"the Defense Department has recognized it for decades as both a threat to international stability and to military readiness, seeing as how it’s difficult to launch fighter jets from airbases that are underwater."
Obviously, the free market will use fossil fuels to build aircraft carriers. Check and mate, libs.
At least they're no longer talking about "clean coal." Or maybe they are. Who gives a shit.
One thing about methane: Yes, it burns cleaner than coal. But if (when) it escapes into the atmosphere unburnt, it traps more than a dozen times more heat per pound than CO2. That's why emissions from landfills and from cow burps are so serious (and why landfill methane can sometimes be cleaned up to become "natural" gas. Hey, I didn't take an oath to not use scare quotes.)
When I first saw that "plant a trillion trees" idea, I thought it was a joke ( well, it is, but not a funny ha-ha one )
Dok points out the amount of acreage needed for so many trees would take a bigger area that the United States - and I'm sure that's "an engineering estimate", i.e. one made without a clue ( no offense, Dok ), my first engineering class in college asked us on Day 1 to estimate the number of trees it would take to print the Sunday New York Times early edition ( and this was pre-Internet, so it was a "dead-tree" edition.
But something else - do any of these assholes really know how many is a trillion? How many people would they have to employ, how many trees could each one plant in a day? Somehow, the idea just doesn't fit in the timespan we have left to prevent global warming from killing us all.
"If the tub is overflowing, the solution is to turn off the tap, not to promise you’ll bring a lot of sponges so the bathroom floor floods a little more slowly. And if you do bring sponges, you sure as hell don’t get to open the tap wider."
We also have a problem with "greenwashing" (scare quotes) other parts of the extraction industry, wherein multinational copper companies are using the need for a shit-ton more copper (among other precious metals) to create "green" energy as a wedge to destroy massive areas of the US. There is a mining boom going on in Arizona that threatens water supplies, public lands and is destroying wide swaths of the most diverse and beautiful deserts in the world and home values on the fringes because of the need for more resources so we can continue to live like we have unlimited resources. Stealing from Peter (and then hacking him up and pissing on his corpse) to overpay Paul who is extorting us and threatening to fuck our spouses and children with big spikey dildos.
They plant trees out here where I live. Monocropping farms have cleared much of the forests and it has a major impact on weather severity. There’s no wind buffers, no dense shade, nothing to retain soil from erosion and therefore increased flooding. Idiots who are lucky enough to have properties with old wood trees on them have decided to chop them down, sell them, and put in lawns. When there’s left over space, that’s where they plant new trees. Why? Because they plan on selling them too. They plant fast-growing pine trees. That’s the crappy wood they sell at the hardware stores now, because we’ve cut all the good, strong, slow-growing trees down. When I hear a Republican say they want to plant trees, I think it means they want to chop down all existing forests, sell off that wood, torture the land into some awful unnatural state, and plant quick-growing shitwood to harvest in a few years. Nothing gained but for profit. Much lost.
The GOP has only one concern about climate change and that's protecting the business for their fossil fuel paymasters. Saying that they are concerned and want to help and then claiming ridiculous things like planting a trillion trees is their plan is a joke. It's not that far from their preferred position of outright denial. Market based solutions are simply GOP plans to protect fossil fuel revenue and stifle alternative energy production. The burgeoning EV market has them all scared, they know it's coming. We're going to have to save the planet without them I'm afraid.
Astronomer here. There's nothing wrong with using less electricity, but it sure would be nice if they used the approrpriate amount of light and shielded the fixtures so the light went down like it should.
Replacing lighting 1:1 with LEDs is great, but people are replacing incandescents and fluorescents with multiple LEDs for even more light than before, often resulting in a net increase in electric use. Same with TVs. The new ones are much more energy efficient than the old tube models of comparable size, but most of us are no longer content with a 19" TV, and I have a feeling my 65" screen burns a lot more than the old tube one did. I can feel better because I generate more electricity onsite than I can use, at least. The rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves!
Is it cynical to think that McCarthy thinks this is a good idea because he (or a major donor) will sell us the baby trees for planting? It's gotta be a grift or it's not good gummint.
Planting trees is great. But because of the massive root systems, restoring prairies also is an extremely effective way to sequester carbon. Unfortunately, you cannot "harvest" or monetize prairies, so GOP won't like it.
There are most definitely ways to monetize large swathes of prairie. Wind turbines leap to mind. Also, soil restoration of prairie land is probably best accomplished with intensive grazing programs, to emulate the vast herds of ungulates (American bison and such) that don't exist anymore.
As an example, You can get something like 10k acorns from a single oak tree in one reproductive season. So if you want 1% oak trees (10 billion) as part of this effort you are harvesting from 1 million oak trees. Which isn't really all that many when we're thinking in continental scales....
"the Defense Department has recognized it for decades as both a threat to international stability and to military readiness, seeing as how it’s difficult to launch fighter jets from airbases that are underwater."
Obviously, the free market will use fossil fuels to build aircraft carriers. Check and mate, libs.
I just wish that McCarthy would go back to just being drilled in the adult theaters on 19th Street in Bakersfield.
Besides, he made horrible sandwiches.
At least they're no longer talking about "clean coal." Or maybe they are. Who gives a shit.
One thing about methane: Yes, it burns cleaner than coal. But if (when) it escapes into the atmosphere unburnt, it traps more than a dozen times more heat per pound than CO2. That's why emissions from landfills and from cow burps are so serious (and why landfill methane can sometimes be cleaned up to become "natural" gas. Hey, I didn't take an oath to not use scare quotes.)
This is good news for the Arbor Day Foundation!
When I first saw that "plant a trillion trees" idea, I thought it was a joke ( well, it is, but not a funny ha-ha one )
Dok points out the amount of acreage needed for so many trees would take a bigger area that the United States - and I'm sure that's "an engineering estimate", i.e. one made without a clue ( no offense, Dok ), my first engineering class in college asked us on Day 1 to estimate the number of trees it would take to print the Sunday New York Times early edition ( and this was pre-Internet, so it was a "dead-tree" edition.
But something else - do any of these assholes really know how many is a trillion? How many people would they have to employ, how many trees could each one plant in a day? Somehow, the idea just doesn't fit in the timespan we have left to prevent global warming from killing us all.
"If the tub is overflowing, the solution is to turn off the tap, not to promise you’ll bring a lot of sponges so the bathroom floor floods a little more slowly. And if you do bring sponges, you sure as hell don’t get to open the tap wider."
A gorgeous analogy, Dok!!!
We also have a problem with "greenwashing" (scare quotes) other parts of the extraction industry, wherein multinational copper companies are using the need for a shit-ton more copper (among other precious metals) to create "green" energy as a wedge to destroy massive areas of the US. There is a mining boom going on in Arizona that threatens water supplies, public lands and is destroying wide swaths of the most diverse and beautiful deserts in the world and home values on the fringes because of the need for more resources so we can continue to live like we have unlimited resources. Stealing from Peter (and then hacking him up and pissing on his corpse) to overpay Paul who is extorting us and threatening to fuck our spouses and children with big spikey dildos.
they ARE oil company commercials.
They plant trees out here where I live. Monocropping farms have cleared much of the forests and it has a major impact on weather severity. There’s no wind buffers, no dense shade, nothing to retain soil from erosion and therefore increased flooding. Idiots who are lucky enough to have properties with old wood trees on them have decided to chop them down, sell them, and put in lawns. When there’s left over space, that’s where they plant new trees. Why? Because they plan on selling them too. They plant fast-growing pine trees. That’s the crappy wood they sell at the hardware stores now, because we’ve cut all the good, strong, slow-growing trees down. When I hear a Republican say they want to plant trees, I think it means they want to chop down all existing forests, sell off that wood, torture the land into some awful unnatural state, and plant quick-growing shitwood to harvest in a few years. Nothing gained but for profit. Much lost.
This. exactly.
The GOP has only one concern about climate change and that's protecting the business for their fossil fuel paymasters. Saying that they are concerned and want to help and then claiming ridiculous things like planting a trillion trees is their plan is a joke. It's not that far from their preferred position of outright denial. Market based solutions are simply GOP plans to protect fossil fuel revenue and stifle alternative energy production. The burgeoning EV market has them all scared, they know it's coming. We're going to have to save the planet without them I'm afraid.
Astronomers and astronomy buffs have seen the same sort of thing with light pollution.
"These LED lights will let us get the same amount of light for less electricity! Let's put up more lights!"
Another reason I've moved far away from the large cities.
Astronomer here. There's nothing wrong with using less electricity, but it sure would be nice if they used the approrpriate amount of light and shielded the fixtures so the light went down like it should.
Replacing lighting 1:1 with LEDs is great, but people are replacing incandescents and fluorescents with multiple LEDs for even more light than before, often resulting in a net increase in electric use. Same with TVs. The new ones are much more energy efficient than the old tube models of comparable size, but most of us are no longer content with a 19" TV, and I have a feeling my 65" screen burns a lot more than the old tube one did. I can feel better because I generate more electricity onsite than I can use, at least. The rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves!
Is it cynical to think that McCarthy thinks this is a good idea because he (or a major donor) will sell us the baby trees for planting? It's gotta be a grift or it's not good gummint.
Planting trees is great. But because of the massive root systems, restoring prairies also is an extremely effective way to sequester carbon. Unfortunately, you cannot "harvest" or monetize prairies, so GOP won't like it.
Yes, well, wait...
There are most definitely ways to monetize large swathes of prairie. Wind turbines leap to mind. Also, soil restoration of prairie land is probably best accomplished with intensive grazing programs, to emulate the vast herds of ungulates (American bison and such) that don't exist anymore.
Just curious, where does one get one trillion saplings?
As an example, You can get something like 10k acorns from a single oak tree in one reproductive season. So if you want 1% oak trees (10 billion) as part of this effort you are harvesting from 1 million oak trees. Which isn't really all that many when we're thinking in continental scales....
Same place you get 2,000 mules?
“Green New Spiel”
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Senator Air Potato also trying to make "dumbing outside the box" a thing.
https://www.rawstory.com/john-kennedy/
Good God.
When you mentioned potatoes, I thought of Tuberville, of course, and the ditty I can't finish:
"Wastin' away again with Tommy Tuberville ... "
Maybe should include wireworms or leafhoppers...