Oh, Climate Change.

[Footbutt]

in Ohio the saying "if you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes" is completely true.

Solar Activity is one HUGE thing that comes into play. it ebbs and flows and affects us.
and the earth is a crazy place. life has a way of adapting and shifting and being awesomely destructive and yet sustain in amazing ways.
call me the Odd Man Out, but i don't like the government in my business, but personal responsibility needs to come into play with everything.

[LiamKerrington]

Solar Activity is one HUGE thing that comes into play. it ebbs and flows and affects us.

I forgot to mention the natural causes as well. They are part of the big picture, too. But in my understanding there is not just this one reason behind the changes in climate.
Climate (and weather) is (or are) very complex creatures of madness. And certainly any simplification by basing changes in climate on just one or a few major reasons is next to being ignorant about it all.

But that's just my 2c about it.

[Osiris]

I recently read an article about Germany's switch to solar energy in an effort to back away from nuclear power. I have to admit, it made me feel good about being on this planet for the first time in a long, long time. Not that my day to day life drags me down, but the idea that we're so locked into either fossil fuel or nuclear power really does bring me down. This morning I read an article (days after the previous report of Germany decimating everyone on the planet in power generation) that touts the US as being the biggest solar power giant... by the end of the year. I was immediately struck at the competitiveness, and again... it felt shitty. A few minutes after I finished the article, I fell into a click-trance of coffee and pictures of cats lying on books, when I came across a third article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...e-economy.html

Profit. Is it always going to boil down to profit? You don't need to supplement the days when your energy production is lower with coal plants. You just need to share your energy production with the person living next to you. It seems so easy to shift to solar, and plug your neighbour in. Share the energy coming from the sun. Nobody owns the sun. None of us have a problem with being connected through the internet, do we? Why not approach solar power the same way? Everyone is connected. Everyone benefits (except North Korea, fuck those dicks). The only reason we're locked into this cycle is greed, and it's disheartening. We need to stop putting value on pieces of paper and come to terms with the fact we're all here together. We're all human beings.

The rant may be a little left of the target, but god dammit people, we have to start fixing this shit somehow. The problems aren't going away, we can't just ignore it and leave it for someone else.

[Gooer]

Nice little report i found today...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27435624

[Osiris]

I can't believe fracking is still being lobbied about as an option for the future.

[Gooer]

But..... It's the way forward to rape our planet and make it less inhabitable for the next generations!

[Osiris]

Probably why that one way trip to Mars is sounding better every day.

[Gooer]

Wonder what would happen if the modern renewable sources were looked into more early (obviously we've had renewable sources for millennia, mean like solar panels nd shit). Would we be more advanced or about the same?

[LiamKerrington]

Germany's eco-politics is totall f*cked up. Solar-Power could be an option, if they really cared, but instead they invest in old-fashioned solar-stations that are limitless pointless in the cocktail of different power-solutions. Wind-Energy is totally hyped, but in order to build the Wind Power plants the involved partys of local, regional, and federal politics plus the companys take down huge forests and even nature-sanctuaries, because the companies being involved try to milk the system - and the ones paying for it twice are the people paying the higher power-rates as well as paying taxes being poured into the wallets of the companies. Pure madness. This is only about the money, nothing else.

The right policy would be to consider strategies to reduce the hunger for power (energy); but in an economic system mostly based on consumption such policys are not accepted.

I am not certain if colonizing Mars would be an option; actually Mars looks pretty much like the future face of Earth ...

Best wishes!
Liam

[YetAnotherBloodyCheek]

Germany's eco-politics is totall f*cked up. Solar-Power could be an option, if they really cared, but instead they invest in old-fashioned solar-stations that are limitless pointless in the cocktail of different power-solutions. Wind-Energy is totally hyped, but in order to build the Wind Power plants the involved partys of local, regional, and federal politics plus the companys take down huge forests and even nature-sanctuaries, because the companies being involved try to milk the system - and the ones paying for it twice are the people paying the higher power-rates as well as paying taxes being poured into the wallets of the companies. Pure madness. This is only about the money, nothing else.

The right policy would be to consider strategies to reduce the hunger for power (energy); but in an economic system mostly based on consumption such policys are not accepted.

I am not certain if colonizing Mars would be an option; actually Mars looks pretty much like the future face of Earth ...

Best wishes!
Liam

I would not say that German eco politics are totally fucked up. It is quite right that there are plenty ways of optimization but I guess it is valid to state that we have come a long way here in Germany. Due to its federal structure, we have seen an intense discussion among the federal states about promotion of economic development - whether there should be more wind, solar, water energy and so on. This will take some time for sure. As a side note - we will not make it on our own. Germany will need to take more action towards an European approach. However, it will take some time (I am repeating myself) again.

My three main complaints about eco polictics are:

1) Germany's Green party - or the big communication disaster. They - in my opinion - used and still use to teach the condescendingly from above. A "we can be better than this, we will benefit from this technological improvement" is always better than "Oh! What! Have! You! Done! We will make it much more expensive for you because we do not what you to <insert environmental sin here>." Though this creates publicity, people tend to react negative to it because it appears to make their lives more complicated - simply put.

2) People themselves are Janus-faced. A lot of week-end environmentalists like to drive an SUV - even here in Germany because it is a nice cosy thing. And these people vote the eco politicians they tend to blame for bad eco politics. (I like to emphasize that I am NOT looking at you Liam, just at society in general)

3) We have to realize there we are still at the beginning of the next technological revolution. This means, we have to except that we will stumble into some blind alleys along the way. We still have to find solutions to better store and distribute energy during day- and nighttime. This requires a change in our mindset. Be more fault tolerant. In the end, Mr Adam Smith, with the right technology, each revolution grants a lot of different ways to yield a profit. That is a valid point too.