Passed the hundred page mark. I'm not hurrying. I might read a paragraph four times. The old brain does not assimilate information in the same way the same brain did when young, nor at the same speed.
Getting a fair number of assumptions and beliefs reset. Pleased about it.
Getting a fair number of assumptions and beliefs reset. Pleased about it.
One underlying belief has been, rather than reset, reinforced. That is, over our time here on Earth we have tried an incomprehensible different ways of organizing ourselves into societies.
Look at us today, I would say a majority of us don't believe humans could live without cars
Look at us today, I would say a majority of us don't believe humans could live without cars
3. At least, not have a decent life, a life worth living. We have reached the Pinnacle of Humanity.
Everyone before us was miserable. Three million years of miserable hominids glumphing around the savanna.
It's just a damn shame our way, The Best And Only Way, kills the biosphere
Everyone before us was miserable. Three million years of miserable hominids glumphing around the savanna.
It's just a damn shame our way, The Best And Only Way, kills the biosphere
4. Because unfortunately, we are members of the biosphere, and at some point the layer that gets peeled off by our latest improvement will be the one that contains us.
We will be shocked and offended.
We are the Pinnacle of Humanity.
We will be shocked and offended.
We are the Pinnacle of Humanity.
5. Not all of us. Just a quarter of us.
Two billion are obese. That's the developed world. There are two billion cars. I'm rounding up to 8 billion people now. So - ¼ of us are killing the biosphere.
One of the outcomes is, it gets hotter.
We burn fuel, and the exhaust from
Two billion are obese. That's the developed world. There are two billion cars. I'm rounding up to 8 billion people now. So - ¼ of us are killing the biosphere.
One of the outcomes is, it gets hotter.
We burn fuel, and the exhaust from
6. the fuel adds carbon to the atmosphere, and the part we killed by whatever we did with the fuel quits taking carbon out of the atmosphere, and the whole system goes to shit in an accelerating spiral, and it burns and washes away, and we say, "By 2050 we'll be..."
Horseshit.
Horseshit.
7. More people besides me need to start talking about it being horseshit. It matters. There is nearly a 100% consensus that no matter what else we do, "transitioning" to "renewables" is an absolute minimum necessary part of it.
Prove it.
Somebody knows how much energy it takes to
Prove it.
Somebody knows how much energy it takes to
8. make a solar panel in China (while bragging that Europe has reached Zero, which is in fact wildly false)
No, wait. Directly. How much energy in one wind turbine.
How many wind turbines it will take to replace the entire world's fossil fuel use.
How long it will take to do it.
No, wait. Directly. How much energy in one wind turbine.
How many wind turbines it will take to replace the entire world's fossil fuel use.
How long it will take to do it.
9. They know how much iron ore, from where, and how much bunker oil to get it here. Where "here" = "to every refinery and factory on Earth."
(We gotta quit sneering at China. They're burning all that fucking coal expressly to make our solar panels.)
(We gotta quit sneering at China. They're burning all that fucking coal expressly to make our solar panels.)
10. If we don't build enough to replace 100% of all the fossil fuel requirements, then we didn't accomplish Jack shit. The ecosystem isn't grading on a curve. You can't claim the end of civilization on your tax return.
11. The instant a molecule of GHG goes into the atmosphere it goes to work. What it does is absorb energy. Ignore all that blather about infrared and stuff, that's mechanism. What matters is the big picture. Carbon absorbs energy in its molecules.
Inherently.
Carbon makes life.
Inherently.
Carbon makes life.
12. Carbon is this incredibly powerful element. If you look up the word "organic" you'll find this buried down in the definitions. Before Rodale it was a primary definition.
Organic means carbon-based. Powerful element.
Organic means carbon-based. Powerful element.
13. I'm speaking here of power by my personal cosmology. Anything that can be that big a chunk of all of life is powerful. Averages half of every living plant. I read it's about 18% of a human, but I think that's live weight, and a lot of a live human is just water passing thru.
14. Anyway. Adding carbon to the atmosphere isn't like borrowing money. "Not emitting" some other carbon some other day isn't event relevant.
The instant we add carbon to the atmosphere it goes to work absorbing energy.
We can measure that energy with a thermometer.
It's wind too
The instant we add carbon to the atmosphere it goes to work absorbing energy.
We can measure that energy with a thermometer.
It's wind too
15. I'll bet you that if Joe Biden told you how much total carbon the infrastructure plan will add to the atmosphere you'd say, "My God! That puts us past two degrees all by itself!"
That's why he doesn't say it.
It's still there.
Every single object of renewable energy built now
That's why he doesn't say it.
It's still there.
Every single object of renewable energy built now
16. Requires specific weights of CO2 to be added to the atmosphere. And it's not an insignificant amount. The physics of manufacturing are entirely agnostic on the end purpose of the manufactured thing. It doesn't matter, while you're building it, if it's a coal fired power plant
17. Or an installation of wind turbines.
Making things like wind turbines and solar panels, cars and trucks, highways, factories - y'all, that where all the climate change comes from.
Doing more of it faster makes it worse faster.
We're a cat chasing a laser pointer. 🏎️🚀✈️
Making things like wind turbines and solar panels, cars and trucks, highways, factories - y'all, that where all the climate change comes from.
Doing more of it faster makes it worse faster.
We're a cat chasing a laser pointer. 🏎️🚀✈️
18. It absolutely does not matter how many times we say something is for the climate. Adding carbon to the atmosphere is not for the climate. Killing photosynthesizing plants, be it fucking ragweed, is not for the climate.
Period.
Period.
19. There is one thing, and one thing only, that takes any significant quantities of carbon out of the air, and that thing is photosynthesis.
"The ocean" does not take carbon out of the air, photosynthesizing oceanic life forms do. Phytoplankton.
We're killing it all.
"The ocean" does not take carbon out of the air, photosynthesizing oceanic life forms do. Phytoplankton.
We're killing it all.
20. What things could the whole world do that would combat climate change?
We could agree to never pave another square centimeter of land.
We could agree to slow down.
We could agree to never build another energy plant of any kind. No need fossil, no new renewable, no nothing.
We could agree to never pave another square centimeter of land.
We could agree to slow down.
We could agree to never build another energy plant of any kind. No need fossil, no new renewable, no nothing.
22. The reason we don't ever need a new energy conversion machine is because we had enough energy to get through yesterday, and from here we're cutting energy throughput.
So we don't ever need another power plant. Reduce use to where we can start shutting them.
So we don't ever need another power plant. Reduce use to where we can start shutting them.
23. The nations of the world could agree to reduce GDP. In order to employ their people during shrinking GDP they turn off high energy labor saving devices and employ human laborers. This will reduce emissions directly, incrementally as implement.
Park the county tractor.
Park the county tractor.
24. Park the backhoe. Hire people with shovels. Reduce GDP by reducing energy throughput. Speed of transportation, speed of resource extraction.
Basically this is "kill capitalism" and I understand it's not likely, but here's where I started. With the Davids.
Basically this is "kill capitalism" and I understand it's not likely, but here's where I started. With the Davids.
25. If there is one seriously significant characteristic of today's America it is utter lack of imagination. We are absolutely certain that this one specific system of social organization, the Technological Imperative, high velocity capitalism and all its toys and temptations,
26. I've been writing, envisioning a different America, and it is almost an antisocial act.
The rage which sweeps over some Americans at the thought of animal power -
The assumption of animal abuse -
The utter contempt.
Whether in the immediate real, or the abstract. Contempt.
The rage which sweeps over some Americans at the thought of animal power -
The assumption of animal abuse -
The utter contempt.
Whether in the immediate real, or the abstract. Contempt.
27. It's only us causing climate change.
We know exactly what we do to cause it.
We are nationally, globally, agreeing that we've *absolutely got to* continue to do it, so we tell a bunch of science fiction bullshit about Carbon Free Energy Someday, and build another steel mill.
We know exactly what we do to cause it.
We are nationally, globally, agreeing that we've *absolutely got to* continue to do it, so we tell a bunch of science fiction bullshit about Carbon Free Energy Someday, and build another steel mill.
28. The other three quarters of humanity ought to come over here and stomp us into the mud.
Coz they ain't doing it. It's just us.
We don't have to. We choose to.
Coz they ain't doing it. It's just us.
We don't have to. We choose to.
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