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It's a bit warm/ wet/ cold outside

Started by The Enigmatic Dr X, 24 July, 2019, 09:35:09 AM

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shaolin_monkey

Quote from: The Legendary Shark on 24 November, 2019, 01:11:31 PM

Link to the "functionally extinct" article from SM's post: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48284392

Note the date.

I see your point Sharky.  The news report therefore appears not to be reporting on the latest findings from scientists, but rather noting the recent damage to habitat, putting it alongside an article prior to the bushfires, and coming to an assumption that if they weren't functionally extinct before, they certainly are now.

So, point taken - let's see how this one plays out.

Hawkmumbler

"CBBC"

Oy vey, we using simplified articles for children in academic debates these days?

shaolin_monkey

Here we go - a more thoughtful article on the matter:

https://www.cnet.com/news/koalas-are-not-functionally-extinct-but-they-need-our-help/

So I guess for Koalas it is a case of  'the situation is bad, but wait and see '.

The Legendary Shark


Thanks, SM, that's a much better article, more balanced and with (to my mind at least) a very important final paragraph.

Now, I'm willing to accept that a certain amount of fearmongering might be perceived as necessary in order to gee people up but too much of it will put people off and lead them to question all the science, which would be really bad.

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TordelBack

Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 24 November, 2019, 02:15:48 PM
So I guess for Koalas it is a case of  'the situation is bad, but wait and see '.

Why am I reminded of the episode where Homer hangs on to his pumpkin shares until November to see if they  keep going up.

I take Shark's rigorous approach in the spirit in which it is intended, but that such a anthropomorphised animal, so embedded in national psyche and international affection, should be pushed to the brink is absolutely chilling.  The hard lessons of (successful) Panda conservation, that resources are disproportionately (if not exclusively) concentrated on the cute'n'cuddly to the detriment of preserving entire ecosystems, don't even seem to apply here.

shaolin_monkey

I believe a koala is what you might call an 'umbrella' species, in much the same way an orangutan is. Basically, you can't preserve them without preserving the environment in which they live. Which means, by making sure they don't become extinct you also preserve the entire ecology around them.


paddykafka

Day 174 of unending rain (at least that's what it seems like). My eyebrows feel like windscreen wipers. >:(

shaolin_monkey

#277
Quote from: paddykafka on 25 November, 2019, 08:40:02 PM
Day 174 of unending rain (at least that's what it seems like). My eyebrows feel like windscreen wipers. >:(

Where are you based?  Are you seeing an unusual amount of rain?


You may well have seen on the front page (!!! - makes a very welcome change) of the BBC News page today.

'Climate change: 'Bleak' outlook as carbon emissions gap grows'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50547073


Reading that you might be tempted to throw your hands in the air and cry "Why bother trying then?  We're all doomed anyway!"

As mentioned before, that's a bit doomist, and is as good as being a climate change denier in terms of thwarting any damage limitation we can do.

So here's something a bit more positive instead - PROJECT DRAWDOWN!   :thumbsup:

https://www.drawdown.org/solutions

This project was set up to gather together all the solutions (because we're going to need as many as possible) to turn us away from a fossil fuel-driven society, away from building materials that contribute significant amounts of CO2, away from farming practises that reduce the planet's ability to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere, and so on and so forth.

Have a read through the solutions, and let me know what you think!



Also, if you are based in the UK, why not join in the Big Climate Fightback with the Woodland Trust at the end of the month?

Pledge to plant on the 30th!  :thumbsup:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protecting-trees-and-woods/campaign-with-us/big-climate-fightback/






The Legendary Shark

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IndigoPrime

shaolin_monkey: seeing as you seem pretty clued up on this stuff, are there any projects you'd recommend for offsetting carbon? Now, I know "don't fly" is the ideal scenario, but I'm not going to deny the opportunity for mini-IP to ever see her family abroad again. But I would like to figure out a way on those flights to send money to a cause that may cancel out the impact we're making.

shaolin_monkey

I'm not well versed in carbon offsetting - I haven't really looked at it as an alternative to just leaving fossil fuels in the ground.  However, I completely get where you're coming from, and indeed this issue of families spread across the globe has been raised before.

I recalled this old article from the Guardian that might be useful:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/sep/16/carbon-offset-projects-carbon-emissions

Otherwise, a bit of careful online research may be your best way forward.

The Legendary Shark


Look at the link I posted for a small part of an answer. More biodiversity, more carbon stored.

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paddykafka

Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 26 November, 2019, 12:18:02 PM
Quote from: paddykafka on 25 November, 2019, 08:40:02 PM
Day 174 of unending rain (at least that's what it seems like). My eyebrows feel like windscreen wipers. >:(

Where are you based?  Are you seeing an unusual amount of rain?

I'm based in Dublin and yep, it's been raining virtually every day since, I would say, at least last Wednesday. I can't remember when I last saw actual sunshine, what with the perpetual cloud covering everything. It is akin to being trapped in a particularly horrible, grey, really itchy jumper.

But things are supposed to improve come Friday. Fingers crossed! :o

Tjm86

Quote from: paddykafka on 26 November, 2019, 02:17:00 PM

I'm based in Dublin and yep, it's been raining virtually every day since, I would say, at least last Wednesday. I can't remember when I last saw actual sunshine, ....


Whereas here in Wales we hardly ever see the rain ...

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 26 November, 2019, 12:41:20 PM
are there any projects you'd recommend for offsetting carbon?

Right. The average person in the UK is responsible for 9.5 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. The average emission for jet travel is 115g/km per passenger.

Let's say you're flying to... I dunno? Scandinavia? Let's say Stockholm. The flight's a round trip of 2800km.

2800 km x 0.000115 tonnes = 0.322 tonnes of carbon

So if you killed just one person aged, say, 40, that's probably 40 years of emissions you've saved, which is 380 tonnes of carbon.

Which means that you could fly a round trip to Stockholm almost every week for the next twenty-five years and still come out carbon-negative.

Wait! It gets better, though — imagine that instead of eating beef, you ate that person? Suddenly, we're well into carbon-negative territory.

You'd be saving the planet, man. The numbers don't lie. It would be irresponsible not to do it.
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