Drought in America . . . flooding in Europe - global warming? Ecological changes?

[LiekOMG]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
I will agree that there is a huge problem with what we throw away. Plastics are nasty for the environment. What do you suggest we do?

Stop making everything out of plastics would be a good start. With the exception of some medical supplies (like syringes), the production of plastics should stop, especially disposable crap. I seem to remember a thread talking about disposable cell phones? Thats just horrendous!
The human race has lived without plastics for thousands of years, and I don't see why we should depend on it so heavily now, at the cost of killing our planet.

 

[smp]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Natural weather fluctuations don't happen over the course of a century. BS! Natural weather fluctuartions happen from year to year, decade to decade and century to century as well as millenium to millenium. What a load!

Okay so the 6 billion of us don't have anything to do with anything then. We are insignificant and small and we have no power to change anything?

 

[Random Variable]

Originally posted by: DOACleric

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
I will agree that there is a huge problem with what we throw away. Plastics are nasty for the environment. What do you suggest we do?

Stop making everything out of plastics would be a good start. With the exception of some medical supplies (like syringes), the production of plastics should stop, especially disposable crap. I seem to remember a thread talking about disposable cell phones? Thats just horrendous!
The human race has lived without plastics for thousands of years, and I don't see why we should depend on it so heavily now, at the cost of killing our planet.

Ummm...don't you have a recylcing program where you live? 😕

 

[smp]

Recycling is hardly worth while. The problem isn't waste managment, it's waste production. We simply produce too much waste and no amount of recycling and composting is going to help very much. It takes a lot of energy to recycle sh!t.

 

[LiekOMG]

Originally posted by: Vespasian

Originally posted by: DOACleric

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
I will agree that there is a huge problem with what we throw away. Plastics are nasty for the environment. What do you suggest we do?

Stop making everything out of plastics would be a good start. With the exception of some medical supplies (like syringes), the production of plastics should stop, especially disposable crap. I seem to remember a thread talking about disposable cell phones? Thats just horrendous!
The human race has lived without plastics for thousands of years, and I don't see why we should depend on it so heavily now, at the cost of killing our planet.

Ummm...don't you have a recylcing program where you live? 😕

Not all plastics can be recycled. Styrofoam can't be recycled (as far as i know) and is worse than plastics.
And about 2 weeks ago I got a letter in my mail from the Department of Sanitation here in NYC. Seems that the city will no longer be collecting any plastics or glass for recycling. The instructions say to simply throw those away into your normal trash can! Yep, so much for recycling...

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: smp
Recycling is hardly worth while. The problem isn't waste managment, it's waste production. We simply produce too much waste and no amount of recycling and composting is going to help very much. It takes a lot of energy to recycle sh!t.

I guess we should just kill off about 5.9 billion people and go back to living in caves?

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: DOACleric
Its not just air pollution. Today so much crap is being made of plastic, and its just wrong. Plastic doesn't biodegrade for thousands of years. And yet companies are STILL pumping out crap made with plastic.

Not going to argue with you about the negative aspects of plastics and living in a society that's obsessed with disposability (WTF is up with all these WIPES?), but that doesn't help correlate the link between the weather and the possibility of global warning, or your earlier insinuations.

Things like disposable camera's are just horrible.

I'm fairly certain disposable cameras are usually reloaded and resold.

 

[Dudd]

Originally posted by: smp
Recycling is hardly worth while. The problem isn't waste managment, it's waste production. We simply produce too much waste and no amount of recycling and composting is going to help very much. It takes a lot of energy to recycle sh!t.

So get off your damn computer, sell your car if you have one, get the hell out of your house or apartment, and go live in a shack someplace in the wilderness where you burn wood for fuel, use candles for light, and only eat what you can get from the land. You don't want to do that? Then stop whining about the way we live. I don't think the world is going to end, my town isn't covered by smog and garbage, and I like how I live. Honestly, we should cut pollution when we can, but with modern society, it's inevitable that we will create waste. If it becomes a serious problem, I have faith that some company will come up with a solution and make billions.

 

[burnedout]

Global Warming: Just asking here, not declaring, agreeing, disagreeing or anything......... but isn't there a theory out there concerning the shift of the earth's axis? Something like every 9,000 years?

Recycling: A great concept, IMO. The Japanese lead the world in such measures followed by the Europeans. It's more of a cultural/structural thing, IMO. But then again, look at their demographics. Do they really have a choice?

Next question: Doesn't Los Angeles, CA derive some of their electricity (1 percent) from methane gas produced by their central landfill? Saw a documentary about this a while back.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: burnedout
Global Warming: Just asking here, not declaring, agreeing, disagreeing or anything......... but isn't there a theory out there concerning the shift of the earth's axis? Something like every 9,000 years?

Close.
The Earth does "wobble" in space. This is called "Precession." The period of a complete precession of the Earth's axis is 26,000 years, thus a complete reversal every 13.000 years. No doubt this has some effect over very long-term conditions on the planet, but we can't base the difference in temperature over years, decades or even centuries on a such a lengthy process.

 

[JohnCU]

A Hydrogen economy would help out immensely...

 

[Alienwho]

Haven't you guys seen the commercial? "Plastics make it possible!"

'nuff said.

 

[tcsenter]

Would you have called it global warming back in 1934 when 80% of the US suffered from drought? Just coincidence

Or when the same European region was besieged by devastating floods 100 years ago?

Really, there is more than enough evidence in the historical record to show the world climate was NOT hunky dorey, perfectly stable, 80'F breezy summer days with just the right amount of rainfall to keep farmers perpetually happey, everyone holding hands singing Kumbaya, I'd like to buy the world a Coke...blah blah blah...environut utopian fantasy.

There have been catastrophic droughts, floods, torrential rains, vermin and pest infestations, throughout history.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: Dismal
A Hydrogen economy would help out immensely...

Not really, it may help reduce pollution, but we will still be greatly dependant on hydrogen rich gas/oil to run our daily lives.

 

[LH]

Well piss off, I like it. Texas has had alot of ran this year. We had a long long drought in the '90s. Lakes are full again. Sure there were a couple of floods in south Texas this year but on the whole, the weather has kept Texas lakes and water tables full and not to mention its been one of the coolest summers in a long long time(Dallas Fort Worth area). While all you pansies in the North East are bitching about mid-90's, its mid-90's here and Im lovin' it... I mean sh!t its normally 105 or more this time of year. 90-95 as the highes and mid 70s for the lows, just wonderful...

 

[burnedout]

Landfill Methane Outreach Program

Answered my own question. Lot's of information concerning the subject at this site. There are many more landfill gas generating projectsactive in the USA than I originally thought. Many planned too.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: LH
Well piss off, I like it. Texas has had alot of ran this year. We had a long long drought in the '90s. Lakes are full again. Sure there were a couple of floods in south Texas this year but on the whole, the weather has kept Texas lakes and water tables full and not to mention its been one of the coolest summers in a long long time(Dallas Fort Worth area). While all you pansies in the North East are bitching about mid-90's, its mid-90's here and Im lovin' it... I mean sh!t its normally 105 or more this time of year. 90-95 as the highes and mid 70s for the lows, just wonderful...

Yes it has been a very nice "cool" summer in Texas this year.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Originally posted by: LH
Well piss off, I like it. Texas has had alot of ran this year. We had a long long drought in the '90s. Lakes are full again. Sure there were a couple of floods in south Texas this year but on the whole, the weather has kept Texas lakes and water tables full and not to mention its been one of the coolest summers in a long long time(Dallas Fort Worth area). While all you pansies in the North East are bitching about mid-90's, its mid-90's here and Im lovin' it... I mean sh!t its normally 105 or more this time of year. 90-95 as the highes and mid 70s for the lows, just wonderful...

I don't know about the the weather in Texas, but in Montreal by this time of year we're usually getting temps that hover around 16C-19C. This summer we've been having many 30C-35C (mid-90s for you Americans).

*shrug* I guess we'll have to wait a few years to find out whether if the problem is really significant or whether if it's just a short term trend

-Ice

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: icecool83

Originally posted by: LH
Well piss off, I like it. Texas has had alot of ran this year. We had a long long drought in the '90s. Lakes are full again. Sure there were a couple of floods in south Texas this year but on the whole, the weather has kept Texas lakes and water tables full and not to mention its been one of the coolest summers in a long long time(Dallas Fort Worth area). While all you pansies in the North East are bitching about mid-90's, its mid-90's here and Im lovin' it... I mean sh!t its normally 105 or more this time of year. 90-95 as the highes and mid 70s for the lows, just wonderful...

I don't know about the the weather in Texas, but in Montreal by this time of year we're usually getting temps that hover around 16C-19C. This summer we've been having many 30C-35C (mid-90s for you Americans).

*shrug* I guess we'll have to wait a few years to find out whether if the problem is really significant or whether if it's just a short term trend

-Ice

You will need to wait more than a few years. To identify real trends would probably take close to 10000 years worth of data.

From the historical information we have the 20th century was the COLDEST one in recorded human human history and appears to be the coldest from geological data (usually ice cores). It's simply much to early to tell if we are experiencing any kind of human generated global trend.

And for those that saying plastic is the worlds most evil product get your heads out of your fscking asses. Plastics are one of the most significant human advances ever made. Plastics are almost universally inert and non threatening to the environment. In addition plastics are made from crude oil and as a result of plastic production crude oil is not consumed generating energy or pumping emissions into our atmosphere.

 

[mkchambers]

Originally posted by: DOACleric
Its not just air pollution. Today so much crap is being made of plastic, and its just wrong. Plastic doesn't biodegrade for thousands of years. And yet companies are STILL pumping out crap made with plastic. Things like disposable camera's are just horrible.
Landfills are overflowing with garbage. Here in NY, we don't even know where to put our garbage anymore. All the landfills here are fill, and i think for the past few years we've been giving it to nearby states. Now no one wants our garbage, and we have to try to SELL it to other countries so we can dump it there. Its just more toxic waste spreading all over the place.

I think we could all learn a lesson from nature - recycle.

Haha, that's kind of funny, cause even when you recycle in New York it still gets landfilled. Or I guess it's not really funny for all the NY'ers that work so hard to recycle and it's not so funny for the environment either.

 

[LaBang]

Truth is, we don't really know whether the increase in extreme weather events is a sign of global climate change much less a sign of global warming. The problem is, we won't know that global warming is upon us until it is very clear and too late. To say that these extreme events are a sign of global warming takes a little faith at this point but I think that it is the case.

Research predicted effects of global warming and you will see an increase in extreme events as one effect. We have been experiencing extreme weather events for a while now so I'd say it is a safe bet to say that this is human induced climate change.

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: Dismal
A Hydrogen economy would help out immensely...

Not really, it may help reduce pollution, but we will still be greatly dependant on hydrogen rich gas/oil to run our daily lives.

H2O?

For some reason I think I heard that some German scientist was thinking he could extract the hydrogen from water and run stuff off of it or something. Water = nearly unlimited resource, so that woudl be great if possible.

 

[B00ne]

I am amazed by the ignorance here....
So u ppl who think everything is fine and humans dont have anything to do with pollution and climate change what do u think when is the time to act. When we are all flodded, choking because of the little oxygen, when the trees are visibly dying everywhere? When even the last place on earth is a wasteland? Well if that is what u think I guess the only action that is left by then is to kill yourself because then it will be too late to change anything. Nature doesnt work in quarteryear cycles. If we change something now (like the banning of FCKW) it can take some 10-50 years to take effect. We need to realize that we have to pay the whole balance instead of constantly raping and stealing from nature without paying for what we take. And then wonder why nature is starting to fight back and demanding the price.

If the economy would work the way we work nature we would have communism - take everything u need, it doesnt cost anything. Offer and demand what is that - nothing has a value its all free...

Well we will pay the price anyway that is for sure - sooner or later. But I would rather pay the price now, when we can still change things than pay the price in addition to the "robbery-fine" later.

 

[Czar]

Here is something scary
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2002/disposable_planet/slideshow/

 

[Dragnov]

Are we fvcking up our planet? I don't know.

Are we fvcking up ourselves? Yes.


No one can prove global warming is or isn't occuring but neverthless our junk, pollution, overcrowding areas, use of natural resources is taking a toll on us no matter what you say.

On a side note, I go to Big Bear yearly every summer on a camping trip and dang the lake was so dry. I remember fishing in this one spot and there were ducks there, but notw you can see the cracked dry sand. Pretty wierd IMO.