It's getting hot in here...
Submitted by dimmer on 24 October, 2005 - 02:16.
Originally
As global warming increases, so does observable evidence(read: consequences) of global warming. On 9-22-03, we learned that a large ice shelf had broken up. On 9-24-2003 (today), we see that our oceans are becoming more acidic due to CO2 (a greenhouse gas). Don't forget that last year a couple icebergs broke off of Antarctica.UPDATED 10-21-03: Glaciers melting faster, changing sea level. How much evidence do we need before we act?
Sadly, it seems that Americans will only be pragmatic when pragmatism is physically forced upon them. Electric cars will only sell when gasoline is no longer affordable. Of course electricity will be more expensive then. If Americans were smart, they would conserve gasoline for a rainy day, just like the smart consumer doesn't splurge on a sofa he doesn't need (then he has $500 to spend on anything more important). Gasoline is still a limited resource, and when we spend it all, there won't be another source of income (save for a technological breakthrough). Since we don't know how long it will last, we should always act like we are on our last few gallons, and use them sparingly. Instead, we drive behemoths of automobiles, Porsche makes SUVs and the Geo Metro got the axe. This is one of the ways that pure capitalism seems to fail us. The consumer only cares about what they consider to be the best for them, and the consumer doesn't seem to give a shit about future generations.
("But I don't see evidence of global warming," said the blind man.)
originally posted by dimmer on Wednesday September 24, 2003 from the sinking-island dept. While the USA is stubbornly and ignorantly defying the Kyoto protocol, more Americans are buying the Hummer2 (just as big, twice as comfortable, and five times more useless than the Hummer1), Bush's token fuel-cell funding seems to have gone nowhere, and the P seems to missing from the Bush administration's EPA. Noting these trends, is it really surprising that the global climate is warmer than anytime in recent history?As global warming increases, so does observable evidence(read: consequences) of global warming. On 9-22-03, we learned that a large ice shelf had broken up. On 9-24-2003 (today), we see that our oceans are becoming more acidic due to CO2 (a greenhouse gas). Don't forget that last year a couple icebergs broke off of Antarctica.UPDATED 10-21-03: Glaciers melting faster, changing sea level. How much evidence do we need before we act?
Sadly, it seems that Americans will only be pragmatic when pragmatism is physically forced upon them. Electric cars will only sell when gasoline is no longer affordable. Of course electricity will be more expensive then. If Americans were smart, they would conserve gasoline for a rainy day, just like the smart consumer doesn't splurge on a sofa he doesn't need (then he has $500 to spend on anything more important). Gasoline is still a limited resource, and when we spend it all, there won't be another source of income (save for a technological breakthrough). Since we don't know how long it will last, we should always act like we are on our last few gallons, and use them sparingly. Instead, we drive behemoths of automobiles, Porsche makes SUVs and the Geo Metro got the axe. This is one of the ways that pure capitalism seems to fail us. The consumer only cares about what they consider to be the best for them, and the consumer doesn't seem to give a shit about future generations.
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