Just 5 years left to stop climate change

[auroraglacialis]

World headed for irreversible climate change in five years, IEA warns | Environment | The Guardian

The world is likely to build so many fossil-fuelled power stations, energy-guzzling factories and inefficient buildings in the next five years that it will become impossible to hold global warming to safe levels, and the last chance of combating dangerous climate change will be "lost for ever", according to the most thorough analysis yet of world energy infrastructure.
...
"The door is closing," Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, said. "I am very worried – if we don't change direction now on how we use energy, we will end up beyond what scientists tell us is the minimum [for safety]. The door will be closed forever."

If the world is to stay below 2C of warming, which scientists regard as the limit of safety, [because above that the greenland iceshield is endangered] then emissions must be held to no more than 450 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; the level is currently around 390ppm. But the world's existing infrastructure is already producing 80% of that "carbon budget", according to the IEA's analysis, published on Wednesday. ...
by 2015 at least 90% of the available "carbon budget" will be swallowed up by our energy and industrial infrastructure. By 2017, there will be no room for manoeuvre at all
...
Birol told the Guardian that constraining global warming to moderate levels would be "only a nice utopia" unless drastic action was taken.

5 measly years. "We" have waited way way too long to get on the right track. I feel very sad and depressed if I read this. And it comes from the IEA - not Greenpeace, the green party, the Sierra club or even just the social democratic parties - from the International Energy Agency - a conservative and economics oriented global organization:

The IEA's data is regarded as the gold standard in emissions and energy, and is widely regarded as one of the most conservative in outlook – making the warning all the more stark.

[Empty Glass]

Pessimism keeps setting in with me. I doubt this will get much attention from the U.S. Congress right now.

[Isard]

We may be in trouble if something happens depending on our hypothetical actions.

Confidence.

[Human No More]

Originally Posted by Isard

We may be in trouble if something happens depending on our hypothetical actions.

Confidence.

Exactly.

All the nimbyism regarding solutions to the problem is what is endangering the world. Without that, there would not be any new coal/oil power stations built and even the ability to shut extant ones down before the end of their operational life (something this prediction does not talk about).

Originally Posted by Icu

People have been saying this for literally decades.

Exactly. Oil was going to run out in the 80s 90s 2000s 2010s 2020s, right? The world was going to end in 1988 1992 1994 2000 2012. When people believe something will happen, they will always keep setting the date further forwards when it doesn't turn up.

Originally Posted by Clarke

This is somewhat sensationalist. Look at what the reasoning is:

But that's not correct; they can be shut down in a matter of days, if the need arises.

(Note to mention ignoring the possibility of reversing it.)

It's called a political agenda.

[Fkeu'itan]

Originally Posted by Human No More

Oil was going to run out in the 80s 90s 2000s 2010s 2020s, right? The world was going to end in 1988 1992 1994 2000 2012. When people believe something will happen, they will always keep setting the date further forwards when it doesn't turn up.

Still... Doesn't mean we don't need to start changing things for the better, to cleaner, more friendly power sources right now...

Even if the cake you have is massive, you can only take so many pieces from it. Oil is not an infinite source of power for us. Nor is it 'clean'.

[iron_jones]

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

Even if the cake you have is massive, you can only take so many pieces from it.

Oh trust me I could probably eat the whole thing.

[Advent]

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

Still... Doesn't mean we don't need to start changing things for the better, to cleaner, more friendly power sources right now..

Exactly. There is little reason to not invest into more clean energy. Oil and Coal have several problems regardless of climate change.

[Human No More]

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

Still... Doesn't mean we don't need to start changing things for the better, to cleaner, more friendly power sources right now...

Even if the cake you have is massive, you can only take so many pieces from it. Oil is not an infinite source of power for us. Nor is it 'clean'.

I nevr said anything other than that. However, what I did say was that people who either believe something will happen and/or want something to happen will always 'predict' it and keep shifting that 'prediction' further into the future when it turns out to be false.

[Theorist]

Originally Posted by Human No More

Exactly. Oil was going to run out in the 80s 90s 2000s 2010s 2020s, right? The world was going to end in 1988 1992 1994 2000 2012. When people believe something will happen, they will always keep setting the date further forwards when it doesn't turn up.

But the thing is, we may not know exactly when we are going to run out of oil, or what is going to happen, but generally we get closer and closer to what is correct.

What I'm saying is we used to think the earth was flat, then we thought it was a sphere, now we think it's an oblate spheroid. This tends to happen with science, so our predictions in the 80's or 90's aren't going to be as goo as they are today

[Loverofnature]

Originally Posted by Human No More

Exactly.

All the nimbyism regarding solutions to the problem is what is endangering the world. Without that, there would not be any new coal/oil power stations built and even the ability to shut extant ones down before the end of their operational life (something this prediction does not talk about).


Exactly. Oil was going to run out in the 80s 90s 2000s 2010s 2020s, right? The world was going to end in 1988 1992 1994 2000 2012. When people believe something will happen, they will always keep setting the date further forwards when it doesn't turn up.


It's called a political agenda.

Exactly. Doom has always been around the corner according to us. and i agree with you here, HNM. Every decade it has been said.

that said, something should be done.

interestingly enough, the readings of the atmosphere read, that the atmosphere is actually retracting, which is the sign of a cooldown and not a warm up.

physics teacher told me that

[Advent]

'If' is bad enough, IMO. There shouldn't be an 'if' to begin with.

[Isard]

Originally Posted by Advent

'If' is bad enough, IMO. There shouldn't be an 'if' to begin with.

If we don't shift the Earths orbit we might collide with an asteroid.

[Advent]

Originally Posted by Isard

If we don't shift the Earths orbit we might collide with an asteroid.

I'm talking about something that we've actually caused, Isard.

[Isard]

Originally Posted by Advent

I'm talking about something that we've actually caused, Isard.

I really don't have the energy to push this. Needless to say, debating ifs and maybes is a useless venture at best.


I need to go be depressed now.

[iron_jones]

Originally Posted by Isard

I need to go be depressed now.

I'll mail you an "A Perfect Circle" CD.