295 Comments

In the desert northwest of LA, we did have a cooler than usual summer, meaning it only passed 110 a little bit and for a few days. No 118, 119 like last year. It sure is lovely now, 40s low and 80s high. We did have big earthquakes, but in a one-story town they are not so scary. Pretty pleasant place, all in all.

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Existential threats are threats to existence as we know it. These fact checkers are hacks. Part of being a good fact checker is knowing and loving what words mean and being able to parse all that shit out.

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Actually, given the permanence of the printed word, the knowledge will survive. The industrial and technological ability to use will take time to rebuild.

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I can't believe Sanders is even worth two lines in any paper now. The guy's practically oozing thru death's door, Dok!

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yeah, but the cost of doing nothing is an "externality" and the cost of doing something hurts quarterlies. Ergo, clearly we can't do anything about climate change.

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How many megadeaths are we comfortable with?

"Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks." - General 'Buck' Turgidson

Yes, I have to resort to quoting from a vantablackly comic satire of Cold War nuclear annihilation, because this is the worst timeline....

We'll meet againDon't know whereDon't know when...

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As long as the nukular football's in play I'm gonna have to go with Mann, mang.

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I was going to allow full Megadeth lyrics on that one. It's time to start getting as absurd as they are.

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They're supposed to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

How many players will die of heatstroke?

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Elevation is 3 feet, about 1 meter. A good wet tropical storm will turn it into a lake. The gators and snakes will come.

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https://youtu.be/5qmCuwDYidwI think this is the only Megadeth I'll accept..

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Upfist for quoting Swami Beyondananda.

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That's a great song! There's a lot out of the catalogue I'd accept, I'm an old-school Dave Mustaine fan from back when you had to choose between Megadeth and Metallica. I think everything off 'Countdown to Extinction' is probably an instant thumbs up on my list. Even 'Crush 'Em' from Universal Soldier: The Return. Hell, queue up 'Washington Is Next!' with the volume up and tell me you don't want to thrash out a little bit.

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I admire Dr. Mann, and have for years, but he's an optimist. He is thinking strictly in terms of his area of expertise, climate science, but there are cofounding factors that can't be ignored in the real world. F'rinstance, if the climate crisis continues largely unchecked:1. Hundreds of millions of climate refugees. Also, many of the economic and political refugees are a result of climate changes, e.g. many Syrian farmers moved to town because of a prolonged drought, but cannot find work, taxing social and financial resources. These effects are difficult to measure, but cannot be dismissed because of that.2. Ocean death would reduce about 15% of the world's food. 3. Unpredictable, irregular and extreme weather would make traditional farming impossible, or at least much less effective.4. Diseases spread farther, new diseases are appearing, pests spread; invasive plants put more pressure on farmers.5. Still growing populations with dwindling resources will lead to more wars, large and small.6. Most of the population lives within areas that will be flooding more and more often. Three times (?) this year for the American Midwest.7. Most major cities will have to be moved or accommodate the ocean on their streets, and maybe their rooftops.8. The tropics and most of the subtropics will be uninhabitable for at least months every year.9. Nukes will be used at some point.

I find it hard to believe that we would survive all that. However, I am convinced of two things:1. We will make a collective serious effort soon.2. It will be too little, too late. It will much worse than it should have been, but we might survive.

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I feel they can't be serious, arguing in this way over his usage of 'existential', in 'existential threat.' Because in cascading effects we don't understand, we could all be wiped out. Or just say, one of those "the living will envy the dead" things. What difference does it make? The man is talking to us-- let him talk. Alternatively-- we could be listening to billionaire Jeff Bezos who wants to do things for the planet. Yes, space travel. Oh, good.

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