Climate Change III - The Power of Chaos

[Derfel Cadarn]

 

[DireWolfSpirit]

What are the key findings?

When I click on that it doesnt show anything but a message to support the idiot aka Elon?

[ThinkerX]

4 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

What are the key findings?

When I click on that it doesnt show anything but a message to support the idiot aka Elon?

I'll take a shot...There is some repetition...

We must not fool ourselves: we are nowhere near on track to keep warming below 2C, let alone 3C, and we must rapidly accelerate renewable energy deployment, electrifying everything and reversing deforestation to make proper progress by 2030

 

2 Governments in particular must do much more, and corporations and financial institutions such as investors and banks are not doing much and must step up to deliver credible, accountable and transparent climate action

 

 

3 Climate action is good for health, employment, education, citizens and the planet, but it means disruption to Big Oil and petro-states action. This needs to be addressed head-on

 

4 Global GHG emissions must peak by 2025, then decline rapidly and deeply. This isn't on track.

 

5 It's now cheaper to move to 100% renewables than to dig fossil fuels and continue to burn them, but powerful lobbies and vested interests are trying to maximize very short-term profits and must be confronted

7 Moving to 100% renewables, phasing out fossil fuels (yes, they said that), electrifying everything and reversing deforestation means less poverty, more equity and more inclusion across the board (duh)

9 We're going to need a shit-load of money to ensure climate refugees don't flood the world because climate change threatens all countries, communities and people

12 Some impacts will be irreversible as temperatures increase beyond 1.5 °C (a guaranteed outcome) and we need to plan accordingly

 

16 We don't need new technologies: we have everything we need to scale-up climate action. We just need to deploy existing technologies faster and on a larger scale, while continuing to decrease their costs

 

17 Governments need to lead and stop being in the pocket of Big Oil

 

 

[DireWolfSpirit]

Worlds largest Lithium deposit seems to have been discovered along Nevada's northern border.

[Zorral]

https://www.tor.com/2023/09/18/the-long-defeat-reading-tolkien-in-the-time-of-climate-change/

 

[IheartIheartTesla]

On 9/15/2023 at 11:36 PM, DireWolfSpirit said:

Worlds largest Lithium deposit seems to have been discovered along Nevada's northern border.

The irony is rich, apart from Ford mass producing gasoline cars in the early 1900s for far cheaper than EVs back then, the other thing that put the death knell to the latter was the discovery of crude oil in Texas. I'd love for a similar story to happen with Lithium bringing this saga full circle.

[DireWolfSpirit]

An issue not being addressed much is that the heaviness and prolifically greater torque involved with EV models seems to burn through tire sets at significantly quicker rates than ICE vehicles.

NPR was interviewing an expert on the engineering and properties of tires and he was pointing out how we need advances in our tires to be able to handle the stresses of EV driving. Our current tires are not durable enough according to him.

[The Anti-Targ]

Not sure tire wear really rises to a level of concern that warrants any change to promoting transition away from ICE vehicles towards adopting EVs.

[Liffguard]

5 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Not sure tire wear really rises to a level of concern that warrants any change to promoting transition away from ICE vehicles towards adopting EVs.

It's an additional factor in considering that we maybe shouldn't be transitioning towards a one-for-one replacement of ICE vehicles by electric vehicles, but rather should be aiming to rapidly transition away from ICE vehicles and also reduce reliance on transportation by individual private vehicles in general.

[Kalbear]

11 minutes ago, Liffguard said:

It's an additional factor in considering that we maybe shouldn't be transitioning towards a one-for-one replacement of ICE vehicles by electric vehicles, but rather should be aiming to rapidly transition away from ICE vehicles and also reduce reliance on transportation by individual private vehicles in general.

Eh. There's nothing that requires that we have the batteries be as heavy as they are, and future battery tech is already looking to be significantly lighter. We can also, ya know, make better tires.

Reducing overall transportation is itself a good thing to do for a variety of reasons, so I think that's a good idea too - but of all the reasons that EVs might not be great the wear and tear on the tires currently is not a big one in my mind.

[IheartIheartTesla]

Car tires are a big source of microplastics (particularly of those that end up in the ocean), so I would take that concern seriously as yet another thing that pollutes the world we inhabit, but I dont think it is enough of a reason to ditch EVs. The other problem with tire microplastics is probably the junk and additives that are in it for performance benefits.

At some point we have to prioritize what is important to us and make some tough calls regarding trade-offs.

[Liffguard]

1 hour ago, Kalnak the Magnificent said:

Eh. There's nothing that requires that we have the batteries be as heavy as they are, and future battery tech is already looking to be significantly lighter. We can also, ya know, make better tires.

Reducing overall transportation is itself a good thing to do for a variety of reasons, so I think that's a good idea too - but of all the reasons that EVs might not be great the wear and tear on the tires currently is not a big one in my mind.

I won't lose sleep over this issue on its own. It's just one more point to add to the list of why building our society around mass private car ownership kinda sucks in ways that go beyond just their CO2 emissions.

Edited September 20, 2023 by Liffguard

[Impmk2]

I think the weight thing is overblown tbh. Something like the Model 3 weighs the same as the latest BMW M5. The Model Y weighs about the same as a Subaru Forester.

Now Tesla is particularly good at their packaging so really keep weight down with their structural pack. But even something like my Ioniq 5 is only a couple hundred kg, ie a couple adult men heavier. We're not talking tons of extra weight here, at least in anything reasonable. Ie short of giant american trucks... which have their own sustainability issues regardless of being electric.

Torque for sure can burn through tyres. But that's pretty easily solved by not driving like an idiot. (Yes I get this is a large ask)

Edited September 20, 2023 by Impmk2

[Kalbear]

At least for me this advice is actually pretty reasonable; we had to buy specific tires for dealing with the Tesla's extra weight that were significantly more expensive and would likely wear down faster anyway (we were told). I think it also has to do with using regenerative braking fairly regularly too. 

It's certainly solvable with what we have, but it does mean increasing both overall wear on tires and more microplastic residues off of existing tires. 

[IheartIheartTesla]

Biden uses executive power to create New Deal-style American Climate Corps | Joe Biden | The Guardian

Quote

In an announcement on Wednesday, the White House said the program would employ about 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires.

Presumably this is a good idea.

[Kalbear]

I've thought for a while that the US should start focusing on having a government service dedicated to dealing with emergencies - from fighting fires to disaster help and recovery to land conservation and big projects. I think this is a decent start. My view would be to have it be almost a military thing that you enlist in, get GI Bill type credits, get other benefits and the like. 

[ThinkerX]

4 hours ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

Biden uses executive power to create New Deal-style American Climate Corps | Joe Biden | The Guardian

Presumably this is a good idea.

Funding this could prove...interesting. Perhaps some sort of fee system tied to national parks?

[The Anti-Targ]

We just need mag-lev cars and that will get rid of the tire issue completely.

[Spockydog]

Brooklyn is currently under water and the subway is flooding. This is after 3 inches of rain. Another 5 are forecast for today. Holy shit. Stay safe, New Yorkers. 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by Spockydog

[Zorral]

Not all of Brooklyn is under water, not by a long shot.  It's a huge place.

Mostly it's the streets and subways -- and basements.  Most residential buildings have basement apartments. With people and their lives in them.  This is what is really dangerous.

Some of Queens and the Bronx too, and Long Island -- which always floods.  All of which have residential basements too.

Though nobody's really reporting on this, I will assume much of the foot of Manhattan is filled with water in the streets and subways too.  Not so much residential there.

New Jersey is really flooding in the Northeast part. It's expected to get another 8 inches today!

We here in Manhattan had already by noon gotten as much rain as we got from Ophelia over the last weekend, i.e. over 3 days, but this was in hours.  Another 5 inches expected by 6:30 PM.

Edited September 29, 2023 by Zorral