Climate Change(d)?

[Jimmy Higgins]

Mankind gets a lot of its energy from fossil fuels. This post may expose my own lack of awareness, but . . .
Is there an activist plan detailing the quantities of carbon energy that will be replaced with conservation, nuclear, wind, solar, etc.?

Or -- and this may be the wisest course -- is the plan just to reduce carbon use and let market forces and creativity fill in the gap?

If we are to apply the latter approach effectively, we need to treat all low carbon energy sources equally, and not heavily subsidise some, whilst obstructing others.

Letting the market decide will probably work, but not if the market has to decide between being handed sacks of cash to build windmills, while anyone who wants to build a nuclear power plant is required to spend vast sums on unnecessary regulations whose only raison de être is to make it difficult for such plants to get built.

The widespread practice of setting minimum wholesale prices for wind and solar power projects, so that these technologies are shielded from the low (often negative) value of the electricity they produce, has to end.

If the market is to decide, every MWh of electricity generated at a given moment should be bought at the same price, regardless of what method was used to produce it.

Source agnostic pricing, coupled with a tax on fossil fuels (ideally equivalent to the cost of removing the carbon dioxide they will produce from the atmosphere, and spent on doing just that), could work well.

Good luck getting any regulator or government to make this happen though.

We are fucked. It is over. One half of the US just wants to pollute as much as possible just to pwn the libs. My concern is the automotive industry. One problem with climate change is the United States, in general, isn't built to prevent climate change. We have too many cars, too many roads, not enough public infrastructure. Which means we are going to need a ridiculous amount of EV's, which HAVE NOT REMOTELY BEEN SHOWN TO BE SUSTAINABLE. I keep getting this plastic vibe with EV batteries. We keep being told there is a plan. But if chemistry could't manage plastics, how in the heck is it going to manage electric battery recycling?

For the life of me, I have no idea why hybrids have been tossed aside. Granted, there has only been one viable 4+ seater hybrid the Prius. All the others just kind of pretending to be efficient. The Volt came around, which seemed to make the most sense, providing 30 to 40 miles of small battery driving and then a gas tank for a generator for longer drives. It made the batteries more efficient in size, as why should you drive a bloody 1250 pound battery around, if you are only using 1/8th it's capacity 95% of the year?

The reality is, we are not going to be sustainable, possibly ever, and we are going to have to live with the consequences of it, while people in Southern Cal saying "there was nothing we could have done".

 

[TSwizzle]

It looks like UK prime minister has realized the green fascism is not the way to go when you want to win elections and is dropping much of the net zero madness. Cue much caterwauling from Teh Gruaniad;

His leaked programme appears not to be a couple of minor delays here and there but instead a coordinated, calculated and catastrophic roll-back. According to the leak, energy efficiency targets for private rented homes will be dropped; the ban on new petrol and diesel cars will be pushed back to 2035; the phasing out of gas boilers will be delayed; plans for taxes to discourage flying ditched; recycling schemes cancelled.

Teh Gruaniad

It is a catastrophic 69f in Santa Monica today. Oh the humanity!!

 

[Shadowy Man]

It is a catastrophic 69f in Santa Monica today. Oh the humanity!!

That seems a little cooler than usual. You’re not worried are you?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It looks like UK prime minister has realized the green fascism is not the way to go when you want to win elections and is dropping much of the net zero madness. Cue much caterwauling from Teh Gruaniad;

His leaked programme appears not to be a couple of minor delays here and there but instead a coordinated, calculated and catastrophic roll-back. According to the leak, energy efficiency targets for private rented homes will be dropped; the ban on new petrol and diesel cars will be pushed back to 2035; the phasing out of gas boilers will be delayed; plans for taxes to discourage flying ditched; recycling schemes cancelled.

Teh Gruaniad

It is a catastrophic 69f in Santa Monica today. Oh the humanity!!

It was a rather comfortable August, and while July was cooler temp wise, the humidity was stupidly high. Meanwhile the entire gulf state region blasted through records, warmest August, July, summers on record. Phoenix didn't drop below 90 degrees for a couple weeks. And there was a lot of flooding. This was seen again in Europe and Asia as well.

Insurance companies are fleeing some areas to get to Southern Cal due to fire and flood risk in other locations.

Was it catastrophic? No. Was it worse than it has been? Yes. It is too bad we can't have nicer things because some people were clearly cheated in school when it came to critical thinking skills.

 

[Swammerdami]

Sabine Hossenfelder reports on a scientist who bragged that he over-simplified a link to climate change, thinking it would increase his chance for publication.

 

[bilby]

if we couldn’t find the political Will to implement the fixes when it would have been relatively easy I don’t see us doing it now

Most of the political opposition comes from boomers who grew up with a Cold War induced irrational terror of the N word.

I suspect that the solutions are relatively easy to implement now, compared to what they were in the last forty five years.

 

[Elixir]

I suspect that the solutions are relatively easy to implement now, compared to what they were in the last forty five years.

+1
It would be nice if we could get to work on it. But urgent matters take precedence. Like figuring out how Merrick Garland used Hunter’s laptop to hide the Biden Crime Family’s stolen fortune.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

if we couldn’t find the political Will to implement the fixes when it would have been relatively easy I don’t see us doing it now

Most of the political opposition comes from boomers who grew up with a Cold War induced irrational terror of the N word.

I suspect that the solutions are relatively easy to implement now, compared to what they were in the last forty five years.

1 million people died in America due to Covid and many Americans still think it was a hoax. A decent amount of global territory in the Northern Hemisphere just had the hottest July, August, or summer on record. And people still think climate change is a hoax. It'd been easier to implement 45 years ago, technology aside.

 

[Shadowy Man]

if we couldn’t find the political Will to implement the fixes when it would have been relatively easy I don’t see us doing it now

Most of the political opposition comes from boomers who grew up with a Cold War induced irrational terror of the N word.

I suspect that the solutions are relatively easy to implement now, compared to what they were in the last forty five years.

I think nuclear power plants take a reasonably long time to build and get running so we should start soon.

 

[TSwizzle]

Sunak going to town on green fascism;

The debate about how we get to net zero has thrown up a range of worrying proposals. And today I want to confirm that under this government they will never happen.

The proposal for government to interfere in how many passengers you can have in your car – I’ve scrapped it.

The proposal that we should force you to have seven different bins in your home – I’ve scrapped it.

The proposal to make you change your diet and harm British farmers by taxing meat, or to create new taxes to discourage flying or going on holiday. I’ve scrapped those too.

And nor will we ban new oil and gas in the North Sea, which would simply leave us reliant on expensive imported energy from foreign dictators like Putin.

Good news indeed.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Sunak going to town on green fascism;

The debate about how we get to net zero has thrown up a range of worrying proposals. And today I want to confirm that under this government they will never happen.

The proposal for government to interfere in how many passengers you can have in your car – I’ve scrapped it.

The proposal that we should force you to have seven different bins in your home – I’ve scrapped it.

The proposal to make you change your diet and harm British farmers by taxing meat, or to create new taxes to discourage flying or going on holiday. I’ve scrapped those too.

And nor will we ban new oil and gas in the North Sea, which would simply leave us reliant on expensive imported energy from foreign dictators like Putin.

Good news indeed.

We’re stuck between two extremes.

Those who want to abandon Net Zero altogether – because the costs are too high, the burdens too great or in some cases, they don’t accept the overwhelming evidence for climate change at all.

And then there are others who argue with an ideological zeal: we must move even faster, and go even further no matter the cost or disruption to people’s lives and regardless of how much quicker we’re already moving than any other country.

Both extremes are wrong.

...

I’m proud that our country leads the world on Net Zero, with the most ambitious 2030 target of any major economy.

Sorry Twiz.

 

[Shadowy Man]

Sunak going to town on green fascism;

The debate about how we get to net zero has thrown up a range of worrying proposals. And today I want to confirm that under this government they will never happen.

The proposal for government to interfere in how many passengers you can have in your car – I’ve scrapped it.

The proposal that we should force you to have seven different bins in your home – I’ve scrapped it.

The proposal to make you change your diet and harm British farmers by taxing meat, or to create new taxes to discourage flying or going on holiday. I’ve scrapped those too.

And nor will we ban new oil and gas in the North Sea, which would simply leave us reliant on expensive imported energy from foreign dictators like Putin.

Good news indeed.

We’re stuck between two extremes.

Those who want to abandon Net Zero altogether – because the costs are too high, the burdens too great or in some cases, they don’t accept the overwhelming evidence for climate change at all.

And then there are others who argue with an ideological zeal: we must move even faster, and go even further no matter the cost or disruption to people’s lives and regardless of how much quicker we’re already moving than any other country.

Both extremes are wrong.

...

I’m proud that our country leads the world on Net Zero, with the most ambitious 2030 target of any major economy.

Sorry Twiz.

Those are different cherries you’ve picked. You can’t do that!!1

 

[TSwizzle]

I expect we will see a slackening off on the net zero cult from other countries. Germany next.

Gavin Newsom acting like a grumpy old white man shaking his fist at kids on his lawn. Blaming oil companies for the weather. What a fucking clown that man is. He will make an excellent POTUS.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

if we couldn’t find the political Will to implement the fixes when it would have been relatively easy I don’t see us doing it now

Most of the political opposition comes from boomers who grew up with a Cold War induced irrational terror of the N word.

I suspect that the solutions are relatively easy to implement now, compared to what they were in the last forty five years.

1 million people died in America due to Covid and many Americans still think it was a hoax. A decent amount of global territory in the Northern Hemisphere just had the hottest July, August, or summer on record. And people still think climate change is a hoax. It'd been easier to implement 45 years ago, technology aside.

Of course climate change is a hoax. Jesus would have said something about it if it really were an issue. God certainly wouldn't set a trap like that for humanity. (Ignore the apple.)

 

[TSwizzle]

Rishi Sunak attacked hardline environmentalists opposed to his green U-turn today, accusing them of not caring about the financial impact of Net Zero on families. he warned that it was up to his critics to explain to struggling families why they should have to pay up to £15,000 to change their cars and home boilers to greener alternatives within a decade, when other countries lag behind.

Daily Mail

I expect there will be a domino effect whereby other countries start to dilute their net zero nonsense.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Rishi Sunak attacked hardline environmentalists opposed to his green U-turn today, accusing them of not caring about the financial impact of Net Zero on families. he warned that it was up to his critics to explain to struggling families why they should have to pay up to £15,000 to change their cars and home boilers to greener alternatives within a decade, when other countries lag behind.

Daily Mail

I expect there will be a domino effect whereby other countries start to dilute their net zero nonsense.

Cute spin on a speech where the British PM noted "I’m proud that our country leads the world on Net Zero, with the most ambitious 2030 target of any major economy."

 

[TSwizzle]

The Swedish government is facing a huge backlash – including threats of no-confidence votes against its climate minister – after slashing the country’s climate budget while admitting it will dramatically increase carbon dioxide emissions. The minority-run coalition, which has been in power for just under a year, announced on Wednesday it would be cutting funding for climate and environmental measures next year by 259m krona (£19m) and introducing tax cuts on petrol and diesel.

Teh Gruaniad

Germany soon.

 

[southernhybrid]

Oh noooo! Too bad for those who live in California.......

https://wapo.st/3rmEuwe

California top leaders announced Thursday that they are making reforms to the state’s insurance system to stabilize the market, a big shift in one of the nation’s most disaster-prone states with one of the world’s largest insurance markets.

The state’s action, using executive decrees, came after seven out of the state’s top 12 carriers, including giants Allstate and State Farm, have pulled back coverage in the last year due to wildfires and the rising costs of such risks. They have claimed that homeowners’ premiums do not match the risk they face.

California’s move could have national implications, as insurance companies grapple nationwide with the latest threats from climate change.

In what California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara called a “historic agreement” between regulators and the industry, his department is working more closely with insurers to better assess and expedite their rate-increase requests, which now take six months.

Lara said insurers need to be transparent with how they are using this data to ensure they are not inflating risk and charging people more. If they are not the department has full authority to “claw back” their rate increases.
“This is a real crisis that we are in,” Lara said at a news conference Thursday, acknowledging that the state’s current regulatory framework does not meet its current needs, and has actually been hurting consumers and putting them in danger.

California has been struggling to get ahead of a quickly evolving climate emergency: How do homeowners afford to insure their homes when it’s becoming more expensive for carriers to do so and they want to pass more of that cost onto consumers? Places like Louisiana and Florida are facing similar issues.
With these actions, California is trying not to become Florida, which has seen its premiums rapidly skyrocket as a result of recent legislation and rate hikes. Residents there pay $6,000 a year on average while Californians pay about $1,300. But industry groups say that Californians should be paying much more given their exposure to major disasters, plus their homes usually cost a lot more.

So, the rates in California aren't that high right now, but will the consumer group help keep them from getting as high as Florida, where the average rate is 6K per year. But, of course, this has nothing to do with the fact that California is one of the most disaster prone states in the county and scientists actually believe it's related to the human impact of climate change! How can that be true when it's a lovely day in Santa Monica?

 

[TSwizzle]

scientists actually believe it's related to the human impact of climate change!

Few scientists actually believe that and as hard as they try, they have yet to come out with any evidence to support it. None. Wildfires in California have nothing to do with climate change. We have always had wildfires here in California. Wildfires are a natural and necessary phenomenon. Don't be so proud to show your ignorance.

Are earthquakes down to climate change? Because we can't get home insurance for that either.

Anyway, it is a catastrophic 71f in Santa Monica today. Oh the humanity!!11!!!1!!

 

[Alcoholic Actuary]

I feel like I've been saying this for years, but insurers have always known climate change is an issue and when regulators don't allow for rate increases, the insurers leave. But it's 71 in Santa Monica! cling to your data point, oh wise one. I'm sure your HO rates won't increase.

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