Climate Change / Global Warming Discussion

[SR22pilot]

Michael Moore just released his newest documentary "Planet of the Humans" for Earth Day at 50. It's available free on YouTube.

I may upset some people but while watching this I felt like I was watching the environmentalist version of Fox News. Let me see... natural gas is a fossil fuel so it is as bad as coal. I’m not a fan of natural gas but it is not as bad as coal. Solar and wind require fossil fuel backup so don’t bother. I’d rather have natural gas turning on in the evening than running all day. Solar cells run at 8% efficiency. Huh? Mine are about 20%. Solar cells only last 10 years. Wait, ones like mine are showing that they produce 70% of rated power after 50 years.

The video has no solutions. Well, it sort of implies that we need to start death camps and kill a billion people. OK, I’m exaggerating but not by much. The entire message is that there are too many people. Not mentioned is that the US population would be decreasing if it wasn’t for immigration. The same is true for Europe. Russia has a decreasing population. China has a one child policy although it has been loosened. This video lies by omission. Al Gore is the enemy as is the Sierra Club.

I kept waiting for the ending where the video would change modes and say “Here are the solutions.” Nope. Never happened.

Perhaps most pertinent to this forum, it says electric cars are worthless and Musk is a big polluter.

This movie is the embodiment of the saying “Perfect is the enemy of good.”

 

[JRP3]

Similar critiques here: New Michael Moore film charges enviro leaders have ‘lost their way’ and ‘sold out to corporate interests’
When I saw that Ozzie Zehner was involved in the film that explained everything. He's a minimalist "environmentalist" who's been railing against alternative energy and EV's for years.

 

[SmartElectric]

Watched this with my family last night.

I almost wanted to periodically pause the video and explain the factual and non factual elements of the film, but just let it run.

There are some stark lessons to be gained, and it's served to begin conversations with a number of people, so that's always good.
Here in Ontario, we thankfully didn't deploy too much bio power, just a few smaller coal plants converted, and they run very very little, mostly as backup power for our far north.

My neighbours solar panels are still running strong 15 years later, my little Smart ED electric car battery materials were sourced ethically as per the report provided by the manufacturer, and our Tesla S is running strong with 97% original capacity after 7 years, so this new technology is not bad at all.

But yeah, that solar molten salt power system in California is a mess, knew about that long ago, thankfully PV panels have a long life.

 

[mspohr]

Coronavirus detected on particles of air pollution

Coronavirus detected on particles of air pollution

Coronavirus has been detected on particles of air pollution by scientists investigating whether this could enable it to be carried over longer distances and increase the number of people infected.

 

[mspohr]

Michael Moore just released his newest documentary "Planet of the Humans" for Earth Day at 50. It's available free on YouTube.

Moore has gone"full Trump" peddling lies, distortions and fear. Sorry to see his fall.

 

[mspohr]

'We did it to ourselves': scientist says intrusion into nature led to pandemic

'We did it to ourselves': scientist says intrusion into nature led to pandemic

Lovejoy said separating wild animals from farmed animals in markets would significantly lower the risk of disease transmission. This is because there would be fewer new species for viruses to latch on to. “[Domesticated animals] can acquire these viruses, but if that’s all there was in the market, it would really lower the probability of a leak from a wild animal to a domesticated animal.”

The pandemic will cost the global economy $1tn this year, according to the World Economic Forum, with vulnerable communities impacted the most, and nearly half of all jobs in Africa could be lost. “This is not nature’s revenge, we did it to ourselves. The solution is to have a much more respectful approach to nature, which includes dealing with climate change and all the rest,” Lovejoy said.

 

[mspohr]

Flooding will affect double the number of people worldwide by 2030

Flooding will affect double the number of people worldwide by 2030

 

[mspohr]

Robert Reich on the climate crisis solution no one is talking about

Green Jobs
Stop dirty energy
Stop fossil fuel companies from corrupting politics
Make them pay

 

[mspohr]

What does COVID-19 mean for the energy transition?

One of the most certain facts of the energy transition is that we need it to happen as quickly as possible to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. We also know generally what needs to happen to make the transition possible: combining radical efficiency with renewable energy to decarbonize electricity, electrifying almost everything, and using some variety of hydrogen and other technologies for everything else.

As Kingsmill Bond described in his recent Carbon Tracker article: “Fossil fuel demand has collapsed and may never surpass the peaks of 2019. By the time the global economy recovers, all the growth may be met by renewable energy sources.”

Another clear fact of the transition is the continuously falling costs of new energy technologies including solar, wind, batteries and electric vehicles (EVs). As lead report author Kingsmill Bond explains in a recent article on Carbon Tracker, “the cheapest source of electricity in almost every country in the world today is renewables.

 

[mspohr]

Meteorologists say 2020 on course to be hottest year since records began

Meteorologists say 2020 on course to be hottest year since records began

This year is on course to be the world’s hottest since measurements began, according to meteorologists, who estimate there is a 50% to 75% chance that 2020 will break the record set four years ago.

Although the coronavirus lockdown has temporarily cleared the skies, it has done nothing to cool the climate, which needs deeper, longer-term measures, the scientists say.

 

[mspohr]

Michael Moore just released his newest documentary "Planet of the Humans" for Earth Day at 50. It's available free on YouTube.

Climate experts call for 'dangerous' Michael Moore film to be taken down

Climate experts call for 'dangerous' Michael Moore film to be taken down


A letter written by Josh Fox, who made the documentary Gasland, and signed by various scientists and activists, has urged the removal of “shockingly misleading and absurd” film for making false claims about renewable energy. Planet of the Humans “trades in debunked fossil fuel industry talking points” that question the affordability and reliability of solar and wind energy, the letter states, pointing out that these alternatives are now cheaper to run than fossil fuels such as coal.

 

[JRP3]

Moore and crew respond to criticisms.

 

[SageBrush]

Moore and crew respond to criticisms.

Sort of interesting ... I guess.

The Moore group is certainly right that global CO2 is continuing to rise but my conclusion is that the transition away from fossil fuels has been no where near fast enough, not that the transition is wrong headed. The fossil industries have been playing a delaying game for 30 years. That should be the focus of documentaries intent on changing our trajectory into climate change disaster.

 

[SmartElectric]

Moore and crew respond to criticisms.

I refuse to give him the youtube ad revenue click.
Explain away the film all you want, it was tripe, and "perfection is the enemy of good" FUD we see all the time, "I'll wait to buy an EV when it goes 10000 km on a charge and costs less than a Civic".

 

[eevee-fan]

Percentage of power from solar, by state.

State-By-State Map | SEIA

 

[SR22pilot]

Moore cites the pandemic as a shining example. Yes, if we starve people we can speed up helping the environment. Yes, if people can’t pay rent and mortgages then we will help the climate. I’m waiting for Moore et. al. to walk the walk. Stop using transportation. Stop using electricity. Show me how it’s done.

I have already had this movie thrown in my face once to say EV’s are dirtier than ICE cars.

I agree that population is an issue. My only hope is data that says as people move into the middle class birth rates go down. But that middle class causes way more environmental damage than the poor. So, what if we can change the latter fact or at least massively reduce it. If all vehicles were EV’s the sky’s would be as clear or clearer than now. If we move to transportation as a service then that reduces further. Houses which are made to last and which are net zero help too.

The solution is going to be a combination of things. Even back in 1900 we were already damaging the environment. However, the population back then is probably sustainable with green technologies.

This new video has no real response to the lies in the film. The lies are brushed over by saying they talked to solar people.

Oh yeah, they aren’t advocating for population control but population is a fundamental part of the problem. Huh???

Finally, I don’t see Moore et. al. giving up their homes and money to help the out of work people who can’t afford to buy food.

 

[JRP3]

Oh yeah, they aren’t advocating for population control but population is a fundamental part of the problem. Huh???

Yes that seemed disingenuous at best. Their whole movie focused on two things, population and consumption. Both the movie and their reply brought up some very good points which most people are ignoring but they weaken their message when using inaccurate data.

 

[SR22pilot]

Yes that seemed disingenuous at best. Their whole movie focused on two things, population and consumption. Both the movie and their reply brought up some very good points which most people are ignoring but they weaken their message when using inaccurate data.

They have this “my way or the highway” attitude without even clearly stating what their way is. OK so we throw out growth and we depopulate (euphemism for kills billion or so people), How far do we depopulate? You don’t like solar and you don’t like wind so I guess we have no electricity. For transportation do we go back to horses? You don’t like biofuels so I guess no fires. With no energy supplies I guess we make stone knives and wear animal skins.

I would love to see population growth reversed but we will still need clean energy. I still want universities and research. I still want a global economy and computers and the internet. If coal is just as good and so are ICE cars then the earth’s carrying capacity is MUCH lower. It’s just a wacky viewpoint they have. Tell me solar and wind and EV’s aren’t enough. I’ll buy in. Tell me growth is a problem. I’m sold. Tell me none of the rest matters and you just lost me.

 

[mspohr]

Clean air in Europe during lockdown ‘leads to 11,000 fewer deaths’

Clean air in Europe during lockdown ‘leads to 11,000 fewer deaths’

The improvement in air quality over the past month of the coronavirus lockdown has led to 11,000 fewer deaths from pollution in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, a study has revealed.

Sharp falls in road traffic and industrial emissions have also resulted in 1.3m fewer days of work absence, 6,000 fewer children developing asthma, 1,900 avoided emergency room visits and 600 fewer preterm births, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

While the pandemic continues to take a terrible toll – more than 220,000 deaths worldwide since the start of the year – the authors of the report say the response has offered a glimpse of the cleaner, healthier environment that is possible if the world shifts away from polluting fossil fuel industries.

 

[mspohr]

Covid-19 crisis will wipe out demand for fossil fuels, says IEA

Covid-19 crisis will wipe out demand for fossil fuels, says IEA

Renewable electricity will be the only source resilient to the biggest global energy shock in 70 years triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the world’s energy watchdog.

The steady rise of renewable energy combined with the collapse in demand for fossil fuels means clean electricity will play its largest ever role in the global energy system this year, and help erase a decade’s growth of global carbon emissions.

The International Energy Agency said the outbreak of Covid-19 would wipe out demand for fossil fuels by prompting a collapse in energy demand seven times greater than the slump caused by the global financial crisis.