Global Warming a Threat to Human Security, Says UN Science Report

[O maestre]

Global warming is undeniable the planet has gotten warmer ever since thw Ice Age as it has done many times before on alternating periods of cooling and warming. The question is how much influence do we actually have. I know that the UN was quick to solve the aerosol crisis where it was impossible to ignore the ties between humanity and the thinning of the ozone layer.

On the other hand we know that our planet like its life forms is adaptable and is anything but static, where there once was lakes there are now deserts and vice versa. That is also why I believe that man made or not we cannot stop the planet from warming or cooling, we should focus on adapting to a future as the climate changes, not trying to stop the inevitable.

 

[HardkorSB]

It's generally accepted that politicians don't give a shit about the environment, just money and power.
I think that reports like these, while true in many aspects, are mostly made to give the politicians the fear of losing their money and power so that they will finally do something about global warming.
Even if it doesn't work, it's still a good try.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

I honestly don't get the climate change debate. Even if you don't believe in it at all, surely we can all agree that basing the power needs of our *entire species* around forms of energy that are literally *finite* and prone to catastrophic spills and accidents that can severely impact peoples' lives is not an ideal arrangement. Climate change should be the third or fourth issue on the list when discussing why we need to find alternate, sustainable sources of energy, and new ways to create the various synthetic materials that are so vital to everyday life.

People who make money from non-renewables hire lobbyists to run interference for them and spread FUD about sustainable energy and the need to act on climate change, simple as that. Why else does 'wind farm syndrome' get so much attention despite having no scientific basis and mysteriously vanishing as soon as people realise they can make money off them by selling excess power?

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

The report should be titled "Humans a threat to Human Security". I guess that'd be too accurate to tell the general public though. The follow-up line could be "Planet Earth will outlive the human population indefinitely" to really drive the point home.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

i say we nuke mother nature once and for all, ***** has been giving us a hard time ever since we refused to put up with her shit

 

[McMullen]

I thought The Escapist was about escapism and escapist accessories. Can someone explain to me see how it's about games, movies, comics, or anything escapist?

Feel free to not read the article if it's not what you're interested in. Many of us are nerds, and many nerds have an interest in science-related news. I have no interest in ponies or pokemon, so I don't read pony or pokemon-related articles. I don't complain about them either.

 

[Strazdas]

Is that a first big name scientist finally getting what was public knowledge for at least couple years now? looks like we are moving forward indeed. Well, as long as at least some politicians understand the message.

That's probably because over population isn't really the issue with global warming. Even in many first world countries where over population isn't even remotely a danger at the moment, greenhouse gas emissions are rising steadily.

Of course much of that has to do with an irrational fear of nuclear preventing us from not killing ourselves.

Um what? Overpopulation not a danger? overpopulation already exists. we have 8 billion humans on this planet. way more than there should be. but of course noone wants to hear about not letting idiots raise 6 kids. apperently somone even decided its human right to make babies everywhere.

Nuclear power is definitely an option, but until we figure out fusion, or ways to deal with the waste that don't involve burying it in the desert and hoping that no one ever stumbles across it ever, fission is a bit of a stepping stone sort of power in its own right.

granted you may not be aware, but modern nuclear plant produces 2 teaspoons of waste in a whole year of operation. storing waste from modern nuclear plant is cheap and easy and requires no burrying. Fusion is obviuosly more powerful and produces no waste whatsoever, but we still dont have that, while we had fission for decades.

Oh and overpopulation is already an issue.

How many times do reports with overwhelming facts till they do something ?

sorry, not possible to answer, because the answer would be "infinite". except it would be wrong, becuase they woudl still do nothing about it.

I thought The Escapist was about escapism and escapist accessories. Can someone explain to me see how it's about games, movies, comics, or anything escapist?

considering that global warming may end human life as we know it, it involves everything to do with human life, escapism included.

 

[McMullen]

I thought The Escapist was about escapism and escapist accessories. Can someone explain to me see how it's about games, movies, comics, or anything escapist?

Feel free to not read the article if it's not what you're interested in. Many of us are nerds, and many nerds have an interest in science-related news. I have no interest in ponies or pokemon, so I don't read pony or pokemon-related articles. I don't complain about them either.

It's not The Nerd. It's The Escapist.

"Founded in 2005, The Escapist is a leading video gaming destination offering video game enthusiasts high-quality, innovative and exclusive content with a considered approach to its audience. The mouthpiece of the gaming generation, The Escapist aims to capture and celebrate the contemporary video gaming lifestyle and the diverse global video game culture by way of in-depth features, thought provoking articles and relevant columns authored by leading video game authorities, as well as cutting-edge video shorts, engaging forums and robust social media elements that incorporate the video gaming experience."

es·cap·ism (ĭ-skā′pĭz′əm)
n.
The tendency to escape from daily reality or routine by indulging in daydreaming, fantasy, or entertainment.

Also click http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/tag/global+warming to see how it had started reasonably on topic before it went out of control.

Science is entertainment for some. You're probably the only commenter here who isn't interested in this topic. Again, you are free to not read it.

 

[Kayevcee]

Is that a first big name scientist finally getting what was public knowledge for at least couple years now? looks like we are moving forward indeed. Well, as long as at least some politicians understand the message.

That's probably because over population isn't really the issue with global warming. Even in many first world countries where over population isn't even remotely a danger at the moment, greenhouse gas emissions are rising steadily.

Of course much of that has to do with an irrational fear of nuclear preventing us from not killing ourselves.

Um what? Overpopulation not a danger? overpopulation already exists. we have 8 billion humans on this planet. way more than there should be. but of course noone wants to hear about not letting idiots raise 6 kids. apperently somone even decided its human right to make babies everywhere.

Too many humans is not the problem. Too many RICH humans is the problem.

A poor (by our standards) family in rural India for example has a tiny impact on the planet- they walk, cycle or use public transport, they've never been on a plane, they don't own any fancy electronic devices or buy things online that get delivered by airmail and they don't eat meat. Earth could comfortably sustain 20 billion such people- far beyond our current population of 7.22 bilion. However...

The richest 1 billion humans (the global rich and "middle classes") account for about 85% of the planet's resource use. We have cars and air conditioning and foreign holidays and a thousand restaurants in easy reach offering meaty goodness from factory farmed animals fed on the wrong diet that's causing them gastric distress and pushing up our methane emissions. All the climate-change-exacerbated disasters we've seen in the last couple of decades- the superstorms, the droughts, the floods- are OUR FAULT. Anyone with access to the technology to read these words shoulders their share of the blame. Pointing the finger at big families in poor countries is a fallacy. WE need to get our shit together. WE need to develop the clean energy and clean engines and recycling technology to sustain OUR lifestyles without making the rest of the human race suffer. If we want more and more people to join us in riches and luxury (and we'd better because that's the way our economies have been designed, even if it seems to have been working in reverse the last few years) then we're going to have to find a way for the Earth to cope with their burden as well as ours.

Skeptics like to yell about freedom and nameless others trying to take away their choices, and in a way they're right. We've been *too* free to exploit our world and our brothers and sisters in poorer countries to sustain our ever-swelling consumer lifestyles. We have to take responsibility for that and get our houses in order. It doesn't mean the end of the world or even the end of humanity if we don't- it just means that an unimaginable number of people who aren't responsible for the changes will starve and drown and get horrible diseases from hordes of migrating insects and microbes.

So... yeah. Overpopulation. Not the problem. The numbers just don't add up. [http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats]

-Nick

 

[Strazdas]

Too many humans is not the problem. Too many RICH humans is the problem.

A poor (by our standards) family in rural India for example has a tiny impact on the planet- they walk, cycle or use public transport, they've never been on a plane, they don't own any fancy electronic devices or buy things online that get delivered by airmail and they don't eat meat. Earth could comfortably sustain 20 billion such people- far beyond our current population of 7.22 bilion. However...

The richest 1 billion humans (the global rich and "middle classes") account for about 85% of the planet's resource use. We have cars and air conditioning and foreign holidays and a thousand restaurants in easy reach offering meaty goodness from factory farmed animals fed on the wrong diet that's causing them gastric distress and pushing up our methane emissions. All the climate-change-exacerbated disasters we've seen in the last couple of decades- the superstorms, the droughts, the floods- are OUR FAULT. Anyone with access to the technology to read these words shoulders their share of the blame. Pointing the finger at big families in poor countries is a fallacy. WE need to get our shit together. WE need to develop the clean energy and clean engines and recycling technology to sustain OUR lifestyles without making the rest of the human race suffer. If we want more and more people to join us in riches and luxury (and we'd better because that's the way our economies have been designed, even if it seems to have been working in reverse the last few years) then we're going to have to find a way for the Earth to cope with their burden as well as ours.

Too many humans is a problem. An enviromental one. We are consuming earth at far higher rate than it replenishes said supplies. Such things as drinkable water is limited to the rich in only small parts of the world. While i agree that the "inequality gap" is a terrible thing, it is not the cause of overpopulation (altrough it could be argued that richer populace usually populate less, ironically).
Polution from electronics is not the only measure of sustaining. And if that "poor famility from rural India" is your ideal then you owning a PC to type that post on are already above them, so your to blame as well by your own accord.
Also i highly doubt they dont eat meat. Human bodies cannot survive without meat unless the required minerals/vitamins are gianed by artificial means (such as food supplements). Then again they do often look half-starved.

Also i never said that big poor families are causing globar warming. i said that overpopulation is a problem too. It is not a cause of global warming, but it is a problem still. And yes, we are all at fault for global warming, which is why i do what i reasonably can to limit my emissions while advocating for global laws limiting emisions.