for.

[Muzjhath]

What about people like myself in NCal that have a smaller lawn but still have 5 big trees on it that provide shade to the entire house(I don't use AC even in the Summer thanks to them)? Also I only water my yard once a week in the allotted time frame of 7-12. We are allowed where I am at to do it 3 times a week, but once is enough and the yard does not need to be pure green like you see some strive for.

Replace the lawn grass with plants/grasses native to where you live!
Grow some useful things! (Potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, whatever)
Etc!

[Logwyn]

Replace the lawn grass with plants/grasses native to where you live!
Grow some useful things! (Potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, whatever)
Etc!

What if all of those take more water than a grass lawn does?

[Shadowferal]

I'd be planting cacti at that point.

[Ripster42]

What if all of those take more water than a grass lawn does?

Native plants don't require watering unless you're placing them out of habitat. You shouldn't be planting riparian plants in places that aren't next to natural streams.

[Rasulis]

There are lawns and there are lawns. On one hand we have extensively manicured lawns in Palm Spring, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Phoenix which require extensive irrigation and massive amount of municipal water. Then we have Fithian, IL where my son lives. Where the problem is not keeping the grass alive but keeping the grass from going wild and taking over. Afternoon thunderstorms, which are near daily occurrence in the summer, provide plenty of natural irrigation.

I was watching a BBC program on the impact of climate change in Kuwait. More than half of the over 50C (122F) days since they started recording temperature in Kuwait occurred after 2010. Last year for the first time they hit 54C (129.2F). Even the locals are finding the heat unbearable.

San Francisco is not completely immune to changes. According to Weather Central, the average temperature in San Francisco has gone up 2F since the 1970s. Fall, Winter and Spring have gotten much warmer. Winter is San Francisco is almost as warm as winter in Miami, Florida. Overall summer temperatures on the other hand have declined slightly. The most noticeable decline is in the numbers of warm (over 85F) and hot (over 95F) days in San Francisco. After peaking in the 1990s, those dropped significantly in the next two decades. It is early yet, but it looks like they will decline again in 2020s. Summer in 2021 was below normal. It looks like we will have a repeat this year.

[Logwyn]

Native plants don't require watering unless you're placing them out of habitat. You shouldn't be planting riparian plants in places that aren't next to natural streams.

Watering crop plants will take more water than my grass lawn is my point.

[Ripster42]

Watering crop plants will take more water than my grass lawn is my point.

Depending on the type of cactus you grow, you can make jelly from the fruit.

[Muzjhath]

Watering crop plants will take more water than my grass lawn is my point.

Yes, at least some of them parts of the time. But again choose some crop plant suitable for environments. But it will also have a use which lawngrass won't have.

[Flarelaine]

It is only my second summer here. Unlike the natives, I still find the summer here amazing. I’ll try to keep it down to once a week.

Oh, don't take me too seriously, real warnings will come in mod voice. Until people complain, I think it's fine, especially because you bring discussion about why SF is more pleasant. Yes, the climate is given, but urban planning could go a long way in less fortunate climates as well.

But I like it when Rasulis (or anyone) says positive things instead of complaining and being a Debbie Downer.

Vindicated.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah, fuck lawns (and Utah).

Lawns exist as a derivation from an incredibly stupid and vain practice; British nobility/wealthy would could afford to buy land and not use it for any function or purpose, not even letting it go fallow, but planting useless decorative lawns and making those lawns as expansive as possible as a brag about how wasteful they could afford to be about land use and the upkeep necessary to maintain those utterly-non-functional lawns. It was a statement of crass excess right up there with gold filigree on everything including your toilets. It really hasn't become any less crass in shifting over to North American suburbia.

Torch all lawns, everywhere, forever. And golf courses too, while we're at it; golf courses are the absolute fuckin' worst.

I don't think we should torch all decorative greenery everywhere. Some climates still allow them. Then again, on my part, I'd go for something more ecological. Lawns are dead things; I want flowering plants, shrubs, a few trees, all with the attendant creepy-crawlies.

- - - Updated - - -

Good ole Texas.

I think "poor people who are incidentally often not white cannot afford air conditioning" is not exactly Texas-specific.

[Nymrohd]

I don't think we should torch all decorative greenery everywhere. Some climates still allow them. Then again, on my part, I'd go for something more ecological. Lawns are dead things; I want flowering plants, shrubs, a few trees, all with the attendant creepy-crawlies.

I have naturally occuring clover in my backyard and I don't need to water it. Plus the bees seem to like it.

- - - Updated - - -

Native plants don't require watering unless you're placing them out of habitat. You shouldn't be planting riparian plants in places that aren't next to natural streams.

The thing is, what is native is changing. In southern Europe at least desertification is observable. What was once native may well not be able to survive in many locations. I assume that is also happening elsewhere. Something needs to be planted to take place of what was once native to keep help minimize soil erosion.