posted by jmog
I used to do research in a similar field (moved on to much better paying jobs than research). To be specific I did baseline research on industrial furnace emissions and proper burner (things making the fire) design to mitigate/lower the emissions out of the furnaces. And I am talking huge industrial furnaces, not small mom and pop stuff.
I can tell you my view is about the same as your acquaintances. Are humans having some negative effect? Most likely (although to be 100% candid we are doing MUCH better now than we did in previous decades...CFCs, VOCs, etc that tore the Ozone layer have almost been eliminated...and the ozone layer has repaired itself). Is the world coming to a crashing end due to climate change? Almost certainly not.
People don't realize how much better/cleaner our emissions aer now than it was a couple decades ago. Heck, just a catalytic converter on cars alone has cleaned up most cities air quality.
Things we REALLY need to worry about are being taken care of (CFCs, VOCs, NOx, SOx, CO, CH4, etc) however, CO2 isn't really that harmful to the environment and we still are trying to lower it anyway just in case.
Remember, CO2 is actually making the planet greener (think an actual greenhouse, they increase their CO2 on purpose to make plants grow faster). The world has actually gotten more "green" in the last couple decades. Now, I am not saying "pump more CO2!". I am saying that there are positive effects that help offset the negative at times.
With all that said, I have driven fuel efficient cars (Focus) for the last 15 years, as I see no need to dump more CO2 into the air than I personally have to.
Yep. Certainly not stealing anyone's childhood or anything, but I don't see any reason to avoid getting better where we can. I've liked seeing some of the advances into better fuel sources, for example. They're imperfect, and because of some of the manufacturing, some of it's negated, but hopefully, we continue to improve.
posted by gut
I've never claimed CO2 isn't causing warming or doesn't have negative environmental impact. But it won't be anything we can't adapt to, and there are positives as well. The "existential threat" airheads like AOC go on about come from the most extreme IPCC scenario, one that seems almost deliberately political - an implausible amount of fossil fuel use combined with a climate sensitivity that's probably 3-5X greater than it really is.
I don't like pushing conspiracy theories, but every once in a while you get some insights into what the activists are really trying to achieve. I don't think it's a secret that progressives believe in redistribution and globalization, that we're not smart enough to make our own decisions and a small group of elitists need to tell us how to live. That bullshit doesn't sell all that well. But if you have an existential threat....."ohhhh, please tell us how to save ourselves!!!". $90T for the Green New Deal? You can't justify that, you have to scare people into accepting it.
People don't like subsidies. The global warming industry is a $2T annual house of cards, and when you talk about that kind of money being thrown at start-ups, failing companies and bad ideas....there's usually a lot of graft and corruption that follows. I'd really be surprised if, globally, a lot of bureacrats aren't enriching themselves by skimming, especially when they're spending money but not taking much action. It's a windfall - probably the only explanation why there's such little global opposition from govts opposing the hysteria.
Apologies if it came across as though I was accusing you of ignoring the elements of climate change that we agree on. I didn't mean it that way, and I generally agree with you on the topic.
posted by like_that
I have always made the sports fan connection... My feelz are hurt.
Good. Go find yourself. ;)
(I kid, of course. It just happened to strike me.)
