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Why do doomers censor hope?

Discussions related to the physiological and psychological effects of peak oil on our members and future generations.

Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby Zarquon » Thu 02 Mar 2017, 17:18:18

Regarding the construction of thousands of 4th-generation nuclear plants: right now the industry can't even figure out how to build a 3rd-gen. plant without incurring massive losses. Which is not exactly a new phenomenon in the nuke industry.

In France, people love their heavily subsidized cheap power. But EDF/Areva is practically broke. It's not only that they don't have the money to replace their aging fleet - they don't even have the money to scrap the old ones.

The smart money got out of nuke construction already. The ones ending up holding the hot potato, like Toshiba, bleed. The industry faces a large brain-drain of scientists and engineers over the next couple of years. Which investor is going to finance the next generation of plants, and who's going to actually build them?

http://www.theenergycollective.com/ener ... ent-236112
Last edited by Zarquon on Thu 02 Mar 2017, 18:47:40, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby eclipse » Thu 02 Mar 2017, 17:26:20

Hi Ralfy, there's a lot to respond to so I think I'll have to take it bit by bit.
For now, I'll respond to your economic meme with some real world reality:-

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')e offer this statement in the belief that both human prosperity and an ecologically vibrant planet are not only possible but also inseparable. By committing to the real processes, already underway, that have begun to decouple human well-being from environmental destruction, we believe that such a future might be achieved. As such, we embrace an optimistic view toward human capacities and the future.
http://www.ecomodernism.org/manifesto-english/


It's not just credit, but that real world GDP of real economic activities producing goods and services are becoming less energy and resource intensive over time. The footprints graph I linked to shows that if we solve climate change with abundant cheap energy, we will have come back to one planet living. The so called 2 or 3 earth's to sustain a first world modern life drops back under 1 earth.
With climate change, we're at 1.5 earths.
Without.... through a fast build out of standardised, safe nuclear reactors + clean synthetic fuels to replace diesel and jet fuel (boron or Blue Crude or even kelp diesel), and we're in 1 planet living.
Image
Then it's a matter of protecting biodiversity, improving farming output, and maybe moving to veggie-steaks or vat grown meat as alternatives to livestock. If we can substitute veggie-chicken and veggie-steaks which are becoming more and more sophisticated and indistinguishable from the real thing, we'll massively reduce our impact.
In other words, what I'm saying is IPAT gives us hope. A growing population can be far more than offset by growing technological efficiency, it can be negated and eliminated. Will the environment care if we have 10 billion or 20 billion if they're all in New Urbanist eco-cities running on clean energy and veggie-steaks? Think about it. Look at the graph again. Grazing land takes up a third of the ice-free land on earth, yet has less environmental impact than cropland. Probably all those Aussie cows that can graze wilderness areas, and not completely mono-culture them like cropland does. Imagine if we eliminate fishing as an environmental footprint, and convert fishing into kelp farming, and environmental bonus?
IPAT: it's a thing. If it takes some credit to fund clean nuclear power or kelp farms or vat-grown beef technologies, then I'm going to support that credit as growing new industries vital to our planet's long term success.
Dr James Hansen recommends breeder reactors that convert nuclear 'waste' into 1000 years of clean energy for America, and can charge all our light vehicles and generate "Blue Crude" for heavy vehicles.
https://eclipsenow.wordpress.com/recharge/
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby eclipse » Thu 02 Mar 2017, 17:35:50

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ralfy', 'M')ost of the world isn't like Japan. For that to happen, they have to catch up and industrialize first, after which they can also experience the same.

So you admit that the real world shows that a modern first world economy like Japan can exist without perpetual growth? Kind of undermines many of your posts.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'G')iven the ecological footprint graph you provided and other info I sent, that catching up will require around four more earths.

I don't think you've studied my graph then! Abundant clean energy will reduce us to under one planet living, no matter the numbers that is applied to, and decoupling environmental IMPACT by better TECHNOLOGY will revolutionise the outcomes of IPAT.
IMPACT = POPULATION * AFFLUENCE (CONSUMPTION) * TECHNOLOGY.

If the TECHNOLOGY becomes a divider of harm instead of multiplying harm, you can see what a game changer it could be.
Dr James Hansen recommends breeder reactors that convert nuclear 'waste' into 1000 years of clean energy for America, and can charge all our light vehicles and generate "Blue Crude" for heavy vehicles.
https://eclipsenow.wordpress.com/recharge/
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby peripato » Thu 02 Mar 2017, 18:33:33

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tanada', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('onlooker', 'D')oomers do not censor hope but shine a bright light on the most serious problems


I shine a bright light on the problems I see all the time. However I do not then proclaim those problems are so grand we are all gonna die, civilization is about to collapse, the economy is falling apart never to recover, oil will soon be so worthless nobody will bother pumping it out of the ground or any of the half dozen other doomer theme scenarios that get pumped around this place constantly.

So what's the plan for keeping 7.5 bn people, and counting, alive without fossil fuels, and without cooking/strip-mining the planet at the same time?
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby onlooker » Thu 02 Mar 2017, 18:35:32

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('peripato', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tanada', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('onlooker', 'D')oomers do not censor hope but shine a bright light on the most serious problems


I shine a bright light on the problems I see all the time. However I do not then proclaim those problems are so grand we are all gonna die, civilization is about to collapse, the economy is falling apart never to recover, oil will soon be so worthless nobody will bother pumping it out of the ground or any of the half dozen other doomer theme scenarios that get pumped around this place constantly.

So what's the plan for keeping 7.5 bn people, and counting, alive without fossil fuels, and without cooking/strip-mining the planet at the same time?

This thread is attracting some nice feedback. Keep it going folks :)
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby eclipse » Thu 02 Mar 2017, 18:50:19

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('peripato', 'S')o what's the plan for keeping 7.5 bn people, and counting, alive without fossil fuels, and without cooking/strip-mining the planet at the same time?

Read the thread. Maybe my signature as well? :-D
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby peripato » Thu 02 Mar 2017, 18:58:14

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eclipse', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('peripato', 'S')o what's the plan for keeping 7.5 bn people, and counting, alive without fossil fuels, and without cooking/strip-mining the planet at the same time?

Read the thread. Maybe my signature as well? :-D

Give us a break. Lol. Serious plans, not delusion.

Hint: I haven't come across one, it's just doubling down on what's already failed. Hence all the crazy cheap credit creation schemes to keep the whole juggernaut moving.
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby ralfy » Thu 02 Mar 2017, 21:19:11

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eclipse', 'H')i Ralfy, there's a lot to respond to so I think I'll have to take it bit by bit.
For now, I'll respond to your economic meme with some real world reality:-

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')e offer this statement in the belief that both human prosperity and an ecologically vibrant planet are not only possible but also inseparable. By committing to the real processes, already underway, that have begun to decouple human well-being from environmental destruction, we believe that such a future might be achieved. As such, we embrace an optimistic view toward human capacities and the future.
http://www.ecomodernism.org/manifesto-english/


It's not just credit, but that real world GDP of real economic activities producing goods and services are becoming less energy and resource intensive over time. The footprints graph I linked to shows that if we solve climate change with abundant cheap energy, we will have come back to one planet living. The so called 2 or 3 earth's to sustain a first world modern life drops back under 1 earth.
With climate change, we're at 1.5 earths.
Without.... through a fast build out of standardised, safe nuclear reactors + clean synthetic fuels to replace diesel and jet fuel (boron or Blue Crude or even kelp diesel), and we're in 1 planet living.
Image
Then it's a matter of protecting biodiversity, improving farming output, and maybe moving to veggie-steaks or vat grown meat as alternatives to livestock. If we can substitute veggie-chicken and veggie-steaks which are becoming more and more sophisticated and indistinguishable from the real thing, we'll massively reduce our impact.
In other words, what I'm saying is IPAT gives us hope. A growing population can be far more than offset by growing technological efficiency, it can be negated and eliminated. Will the environment care if we have 10 billion or 20 billion if they're all in New Urbanist eco-cities running on clean energy and veggie-steaks? Think about it. Look at the graph again. Grazing land takes up a third of the ice-free land on earth, yet has less environmental impact than cropland. Probably all those Aussie cows that can graze wilderness areas, and not completely mono-culture them like cropland does. Imagine if we eliminate fishing as an environmental footprint, and convert fishing into kelp farming, and environmental bonus?
IPAT: it's a thing. If it takes some credit to fund clean nuclear power or kelp farms or vat-grown beef technologies, then I'm going to support that credit as growing new industries vital to our planet's long term success.


It's obvious that GDP will require less energy each time. That's because more credit is being created each time. As pointed out in this article:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/8402

credit has been growing by 12 pct a year, the GDP by 3.5 pct, and oil production by around 1 pct. There's your "economic meme": continuous growth made possible by increasing numbers in hard drives.

Meawhile, "real world reality" requires more energy and material resources per person to make those smart phones, passenger vehicles, etc. That will definitely require going beyond biocapacity, as clearly seen in the graph that you presented.

What makes matters worse is that, as you put it, we are at 1.5 earths with climate change. You forgot to mention that that also includes a growing population of which only a fraction makes up a middle class. That will require even more than 1.5 earths.

And this doesn't include the problem of backing up all of that credit. Or do you imagine that financiers are only playing games?

That's why the only thing you have left in your defense is the "organic soup" meme, where the human race can easily create anything that they want for only one global hectare per person, and maybe even less.

What a defense.
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby ralfy » Thu 02 Mar 2017, 21:35:36

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eclipse', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ralfy', 'M')ost of the world isn't like Japan. For that to happen, they have to catch up and industrialize first, after which they can also experience the same.

So you admit that the real world shows that a modern first world economy like Japan can exist without perpetual growth? Kind of undermines many of your posts.


No, what I'm saying is that for the world to follow suit, we will need several more earths. See your previous post for details.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')I don't think you've studied my graph then! Abundant clean energy will reduce us to under one planet living, no matter the numbers that is applied to, and decoupling environmental IMPACT by better TECHNOLOGY will revolutionise the outcomes of IPAT.
IMPACT = POPULATION * AFFLUENCE (CONSUMPTION) * TECHNOLOGY.


Your graph doesn't show that. Instead, it shows ecological footprint exceeding biocapacity. Unless you can prove that people from the future went back to 1970 to make sure the world used "abundant clean energy," then I think it's safe to assume that the upward trend from that time to the present has heavily involved petrochemical products: from mining to manufacturing to mechanized agriculture to shipping.

What you need to do is to show a working model of "organic soup" being able to create everything at very low energy costs. Can you do that?

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')If the TECHNOLOGY becomes a divider of harm instead of multiplying harm, you can see what a game changer it could be.


I agree, but we have to be realistic about this. Keep in mind that when you imply in your previous posts that anything is possible, then you have to consider the point that the argument works both ways.

The best thing to do is to move away from memes, especially those involving "game changers" and "silver bullets," and to consider what one can do in adjusting to a world affected by peak oil, among others. That may also mean replacing "doomers" with "realists".
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby jedrider » Thu 02 Mar 2017, 22:41:25

So the fundamental problem is that we ran out of Earth. What to do next, what to do?
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby eclipse » Fri 03 Mar 2017, 01:25:48

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ralfy', '
')Your graph doesn't show that. Instead, it shows ecological footprint exceeding biocapacity.

It shows that if we clean up our energy, we're in one planet living.
It shows other warning areas that we need to improve.
It shows the basic outcome of the current IPAT equation.
If you understand IPAT, you can see the potential solutions.
Dr James Hansen recommends breeder reactors that convert nuclear 'waste' into 1000 years of clean energy for America, and can charge all our light vehicles and generate "Blue Crude" for heavy vehicles.
https://eclipsenow.wordpress.com/recharge/
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby ralfy » Fri 03 Mar 2017, 05:34:42

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eclipse', '
')It shows that if we clean up our energy, we're in one planet living.
It shows other warning areas that we need to improve.
It shows the basic outcome of the current IPAT equation.
If you understand IPAT, you can see the potential solutions.


No one disagrees with such points. The problem is that your last point is contradicted by your graph, unless you can show that "clean, abundant energy" was primarily responsible for the increasing footprint from 1970 to the present.
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby eclipse » Fri 03 Mar 2017, 07:24:09

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ralfy', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eclipse', '
')It shows that if we clean up our energy, we're in one planet living.
It shows other warning areas that we need to improve.
It shows the basic outcome of the current IPAT equation.
If you understand IPAT, you can see the potential solutions.


No one disagrees with such points. The problem is that your last point is contradicted by your graph, unless you can show that "clean, abundant energy" was primarily responsible for the increasing footprint from 1970 to the present.

You use words, but they have no meaning.
My last point is self explanatory, and your words that try to discount my words are irrelevant. Everyone knows it was the increase in fossil fuel use since the 1970's that has caused the climate crisis to blow out. When we start to decrease that, our footprint starts to decrease. When we start to mop up excess CO2 with mass kelp-farming & CO2 sequestration, we mop it up further.

I do not need to show that "clean, abundant energy" was primarily responsible for INCREASING our environmental footprint because that is like asking me to prove that the moon is alive, or that up is down, or that hot is cold. Can you try and explain your footprint problem another way? Because you're currently asking me to demonstrate how the solution is the problem, and I've simply got no idea what you're talking about.
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby ralfy » Sat 04 Mar 2017, 03:49:26

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eclipse', '
')You use words, but they have no meaning.
My last point is self explanatory, and your words that try to discount my words are irrelevant. Everyone knows it was the increase in fossil fuel use since the 1970's that has caused the climate crisis to blow out. When we start to decrease that, our footprint starts to decrease. When we start to mop up excess CO2 with mass kelp-farming & CO2 sequestration, we mop it up further.

I do not need to show that "clean, abundant energy" was primarily responsible for INCREASING our environmental footprint because that is like asking me to prove that the moon is alive, or that up is down, or that hot is cold. Can you try and explain your footprint problem another way? Because you're currently asking me to demonstrate how the solution is the problem, and I've simply got no idea what you're talking about.


As pointed out in your post:

why-do-doomers-censor-hope-t73258-80.html#p1350612

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he footprints graph I linked to shows that if we solve climate change with abundant cheap energy, we will have come back to one planet living.


The graph doesn't show that. Rather, it shows that oil was used to increase footprint to ensure "a first world modern life."

Also, "abundant cheap energy" is not supposed to force us to "come back to one planet living." It's supposed to do the opposite.
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby asg70 » Thu 30 Mar 2017, 11:30:20

The larger issue is the way people argue as a sport for ego gratification rather than a genuine pursuit of truth. You see this in the devolution of political discourse that led us to Trump but you also see it in the style of argumentation here.

http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_h_cohen ... anguage=en

The majority of the rhetoric here seems to be intended to tear away or tear down at an individual, a group, or a demonized -ism. Anger has a way of blinding us from what's actually happening. It makes us envision a more pessimistic future as a way to deliver "payback" for groups we hate, or envision a more optimistic future as a way to deliver humble-pie to doomers. The truth will probably reside somewhere in the middle in a way that satisfies neither extreme.

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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby Ibon » Fri 31 Mar 2017, 18:12:38

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('asg70', 'T')he larger issue is the way people argue as a sport for ego gratification rather than a genuine pursuit of truth. You see this in the devolution of political discourse that led us to Trump but you also see it in the style of argumentation here.

http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_h_cohen ... anguage=en

The majority of the rhetoric here seems to be intended to tear away or tear down at an individual, a group, or a demonized -ism. Anger has a way of blinding us from what's actually happening. It makes us envision a more pessimistic future as a way to deliver "payback" for groups we hate, or envision a more optimistic future as a way to deliver humble-pie to doomers. The truth will probably reside somewhere in the middle in a way that satisfies neither extreme.


Excellent post ASG. If we would want to be an exceptional site we should take note of this and try to differentiate ourselves from the overwhelming mainstream trend in the media, in politics and social media to argue past one another full of anger and empty of wisdom.
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby onlooker » Fri 31 Mar 2017, 18:28:41

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('asg70', 'T')he larger issue is the way people argue as a sport for ego gratification rather than a genuine pursuit of truth. You see this in the devolution of political discourse that led us to Trump but you also see it in the style of argumentation here.

http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_h_cohen ... anguage=en

The majority of the rhetoric here seems to be intended to tear away or tear down at an individual, a group, or a demonized -ism. Anger has a way of blinding us from what's actually happening. It makes us envision a more pessimistic future as a way to deliver "payback" for groups we hate, or envision a more optimistic future as a way to deliver humble-pie to doomers. The truth will probably reside somewhere in the middle in a way that satisfies neither extreme.


Excellent post ASG. If we would want to be an exceptional site we should take note of this and try to differentiate ourselves from the overwhelming mainstream trend in the media, in politics and social media to argue past one another full of anger and empty of wisdom.

Agreed, that some petty bickering and some dogmatic entrenchment goes on here but all in all, I feel people are genuinely trying to learn, teach and engage in some interesting analysis. :-D
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby Ibon » Fri 31 Mar 2017, 19:26:52

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('onlooker', ' ')I feel people are genuinely trying to learn, teach and engage in some interesting analysis. :-D


I agree mostly but we are infected with what has happened in the mainstream regarding discourse.
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Re: Why do doomers censor hope?

Unread postby onlooker » Fri 31 Mar 2017, 19:39:15

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('onlooker', ' ')I feel people are genuinely trying to learn, teach and engage in some interesting analysis. :-D


I agree mostly but we are infected with what has happened in the mainstream regarding discourse.

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