Climate Change(d)?

[Loren Pechtel]

The video says what we decide to do now will affect the world for generations. If we do little or next to nothing as we are basically doing now, it will affect — as the earlier article I linked explains — the next 5,000 generations.

That's assuming there are 5,000 generations to come.

Personally I think it’s too late. While technically we still have time, the will is not there. There are too many Swizzles in the world.

At this point I actually think it probably doesn't matter--I have a very strong feeling that social media/disinformation is the Fermi suicide technology. Past kooks have devastated their own societies but before things were so interconnected. Pol Pot killing off a quarter of his population upset his neighbors but had no widespread consequences. Modern society is far more fragile, though--and if our wheels come off can the rest of the world patch things together fast enough to avert catastrophe? A hell of a lot of very important infrastructure is running on American systems.

 

[pood]

I’ve read conflicting scientific studies on whether it is even possible to replicate the density of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. One thing we should certainly be doing is returning to nuclear, but it may be too late for that

 

[Swammerdami]

I’ve read conflicting scientific studies on whether it is even possible to replicate the density of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. One thing we should certainly be doing is returning to nuclear, but it may be too late for that

After Iron Age Man has lost his way, and after some millions of years have passed, Homo whatever or perhaps some other species may be ready to make its march toward advanced civilization. But certain useful substances, e.g. petroleum, will no longer be readily available. This may hinder the advance of technology. Thus the H. sapiens experiment may turn out to have been Earth's only chance for super technology.

This strikes me as cosmically sad. (But perhaps there'll still be a pleasant breeze in Santa Monica.)

 

[pood]

I’ve read conflicting scientific studies on whether it is even possible to replicate the density of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. One thing we should certainly be doing is returning to nuclear, but it may be too late for that

After Iron Age Man has lost his way, and after some millions of years have passed, Homo whatever or perhaps some other species may be ready to make its march toward advanced civilization. But certain useful substances, e.g. petroleum, will no longer be readily available. This may hinder the advance of technology. Thus the H. sapiens experiment may turn out to have been Earth's only chance for super technology.

This strikes me as cosmically sad. (But perhaps there'll still be a pleasant breeze in Santa Monica.)

Could be why we don’t hear from any high-tech extraterrestrials. They all consume their energy-dense resources in an eyeblink of time, dump it in the sky in the form of carbon, and then collapse.

 

[DBT]

Maybe one in a trillion civilizations survive the great filter, but that may not be us.

 

[pood]

Fossil fuel companies saw the devastating effects of climate change more than 60 years ago, and covered it up.

 

[bilby]

This movement is a gradual process, with Los Angeles expected to be at the same latitude as San Francisco in millions of years.

That will save a lot of time, when driving from one to the other.

 

[pood]

Why renewables cannot replace fossil fuels. The solution will have to strongly include nuclear.

 

[pood]

Note that the writer is a physicist.

 

[bilby]

Why renewables cannot replace fossil fuels. The solution will have to strongly include nuclear.

If only I had said that.

Over, and over, and over... For years...

 

[Elixir]

Why renewables cannot replace fossil fuels. The solution will have to strongly include nuclear.

If only I had said that.

Over, and over, and over... For years...

OKLO is an interesting Company. Couple of MIT grads, working on compact fast reactors.
I heard about them for the first time around October 2024, and bought some shares at $12. It took off, fell in April (when Sam Altman stepped down as Chair due to conflicts of interest with his AI thing), and took off again when it started looking like they would clear regulatory hurdles. Now it's bouncing around between $50-65. Looks like next year might be critical, as they intend to deploy their first working units.
I fell in love with their concept of more, smaller, points of power generation operating off-grid, close to where they are needed. Just seems more likely to remain reliable, than the vast "grid" we now have which will tend to all fail at once.

WIKI:

Oklo's business model is focused on selling power to customers, and its main product line for producing power is the Aurora nuclear reactor powerhouse product line. The Aurora powerhouse is a design for a small power plant to generate 15-50 MWe of electrical power via a Siemens or similar power generation system and utilizing a compact fast neutron reactor to produce heat. Fast reactors were first implemented in the 1950s, with around 20 in operation at a time, demonstrating safety benefits over thermal-neutron reactors. The Aurora is intended for off-grid applications, including data centers, artificial intelligence, remote communities, industrial sites, and military bases. It will be able to operate for up to 10 years without refueling.

 

[TSwizzle]

Germany starting to face reality.

The German government has approved a new offshore gas drilling project in a cross-border reservoir with the Netherlands in an effort to boost energy security, according to the German Economy Ministry. The two governments will sign a unitisation agreement for the shared reservoir in the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site in the North Sea, the German Ministry for Economic Affairs & Energy said on Wednesday. "This not only strengthens the security of supply for our neighbours, but also the European gas market — and thus us," said Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs & Energy Katherina Reiche.

News - paywalled

 

[steve_bank]

Germany starting to face reality.

The German government has approved a new offshore gas drilling project in a cross-border reservoir with the Netherlands in an effort to boost energy security, according to the German Economy Ministry. The two governments will sign a unitisation agreement for the shared reservoir in the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site in the North Sea, the German Ministry for Economic Affairs & Energy said on Wednesday. "This not only strengthens the security of supply for our neighbours, but also the European gas market — and thus us," said Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs & Energy Katherina Reiche.

News - paywalled

Ok, but what is our point if you even have one.

Yes, as much as some would like based on energy demands we can't just turn off fossil fuels.

That does not change the fact that air pollution is causing rapid climate change.

 

[bilby]

as much as some would like based on energy demands we can't just turn off fossil fuels.

Indeed. When the French turned off fossil fuels, it took over a decade.

The important thing is not to do it now, it is to start doing it now. If we don't start building nuclear power plants, we will never stop depending on fossil fuels.

 

[Elixir]

Yes, as much as some would like based on energy demands we can't just turn off fossil fuels.

That does not change the fact that air pollution is causing rapid climate change.

The point is “we can't just turn off fossil fuels” is all Swiz needs to know. It’s a magic mantra that absolves the willfully ignorant of any responsibility to know, or respond in any way to the fact of anthropogenic climate change.

 

[robnisch]

National Weather Service

forecast.weather.gov

This can't be good for the permafrost.

 

[steve_bank]

Facts are facts regardless of who it serves.

There is no way to know who TSwizzle is, what his motivations are, and if he is feigning ignorance.

After Russia invaded Ukraine Europe wokerd to get off dp[endurance on Russian energy. ike natural gas. European dependence on Russian energy was in the news for some time as sanctions were made on Russia,

Yes, the US is currently shipping liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany. This has increased significantly since 2022, particularly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine reduced gas supplies from Russia. The US has become Germany's largest supplier of LNG, with the US providing the majority of Germany's LNG import

In 2022, Germany significantly reduced its reliance on Russian energy imports, particularly natural gas. While Germany was heavily reliant on Russia for natural gas, with 55% of imports coming from Russia in 2021, this figure dropped to 26% by the end of June 2022. By early 2022, Germany was also importing 34.1% of its crude oil from Russia. However, Germany has since taken steps to diversify its energy sources, aiming to end Russian energy imports entirely, notably natural gas, by mid-2024.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Natural Gas:
Germany was heavily reliant on Russian natural gas, importing 55% of its supply in 2021, according to The World Economic Forum. This figure decreased to 26% by the end of June 2022. Germany is working to replace Russian gas with imports from other countries (like Norway, the Netherlands, and via LNG from the US and Qatar), according to The Guardian.

Crude Oil:
In 2021, Russia supplied 34.1% of Germany's crude oil imports. According to VOA - Voice of America English News, Germany has since slashed this to 12%, according to VOA - Voice of America English News.
Coal:
Germany has also reduced its reliance on Russian coal. According to VOA - Voice of America English News, Russian coal now makes up 8% of Germany's purchases compared to 45% previously.
Diversification Efforts:
Germany is pursuing a strategy of diversifying its energy sources, increasing LNG imports, and exploring alternative supply routes to reduce its dependence on Russia. The country is also considering extending the life of its nuclear power plants and implementing levies to manage the energy crisis.

The numbers do not add up for completely replacing fossil fuels with renewables.

Natural gas is better than coal, and nuclear power is better than natural gas.


Creating a mixed nuclear, renewable, natural gas energy system is eaisly doable, no new science or technology needed. The problem is politics.

There has been work on small portable nuclear generators encased in concrete for community power

I think Sandia developed a manufacturable model.

 

[Elixir]

I think Sandia developed a manufacturable model.

Chk this:

Home

The world's largest and leading commercial fusion energy company

cfs.energy

More immediately, see what OKLO is doing.

 

[bilby]

I think Sandia developed a manufacturable model.

Chk this:

Home

The world's largest and leading commercial fusion energy company

cfs.energy

More immediately, see what OKLO is doing.

Fusion is a pipedream. It will never be cheaper, safer, cleaner, or more practical than fission power; The only thing that makes it popular is that it doesn't exist, which is exactly the kind of alternative power source that both the fossil fuel lobby and the hippies can really get behind.

 

[TSwizzle]

There is no way to know who TSwizzle is, what his motivations are, and if he is feigning ignorance.

I'm just a California guy that sees through the bullshit. My motivation is that you climate catastrophe, rapture fanatics know that I see through the bullshit.

After Russia invaded Ukraine Europe wokerd to get off dp[endurance on Russian energy. ike natural gas. European dependence on Russian energy was in the news for some time as sanctions were made on Russia,

It was incredibly stupid to get into bed with Russia but when people are so driven by religion, they do stupid things.