Yes, we did do without all this stuff for alonger than we've had it. And for
those of us who are old, I suspect it's easier to imagine going back to life as
it was when we were growing up. But for younger people, it's a whole other
story. They can't imagine life without air conditioning, or air travel or
plastic containers. It's easy to add things, but much harder to take them away.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2016 9:14 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: GEOENGINEERING THE CLIMATE: AN ACT OF MAD
DESPERATION
It would call for a period of transition. Some of the items you mention are
things I do without now, but would be a real problem for other folks to do
without. I think of air conditioning. Sure, we got along without it for most
of our human history, but we have gotten away from building homes that support
us during the very hot, humid season. I can't imagine trying to live in a
trailer in Sun Valley, Arizona. Air travel is something I'd never miss. Once
I retired from the agency, I was happy to also put away my flight bag. There's
nowhere I need to go in such a hurry these days that a train wouldn't do me
just fine...an electric train.
But sure, we'd need to begin realigning our lives, and prioritizing our values.
But until the middle of last century we did live a much different life. One
other thing we need to do without, that would be about 4 Billion People. If we
don't figure out how to reduce the rising population, all other efforts to save
the planet will be ought for naught. And no, I'm not suggesting mass
annihilation.
Carl Jarvis
On 10/16/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Yes, but are we willing to get rid of everything that is made of
plastic, acryllic, or other materials with an oil base? What about our
computers and smart phones? What about our air travel? What about our
air conditioning? I just want to point out what will be involved for
people if governments ever become really serious about switching to a green
economy.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, October 16, 2016 1:17 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: GEOENGINEERING THE CLIMATE: AN ACT OF
MAD DESPERATION
The Elite Ruling Class will spare no expense in its tinkering attempts
to stave off climate disaster and allow them to continue exploiting
the planet's natural resources. Of course they will, because they
will use our money, not theirs. The greed driven elite have bungled
so badly that they have brought us to the brink of extermination, yet
are convinced that, with our money, they can save planet earth...for their
purposes.
It is not yet too late to implement sustainable measures to protect
our Earth, but "to implement these sustainable measures, we must first
get rid of the economic system and the class that puts profits before
human and ecological needs."
Carl Jarvis
On 10/15/16, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
https://socialistaction.org/2016/10/13/geoengineering-the-climate-an-
a
ct-of-mad-desperation/
GEOENGINEERING THE CLIMATE: AN ACT OF MAD DESPERATION
/ 1 day ago
oct-2016-raygunBy CHRISTINE FRANK
As a last-ditch effort to curb runaway global warming, while
avoiding a definitive halt to fossil-fuel combustion, scientists,
governments, entrepreneurs, and even right-wing think tanks are
advocating various highly dangerous technologies to block solar
radiation or draw down atmospheric carbon to cool the planet. Touted
as Plan B, these risky methods come under the label of either Solar
Radiation Management (SRM) or Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR).
SRM techniques under consideration include placing space-based solar
deflectors in orbit, spewing sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere,
and seeding clouds to increase their brightness. CDR techniques
include Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) of CO2 from
power-plant flue gases, the iron fertilization of the oceans to
stimulate phytoplankton blooms, and burning acres of trees for
biochar burial in soils.
For any of these ruinously expensive, energy-intensive techno-fixes
to work, they must be applied on a planetary-wide, mega-scale, at
great risk to Earth’s natural systems and human societies. Their
implementation could result in an array of disastrous unintended
consequences due to reckless human interference.
A case in point would be the initial Grand Experiment of employing
fossil fuels to power the Industrial Revolution, which got us into
this mess in the first place. Over the two-and-a-half centuries of
hydrocarbon burning and steadily rising carbon dioxide emissions, the
growing evidence that greenhouse gases were warming the planet was
either ignored, denied, or deliberately suppressed by those who
profited from the coal, gas, and oil industries.
With that in mind, any child worried about his or her future could
easily grasp the folly of using Mother Earth as a laboratory for
geoengineering experiments, yet scientists as well as some so-called
environmentalists, who both should know better, are ready to push the
panic button in order to “buy time.”
To buy time for whom, we may ask? It is clear that quick-fixing the
climate will allow the capitalist class to conduct business as usual
by never having to give up fossil fuels. That is why Exxon Mobil CEO
Rex Tillerson declared back in 2007 that adapting to extreme weather
and rising sea levels is an “engineering problem” that has
“engineering solutions.”
That’s right, Rex, with the help of Yankee ingenuity and American
know-how, we can engineer our way out of ecological collapse so you
and your ilk will be free to pillage, plunder, and pollute for profit
until the natural world descends into chaos. There may be a Plan B,
but there is no Planet B! A growing number of climate crisis
activists are realizing that and demanding a ban on geoengineering
experiments, funding, and implementation.
We now know from paleoclimatic evidence that dramatic changes on a
planetary scale are difficult to reverse and can lead to irreparable
harm, even mass extinctions. Earth’s climate system is a complexity
of natural variables and feedback loops. All of the planet’s
matrices—atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and
lithosphere—interact in non-linear and subtle ways to create a
self-regulatory whole. Therefore, a change in the solar flux could
cause an imbalance in the global heat budget and alter atmospheric
circulation, precipitation patterns, and ocean currents to the
detriment of life in the affected regions. Needless to say, the
economic costs of launching an array of sun shields or mirrors into
orbit would be astronomical.
The release of sulfate aerosols mixed with polluting jet aircraft
exhaust into the stratosphere would also have detrimental side effects.
Historically, tropical volcanic eruptions that release sulfur
particles can cause warmer winters over land masses in the Northern
Hemisphere, whereas, eruptions at high latitudes weaken the Asian and
African monsoons, causing droughts. Adding aerosols to the
stratosphere could exacerbate ozone depletion by providing more
surfaces on which harmful chemical reactions take place. Also,
blocking sunlight would mean less for renewable solar power. Acid
rain that kills forests and aquatic life could be another ill effect.
A flotilla of ships spraying seawater into the air in order to
increase Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) and brighten marine
stratocumulus clouds may not be the “Silver Lining” that is promised.
It could backfire with a counterproductive reduction in cloud cover
because of all the industrial pollutants present over the ocean
adding to the mix.
For years, carbon capture and sequestration have been used to foster
the myth of Clean Coal. With a handful of exceptions, most coal-fired
power plants have not deployed CCS because of the enormous expense
and energy required to create the solvents to absorb the CO2 from the
smokestacks and to pressurize and pipe the supercritical gas
underground into a secure geologic formation. Critics have pointed
out the dangers of the highly pressurized carbon dioxide migrating
through the rock fissures and belching out at the surface where it
would smother anything breathing at ground level.
Supposedly, the CarbFix project in Iceland has succeeded in
mineralizing carbon pollution from a geothermal power station by
pumping it into subterranean volcanic basalt formations. The in situ
process took only two years rather than millions, greatly improving
on geologic time scales. The major drawbacks to applying this
technique on a world scale are the availability of basalt formations,
the energy required to transport the carbon dioxide from its source,
and the amount of water—25 tons per each ton of CO2—necessary to pipe
it into permanent geologic storage. It would require a massive
infrastructure.
Then there are always the problems of pipeline ruptures and wellhead
blowouts plus the hazards of deep-sea drilling. The more complex the
mechanical means, the more things that can go wrong.
Dumping a slurry of iron sulfate into the ocean to increase marine
phytoplankton populations has had limited results in drawing down
carbon. What has happened in actual trials is that iron fertilization
encourages a feeding frenzy among the zooplankton grazers, resulting
in very little carbon actually being sequestered as dead plankton or
fecal matter—marine snow—in the deep ocean.
Also, there is the danger of undermining the integrity of the food web.
Neurotoxic algal blooms can poison fish, shellfish, and marine
mammals, and nutrient overloading can deplete oxygen and create dead
zones in the world’s seas. Also, methanophilic bacteria could take
advantage of the situation and release massive amounts of
dimethylsulfide (DMS) into the atmosphere, blocking the sunlight
needed for photosynthesis.
Because no government is forcing the Big Polluters to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, panicked scientists and politicians say
that conventional means of mitigating global warming are not working.
Therefore, we need to resort to more drastic measures, and they are
receiving encouragement from wealthy entrepreneurs such as Bill
Gates, Richard Branson, and Mark Lynas, who are eager to patent every
wild, hair-brained scheme coming down the pike. The result is the
privatization of global warming mitigation strategies to satisfy
their greed. It raises the question of who ultimately controls the
thermostat and whether they have the right to imperil the lives of
everyone else.
Another reason why we are not winning the struggle to save the
climate is the cowardice of the weak, reformist environmental groups,
who are afraid to challenge the Carbon Barons head on, so they
compromise by promoting electric cars instead of clean mass transit.
Fearing the wrath of Big Auto, the Union of Concerned Scientists has
harped endlessly on improved fuel-efficiency standards because it too
cannot give up its worship of the internal combustion engine. For
years, the Sierra Club falsely advocated natural gas as a “bridge or
transitional fuel” until it was revealed that its leadership had been
taking millions in donations from the industry. Even climatologist
James Hansen believes in “green nukes” by advocating thorium reactors.
The delusional sci-fi fantasy that human beings can control powerful
natural forces is based on the mechanistic view that the Universe is
a giant clockwork that can tolerate endless tinkering without consequence.
Only the democratic control of science for the benefit of society
will allow us to work with Mother Nature instead of against her.
We already have renewable wind and solar technologies at our
disposal, which will enable us to leave the fossil fuels in the
ground. Instead, of torching trees for biochar, we should be saving
the world’s forests from the logger’s chainsaw. To increase the
carbon-storage capacity of Earth’s badly depleted, lifeless soils,
organic matter must be recycled to regenerate their health and
fertility instead of flushed into the ocean. Organic food production,
not genetic monsters and toxic chemicals, will feed the world.
To implement these sustainable measures, we must first get rid of the
economic system and the class that puts profits before human and
ecological needs.
Many have already been conducted with dubious results.
Share this:
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) 24Share on Facebook
(Opens in new window)24 Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new
window)
October 13, 2016 in Environment. Tags: climate change, global warming
Related posts
The Truth About Global Warming
Obama’s climate proposals fall short
Paris climate talks produce hot air
Post navigation
← Labor Briefing
Vote Socialist Action!
Jeff Mackler for President and Karen Schraufnagel for Vice President
More information:
Newspaper Archives
Newspaper Archives Select Month October 2016 (4) September 2016 (10)
August 2016 (10) July 2016 (14) June 2016 (14) May 2016 (9) April
2016 (12) March 2016 (14) February 2016 (8) January 2016 (11)
December 2015 (11) November 2015 (9) October 2015 (8) September
2015
(10) August 2015 (7) July 2015 (13) June 2015 (9) May 2015 (10)
April 2015 (12) March 2015 (9) February 2015 (11) January 2015
(10) December 2014 (12) November 2014 (11) October 2014 (9)
September 2014
(6) August 2014 (10) July 2014 (11) June 2014 (10) May 2014 (11)
April 2014 (10) March 2014 (9) February 2014 (11) January 2014
(11) December 2013 (10) November 2013 (11) October 2013 (17)
September
2013 (13) August 2013 (10) July 2013 (11) June 2013 (15) May 2013
(14) April 2013 (14) March 2013 (12) February 2013 (10) January
2013
(17) December 2012 (7) November 2012 (8) October 2012 (19)
September
2012 (2) August 2012 (27) July 2012 (18) June 2012 (3) May 2012
(19) April 2012 (14) March 2012 (17) February 2012 (19) January
2012
(17) December 2011 (3) November 2011 (33) October 2011 (14)
September
2011 (13) August 2011 (34) July 2011 (24) June 2011 (19) May 2011
(19) April 2011 (15) March 2011 (15) February 2011 (16) January
2011
(15) December 2010 (17) November 2010 (1) October 2010 (6)
September 2010 (3) August 2010 (8) July 2010 (7) June 2010 (2)
May 2010 (9) April 2010 (3) March 2010 (8) February 2010 (3)
January 2010 (9) December 2009 (6) November 2009 (5) October 2009
(16) September 2009
(3) August 2009 (2) July 2009 (5) June 2009 (2) May 2009 (7)
April
2009 (6) March 2009 (16) February 2009 (9) January 2009 (10)
December 2008 (11) November 2008 (8) October 2008 (16) September
2008 (14) August 2008 (18) July 2008 (12) June 2008 (3) May 2008
(2) April 2008 (3) March 2008 (14) February 2008 (11) January 2008
(11) December 2007 (8) November 2007 (1) July 2007 (1) June 2007
(1) April 2007 (1) March 2007 (1) February 2007 (3) December 2006
(11) November 2006 (11) October 2006 (13) September 2006 (15)
August
2006
(11) July 2006 (18) June 2006 (7) May 2006 (14) April 2006 (6)
March
2006 (14) February 2006 (5) January 2006 (2) December 2005 (9)
November 2005 (8) October 2005 (13) September 2005 (12) August 2005
(9) July 2005 (16) June 2005 (16) May 2005 (16) April 2005 (12)
March
2005 (14) February 2005 (19) January 2005 (15) December 2004 (14)
November 2002 (17) October 2002 (19) September 2002 (22) August
2002
(21) July 2002 (15) May 2002 (21) April 2002 (21) February 2002
(15) January 2002 (15) December 2001 (17) October 2001 (24)
September
2001 (18) July 2001 (19) June 2001 (18) October 2000 (17)
September 2000 (21) August 2000 (19) July 2000 (16) June 2000
(26) May 2000
(21) April 2000 (22) March 2000 (28) February 2000 (18) January
2000
(20) December 1999 (20) November 1999 (26) October 1999 (25)
September
1999 (18) August 1999 (40) July 1999 (38) June 1999 (24) May 1999
(27) April 1999 (25) March 1999 (26) February 1999 (29) January
1999
(24) July 1998 (12)
Search
Get Involved
Donate to help support our work
Get email updates
Join Socialist Action
View socialistactionusa’s profile on Facebook View SocialistActUS’s
profile on Twitter View SocialistActionCT’s profile on YouTube
Subscribe to Our Newspaper
Upcoming Events
The Solution is Socialism: A one-day conference October 22, 2016
Central Connecticut State University
View Calendar
Blog at WordPress.com.
