I've been saying for years that contamination of our water supply will be the end of humanity as we know it. Not running out of fossil fuels, not nukes, not climate... fresh water.
A timeline of rising temperatures
- Thread starter GK4Herd
- Start date
Water can be treated back to drinking quality. The water you're drinking and showering with now was toilet water at one time or another. We'll be all right.
FLINT, MICH.
Federal officials warned Flint residents Friday that water samples from more than two dozen locations have higher lead levels than can be treated by filters that have been widely distributed to deal with the city’s contamination crisis, underscoring the need for all residents to have their water tested.
Dr. Nicole Lurie of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the lead level in some Flint locations has exceeded 150 parts per billion, which is the level for which water filters are graded. In one case, it was in the thousands. She said people with levels over 150 ppb were being notified and their water being retested.
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article57422838.html
Unable to be treated by filters that are widely distributed. It can be treated, just not with one of those things you put on a kitchen faucet.
This stuff is way overblown just like everything else. If everybody knew what was really in their water, food, etc., they'd be scared into dehydration and starvation.
This stuff is way overblown just like everything else. If everybody knew what was really in their water, food, etc., they'd be scared into dehydration and starvation.
It would mean something for that argument if humans were around in the Devonian. You know, the Age of Fish.
The reason I like to collect local fossils is they are 390 million years old. To hold that kind of history in my hand is fascinating.
I worry that we are being dicks and contributing to some down the road shit that is really going to suck. Is it my most immediate geopolitical concern? No. Have I done some things (use less energy, drive a more efficient car, etc) to help? Sure.
And damn, there is little pain to driving a more efficient car these days. I recently gave my Mazda to my daughter and bought a lightly used, off-lease Hyundai Elantra. It's as big inside as a early 90s Accord, and I can get 45 mpg on the highway if I really try. Lots of options, too. I didn't even see a point in getting the Sonata, it is that comfortable. Those SK bastards have come a long way. I would have bought a Ford Focus, but there were zero stick shifts around here (save for the ST, and that's just a bit out of my budget, and I might as well buy a used Vette and damn the mpg at that point) and their DCT kind of scares me for long-term reliability.
The point is there were no ice caps and Kentucky and Indiana were under water
The point is Kentucky and Indiana were under the ocean. Trilobites, Horn corals and nautiloid cephalopods couldnt do anything to change it, and neither can we.
You aren't making the comparison between simple non-cognizant life forms doing something about a volcanic earth and active core with intelligent humans, ones that can split and fuse atoms and travel into space, changing the way produce and use energy are you?
I don't know what a scarier thought to me is...the future of humanity being destroyed by a myopic and selfish people who are so engrossed in their personal lives that they can't make changes in the way they use energy or that same humanity being wiped out by the very same merciful God that created them flawed in the first place.
Several of you are making great points about over population of the world and drinking water. Those are easy issues to understand because they have historical presedence on a regional level. History is full of examples of where people outgrew the resources of an area. That problem was always solved by famine and starvation. Drought has fostered the demise of many civilizations. The Mayan civilization flourished 1500 years ago with population in the millions that ranged from Mexico all through Central America. Then suddenly over a few hundred years that very civilization walked away abandoning their temples and cities. The leading theory is drought. There is a ton of evidence across disciplines that support that during the time the civilization collapsed that a prolonged period of drought occurred. The Mayans simply couldn't support the large numbers they had to feed.
We are not immune to the same issues today. Just look at what's going on in California right now. Drought is causing a serious issue with the water supply. We are better equipped to handle this than the Mayans because of our ability to transport water from all over the world, but it's still something we need to be aware of. Of note the poor in third world countries are the ones who will take the brunt of climate change and drought first. They simply don't have the means of helping themselves.
I think if we learn anything from history it's the importance of being good stewards of the world we live in. We've had our successes. If you lived near chemical plants in the 60s and 70s you certainly couldn't condone what we were doing to our water supplies. Anyone who used a boat on the Kanawha River in South Charleston could tell you that the dumping of chemicals isn't something we want to go back to. The fluorocarbons that we used in many products was damaging to the ozone. But that ozone is now starting to repair because we changed our ways. Does anyone think that changing the technology of our spray cans and passing laws preventing chemical companies from dumping their waste into our water supplies was a step back in standard of living? I don't.
We are not immune to the same issues today. Just look at what's going on in California right now. Drought is causing a serious issue with the water supply. We are better equipped to handle this than the Mayans because of our ability to transport water from all over the world, but it's still something we need to be aware of. Of note the poor in third world countries are the ones who will take the brunt of climate change and drought first. They simply don't have the means of helping themselves.
I think if we learn anything from history it's the importance of being good stewards of the world we live in. We've had our successes. If you lived near chemical plants in the 60s and 70s you certainly couldn't condone what we were doing to our water supplies. Anyone who used a boat on the Kanawha River in South Charleston could tell you that the dumping of chemicals isn't something we want to go back to. The fluorocarbons that we used in many products was damaging to the ozone. But that ozone is now starting to repair because we changed our ways. Does anyone think that changing the technology of our spray cans and passing laws preventing chemical companies from dumping their waste into our water supplies was a step back in standard of living? I don't.
I'll give you a clue. The myopic, selfish, and flawed people have a much more important decision to make than global warming, it's called global incineration. It can't be avoided, but can be escaped. It can be hypothetically determined when certain things regarding global warming might happen, and probably even now happening. But science cannot give you so much as a hint when the incineration will occur. I don't involve myself in threads like this to evoke anger, but as a warning, and as long as I'm on this board, I will warn people that there is a day of judgement coming, and if we die before that time, then our fate is sealed.
I don't think you are evoking anger at all EG...at least not with me. To be honest, I would be angrier if you believed the way you do and didn't say anything about it.
And Africa and the Americas were connected, so the slave trade was really just bringing black folk home.
I don't get your point, probably because you dont have a valid point. If humans become extinct due to an asteroid impact, massive volcanic activity, a gamma ray burst, etc well yeah there's nothing we can do about it. While I don't think climate change will kill us off, there is still no sense in knowingly fvcking with the only home we have to this extent.
The social upheaval and war that is coming will make WWII look like a child's game. Frankly I am glad I won't be around for it.
The only way to turn this around is to go back to primitive times when you needed 12 people to tend to a farm.
If you want advanced civilization, this is what you get. I think it's pretty good. Even the people, who sometimes I am even one of, sitting around dreaming of the olden days at the end of the day are choosing this much easier way of life we have now over that.
Convenience wins. This whole thing is brilliance at work really. Might as well enjoy it.
My point is, earths temperatures have been rising for the last 15k years. Everybody driving electric cars and shuttering coal fired power plants is not going to have any effect on the climate. Now if you want to make a case about Mercury being released by burning coal you would have a leg to stand on with regards to environmental impact. If you want to look at the biggest polluter out there, you need to look directly at the Federal government. Theyve done far worse than any company out there with regards to contaminates. And to your point on WW3. I think that is why its wise for the US to take a more Americentric role and make sure we can function independently and let the rest of the world fight it out. Id love to see us have sustainable fuels for that very reason. Let everyone else fight over the last bits of oil.
GK, honestly not asking this in a being a dick way, what are you doing personally about this? Have you gone solar yet or bought an electric car? The reason I ask is if someone with your position hasn't made those moves, the likelihood of anyone else doing it voluntarily seems remote.
I would like to get off the grid for monetary reasons, but it just doesn't make financial sense at this time.
I would like to get off the grid for monetary reasons, but it just doesn't make financial sense at this time.
serious question
what happened with the big battery breakthrough several months back? it was supposed to be huge for solar. seems like it was big news for a few weeks then nothing since...
what happened with the big battery breakthrough several months back? it was supposed to be huge for solar. seems like it was big news for a few weeks then nothing since...
That's a fair question and the answer, truthfully, will sound somewhat hypocritical. Bear with me on this answer. I haven't done much in the way of making significant changes outside of making sure unnecessary lights are off, etc.
There are several reasons. One reason is that I have only recently arrived at my view of GW. A few years ago I made a personal decision that if you are going to hold a strong opinion about something it should at least be supported by a broad base of information and devoid of ideological tendencies. Several issues people argued about passionately included evolution and global warming. I took on evolution first, reading books and articles. Within the last six to eight months I've been doing the same with GW. If you go back far enough I'd have fallen in line with a conservative point of view...no way man could do all of this, the climate has always changed, etc. As I started researching, reading books, actively seeking out articles and research my view has evolved to where I stand today. I confess that I use Pullman as a means of sharpening my argument with what I've taken in. You may have noticed I've taken on evolution and GW over the last few years on this board (as well as expressing my disdain for ideologically driven arguments). So the short answer is that I've only within the last year become convinced on the issue.
But I'm also a realist. What can I do individually that can make an impact and is not an act of showmanship and symbolism? The sad truth in my opinion is that we are beyond the point where individual effort would amount to anything more than trying to bail the Titanic with a shot glass. The only way we make a significant impact is a worldwide collective effort. We need to make the shift to alternate sources of energy. We don't have to "go back to the stone ages" like the conservative outcry implies. We need to invest in the advancement and conversion of the way we heat, cool, and get around. We are in the front end of technology that can fundamentally change the way we power our world. Imagine what that technology will be in a hundred years.
So the answer is I think we're beyond the point where individual effort is enough. This thing need to be a political and world wide effort.
