The Environmental thread + Conventional (HI-FI) wisdom is almost always invariably wrong

[sphinxsix]

Post COP26 prognosis by Climate Action Tracker

 

 Research from world’s top climate analyst: World on track for disastrous heating of more than 2.4C

 

Let me get radical for a moment. Gotta at least try to deserve my 'Über-extremist' rank..

Some use the term 'ecocide'. It's not new, it was first used back in the 70's and since then (the author of the first initiative was the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme) there were many attempts to make ecocide an international crime.

But do we really need that.?

Right now the number of environmental factors related deaths is estimated most often at between 8 and 12 million per year worldwide. 

If some through their either actions or inaction allow this number to get even higher in the future,

shouldn't it be actually simply called 'genocide', making not only given companies but also some of our bright politicians responsible in the light of international law.? 

 

[sphinxsix]

26 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

Post COP26 prognosis by Climate Action Tracker

 

The full CAT report is available here:

 

Glasgow’s 2030 credibility gap: net zero’s lip service to climate action

 

 

[PYP]

2 hours ago, semente said:

 

 

Mining the Planet to DeathThe Dirty Truth About Clean Technologies

The poor South is being exploited so that the rich North can transition to environmental sustainability. Entire swaths of land are being destroyed to secure the resources needed to produce wind turbines and solar cells. Are there alternatives?

 

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/mining-the-planet-to-death-the-dirty-truth-about-clean-technologies-a-696d7adf-35db-4844-80be-dbd1ab698fa3

Glad that world population is mentioned since it is obviously a huge factor.  I was lucky to have been part of an audience Q&A with the author of "How Many People Can the Earth Support?" in 1996 (my joke at the time was that I expected a one-page book with the numerical answer).  Like so many other issues related to climate, we seem incapable of connecting the dots - of population/arable land and use of land for production/the true environmental cost of production.  Hope Elon has some room for my family on Mars!

 

https://www.amazon.com/How-Many-People-Earth-Support-dp-0393038629/dp/0393038629/ref=mt_other?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=

 

 

[semente]

37 minutes ago, PYP said:

Glad that world population is mentioned since it is obviously a huge factor.  I was lucky to have been part of an audience Q&A with the author of "How Many People Can the Earth Support?" in 1996 (my joke at the time was that I expected a one-page book with the numerical answer).  Like so many other issues related to climate, we seem incapable of connecting the dots - of population/arable land and use of land for production/the true environmental cost of production.  Hope Elon has some room for my family on Mars!

 

https://www.amazon.com/How-Many-People-Earth-Support-dp-0393038629/dp/0393038629/ref=mt_other?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=

 

 

 

Overpopulation, in my view, is only part of the problem. There's also corporation greed and waste:

 

https://www.unep.org/thinkeatsave/get-informed/worldwide-food-waste

 

• Roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year - approximately 1.3 billion tonnes - gets lost or wasted.

• Food losses and waste amount to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries.

• Industrialized and developing countries dissipate roughly the same quantities of food - respectively 670 and 630 million tonnes.

• Fruits and vegetables, plus roots and tubers have the highest wastage rates of any food.

• Global quantitative food waste per year is roughly 30 per cent for cereals, 40-50 per cent for root crops, fruits, and vegetables, 20 per cent for oilseeds, meat and dairy plus 30 per cent for fish.

• Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes).

• The amount of food wasted every year is equivalent to more than half of the world's annual cereals crop (2.3 billion tonnes in 2009/2010).

• Per capita waste by consumers is between 95-115 kg a year in Europe and North America, while consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeastern Asia, each throw away only 6-11 kg a year.

• Total per capita food production for human consumption is about 900 kg a year in rich countries, almost twice the 460 kg a year produced in the poorest regions.

• In developing countries, 40 per cent of losses occur at post-harvest and processing levels while in industrialized countries more than 40 per cent of losses happen at retail and consumer levels.

• At the retail level, large quantities of food are wasted due to quality standards that over-emphasize appearance.

• Food loss and waste also amount to a major squandering of resources, including water, land, energy, labor, and capital, and needlessly produce greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change.

• Even if just one-fourth of the food currently lost or wasted globally could be saved, it would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people in the world.

• In developing countries, food waste occurs mainly at the early stages of the food value chain and can be traced back to financial, managerial and technical constraints in harvesting techniques as well as storage and cooling facilities. Strengthening the supply chain through the direct support of farmers and investments in infrastructure, transportation, as well as in an expansion of the food and packaging industry could help to reduce the amount of food loss and waste.

• In medium and high-income countries, food is wasted and lost mainly at later stages in the supply chain. Differing from the situation in developing countries, the behavior of consumers plays a huge part in industrialized countries. The study identified a lack of coordination between actors in the supply chain as a contributing factor. Farmer-buyer agreements can be helpful to increase the level of coordination. Additionally, raising awareness among industries, retailers, and consumers as well as finding beneficial use for food that is presently thrown away are useful measures to decrease the amount of losses and waste.

[GregWormald]

😢

[sphinxsix]

16 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

 

The full CAT report is available here:

 

Glasgow’s 2030 credibility gap: net zero’s lip service to climate action

 

 

 

Honest Govenment's comment on that report, feat. Greta Thunberg.

 

 

[GregWormald]

I **REALLY** wish the Honest Government Ads weren't so accurate. I'm sure I'd sleep better.

[DuckToller]

In case someone missed it ...

Ballad (Sullivan) 1986

When they look back at us and they write down their history
What will they say about our generation?
We're the ones who knew everything and still we did nothing
Harvested everything, planted nothing. 
Well we live pretty well in the wake of the goldrush
Floating in comfort on waves of our apathy
Quietly gnawing away at Her body
Until we mortgage the future, bury our children 
Storehouses full with the fruits we've been given
We send off the scrag-ends to suckle the starving
But still we can't feed this strange hunger inside
Greedy, restless and unsatisfied.

I was never much one for the great "Big Bang" theory
Going out in a blaze of suicidal glory
Not foolish and brave, these leaders of ours
Just stupid and petty, unworthy of power;
Just a little leak here and a small error there
Another square mile poisoned forever
A series of sad and pathetic little fizzles
And out go the lights, never to return. 
The affair it is over, the passion is dead
She stares at us now with ice in Her eyes
But we turn away from these bitter reproaches
And take up distractions to forget what we're doing

I stand on these hills and I watch Her at night
A thousands square miles, a million orange lights
Wounded and scarred, She lies silent in pain
Raped and betrayed in the cold acid rain
And I wish and I wish
We could start over again
Yes I wish and I wish
We could win back Her love once again

[PYP]

similar to the other article posted about the battery supply chain - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/10/opinion/electric-vehicle-climate-battery.html?searchResultPosition=1  The new infrastructure bill just provides a down payment.  

 

America Isn’t Ready for the Electric-Vehicle Revolution

 

With so much uncertainty, it seems likely that for the 2020s and well into the 2030s the United States will remain reliant on Chinese supplies. Will China keep the supply lines open to America? Perhaps it will. But we don’t know.

 

So for the United States, the best hope is to get a grip on its own supply chain. “If we want a 100 percent reliable battery supply chain here in the U.S.,” Bob Galyen, a battery consultant and former chief technology officer for Contemporary Amperex Technology, a Chinese battery company, told me, “it’s going to take us a decade to do it.”

 

The message for policymakers and automakers alike: It’s time to get moving.

[sphinxsix]

COP is almost over. For it's a big disappointment. IMO politicians haven't delivered. Again. 

Frankly, I don't think anymore, the necessary change can come from within this system.

 

How has Cop26 shifted the dial on the climate crisis? A visual guide. Some progress has been made at Glasgow, but no major country’s pledges are yet in line with holding global heating to 1.5C

 

Hundreds of global civil society representatives walk out of Cop26 in protest

 

Over 200 climate experts sign letter calling for ‘radical leadership’ on global warming. Academics denounce Glasgow summit as ‘failure’ and call for ‘real green revolution’.\

 

 

[PYP]

49 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

COP is almost over. For it's a big disappointment. IMO politicians haven't delivered. Again. 

Frankly, I don't think anymore, the necessary change can come from within this system.

Well, they are still working on it, but it does seem it will end up being Cop-Out26, unfortunately for all of us (except Elon and his Martian friends).

 

23 rich, developed countries are responsible for half of all historical CO₂ emissions.

More than 150 countries are responsible for the other half.

 

The U.N. Development Program recently calculated that the world spends $423 billion each year to subsidize oil, gas and coal, about four times the amount needed to help poor countries address climate change.

 

“That’s a definition of insanity,” Mr. Kerry said, adding that underwriting oil, gas and coal allows governments “to feed the problem we’re here to cure. It doesn’t make sense.”

[sphinxsix]

IMO a very(!) interesting read.

 

After the failure of Cop26, there’s only one last hope for our survival by George Monbiot.

 

 

[PYP]

What climate change looks like from space:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/11/opinion/environment/climate-change-space.html

 

Note that data started to be gathered in the 1970s, when the forward thinking folks who put into place already knew the future was not bright for the earth.   Now having the data, our leaders are focusing on staying in power rather than making the changes needed.  

[sphinxsix]

42 minutes ago, PYP said:

Note that data started to be gathered in the 1970s, when the forward thinking folks who put into place already knew the future was not bright for the earth.

True, the turning point should have been Hansen's congressional testimony in 1988 (G. Bush's words on greenhouse effect vs White House effect came after it).

 

42 minutes ago, PYP said:

Now having the data, our leaders are focusing on staying in power rather than making the changes needed.

Inertia. Status quo for 30+ years. Let's hope that the above article I linked to and the data are right, comrade and we don't need the democratic majority of 50% + 1, but only 25% of people with deep conviction. This research actually has really proved to be a nutritious food for my thought, fas42 would probably say pushed me into the zone but I don't want to reveal too much of my uber-extremist reflections on the topic..

[sphinxsix]

Not very surprisingly Greta proves also to be the Honest Government and the juice media fan.

Here's a new podcast with her as a guest of the juice media.

 

 

[GregWormald]

10 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

IMO a very(!) interesting read.

 

After the failure of Cop26, there’s only one last hope for our survival by George Monbiot.

A good read indeed.

 

I do wish, however, that people would stop looking at Norway as an example. Norway is very different from much of the world, getting almost all its own power from hydro-electric sources. It's also one of the largest oil exporters in the world, so overall not as 'green' as it is often made out to be.

[Summit]

6 hours ago, GregWormald said:

A good read indeed.

 

I do wish, however, that people would stop looking at Norway as an example. Norway is very different from much of the world, getting almost all its own power from hydro-electric sources. It's also one of the largest oil exporters in the world, so overall not as 'green' as it is often made out to be.

 

Yes Norway is best in class if we are talking about their own energy use and also has the largest fleet of electric vehicles per capita. 

 

Norway is big on oil exporters and even bigger on natural gas. This is IMO a bit like a drug dealer that doesn't use its own stuff but have no problem selling it to others.

 

OTOH natural gas is much better than coal, so maybe not as bad in the grand scheme of things after all! ?

[sphinxsix]

7 hours ago, GregWormald said:

Norway is very different from much of the world, getting almost all its own power from hydro-electric sources.

Just like Iceland.

 

7 hours ago, GregWormald said:

It's also one of the largest oil exporters in the world, so overall not as 'green' as it is often made out to be.

Right!

54 minutes ago, Summit said:

This is IMO a bit like a drug dealer that doesn't use its own stuff but have no problem selling it to others.

A good one!

 

54 minutes ago, Summit said:

OTOH natural gas is much better than coal, so maybe not as bad in the grand scheme of things after all! ?

I'm afraid that 'in the grand scheme of things' ultimately all sources of carbon in the atmosphere are 'bad'. Even cows farts 

 

[sphinxsix]

Some usual c'n'p. This is also IMO very interesting.

 

"When it comes to climate finance, the gap between what is needed and what is on the table is dizzying. The talk at the conference was all about the annual $100bn (£75bn) that rich countries had promised to poorer nations back in 2009. The rich countries have now apologised for falling short. The new resolution is to make up the difference by 2022 and then negotiate a new framework. It is symbolically important and of some practical help. But, as everyone knows, it falls laughably short of what is necessary. John Kerry, America’s chief negotiator, said so himself in a speech to the CBI. It isn’t billions we need, it is trillions. Somewhere between $2.6tn and $4.6tn every year in funding for low-income countries to mitigate and adapt to the crisis. Those are figures, Kerry went on to say, no government in the world is going to match. Not America. Not China."

 

The Cop26 message? We are trusting big business, not states, to fix the climate crisis

 

And quite surprisingly the money is here, $130tn to be exact.

 

U.N. climate envoy Mark Carney, who assembled the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), put the figure at $100 trillion over the next three decades, and said the finance industry must find ways to raise private money to take the effort far beyond what states alone can do.  "The money is here - but that money needs net zero-aligned projects and (then) there's a way to turn this into a very, very powerful virtuous circle - and that's the challenge," the former Bank of England governor told the summit. Carney's comments reflect a problem often cited by investors who, in the face of a myriad of climate-related risks, need to be sure that they are being accounted for in a transparent and preferably standardised way globally.

 

[sphinxsix]

"A number of the world’s biggest record labels have united to commit to action on their environmental impact.

The three major labels – Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group – plus independents such as the Beggars and Secretly groups of labels, Warp, Ninja Tune and more, have signed the Music Climate Pact which will see them pledge “actionable climate targets”."

 

Music industry unites to pledge net-zero emissions by 2050

 

One more thing - also from this article:

"In October, Coldplay became one of the highest-profile acts to commit to a reduction in emissions, promising a 50% cut for their forthcoming world tour in comparison with their previous one."

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

mQa tried to get in on this environmental push by saying its product was more environmentally friendly. As usual, zero evidence provided.

[sphinxsix]

26 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

mQa tried to get in on this environmental push by saying its product was more environmentally friendly. As usual, zero evidence provided.

 

I actually wanted to make a joke about the possibility of MQA being more environmental friendly than lossless while posting the above, seems I wasn't that far from (kinda, as usual in this case) truth..

But let's think about it for a second - aren't folded files with lower bit rate transmission numbers supposed to be more energy saving.?

Hmmmm.. maybe this time they don't lie (?) 

Maybe MQA is our only chance to save the world..

 

What do you think, guys.?

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

I won’t jump to any conclusions. I need to see some real data. 

[sphinxsix]

I have no time to go through this 'MQA event' now but I'm not sure MQA and its environmental friendliness is mentioned here (that's all that mighty Google showed for "mqa environment" etc):

 

https://musically.com/2021/02/16/the-case-for-sustainability-as-a-priority-for-the-music-industry/

 

[PYP]

5 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

 

Maybe MQA is our only chance to save the world..

 

 

What do you think, guys.?

If we have a chance of pushing this thread to 965 pages, then I'm in even though I have no interest in MQA, MQA threads, MQA haters, etc.   😉