Global Warming Now Irreversible

[Internationalist Bastard]

I know that, but a solar panel doesn't need glowing rods or whatever the hell, I aint a nuclear scientist. It's just like, don't nuclear reactors still need fuel?

About 25 tonnes per year. Compared to the nearer 2.5 million tonnes of coal an equivalent-sized plant would require.

I know, all I'm saying is you don't need fuel for a windmill.

[Salandriagado]

About 25 tonnes per year. Compared to the nearer 2.5 million tonnes of coal an equivalent-sized plant would require.

I know, all I'm saying is you don't need fuel for a windmill.

You do, however, need to replace parts in it.

[Internationalist Bastard]

I know, all I'm saying is you don't need fuel for a windmill.

You do, however, need to replace parts in it.

You gotta do that for literally everything

[Salandriagado]

You do, however, need to replace parts in it.

You gotta do that for literally everything

Yup. Replacing fuel is exactly the same thing as replacing parts.

[Internationalist Bastard]

You gotta do that for literally everything

Yup. Replacing fuel is exactly the same thing as replacing parts.

I mean every mechanical device needparts replaced to keep working

[Imperializt Russia]

Yup. Replacing fuel is exactly the same thing as replacing parts.

I mean every mechanical device needparts replaced to keep working

But yes, at present, PV cells need complex materials that must be mined, refined, manufactured, refined again, and then constructed.
It's a very, very chemical-intensive industry with a lot of toxic, corrosive chemical waste.

The back-end of PV cells are an environmental nightmare. The industry (or at least, global supply) is pretty dominated by the Chinese.

If you want clean energy and energy independence, PV really is not the way to go unless cleaner methods can be sought.

[Internationalist Bastard]

I mean every mechanical device needparts replaced to keep working

But yes, at present, PV cells need complex materials that must be mined, refined, manufactured, refined again, and then constructed.
It's a very, very chemical-intensive industry with a lot of toxic, corrosive chemical waste.

The back-end of PV cells are an environmental nightmare. The industry (or at least, global supply) is pretty dominated by the Chinese.

If you want clean energy and energy independence, PV really is not the way to go unless cleaner methods can be sought.

OK, thank you. I wasn't knocking nuclear energy, I'm just trying to point out some issues

[Novus America]

It's reaching a critical point -- ice is melting, animals are becoming extinct, people are being killed or injured by more frequent hurricanes, tornadoes and severe weather, we've had higher and higher average temperatures during all months.

I don't live near ice, hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, nor in places with especially ridiculous high temperatures. The animals where I have lived are being poached into extinction by people, not killed off by climate change. However, I did watch the worrying encroachment of desert and karoo. That's a far bigger threat.

Surprised you didn't mention rapid desertification. That's a greater threat posed by climate change to the human population of this planet than ice melting at the current rate.

And desertification needs to be combated. If it received half the media attention that the near-extinction of little furry seals or polar bears floating around on broken-off glaciers received maybe something more will be done.

The Sahara Desert is expanding at an alarming rate. If nothing is done in a few years another Ethiopian-style famine could take hold in West Africa.

The Kalahari Desert is also expanding. In the next hundred years it will begin to make serious advances into both RSA and Zimbabwe unless checked. As the desert expands, the karoo zone of semi-arid, semi-desert wasteland between the desert proper and the savanna will also expand with it and that will likewise carry severe repercussions for the ecosystem in southern Africa.

Nuclear desalinization is a potential solution. Also in the Sahara you can flood the https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qattara_Depression and other below sea level areas to increase humidity, and provide salt water for desalinization.

In the US you could (re)flood the Salton sink. I wonder if any of those would have any measurable effect on sea levels.

[Seraven]

Prepare the ships and mobilize the manpower of the Chinese to build ships!

Like, seriously.

This is bad.

[Rupingle]

Legit, if we ran on 100% renewables with electric cars that charged as they drove on the road, there would be no need to go to war for oil, coal, or shitty resources. Everyone could generate electricity from what they have on their own soil.

[Free Missouri]

Legit, if we ran on 100% renewables with electric cars that charged as they drove on the road, there would be no need to go to war for oil, coal, or shitty resources. Everyone could generate electricity from what they have on their own soil.

Renewables are a no-go without baseload nuclear. Unless you know how to build invincible power lines.

[Empire of Narnia]

The solution is simple. Use nuclear winter to counteract global warming. Just rip up the test ban treaties and set off a bunch of nukes in the Sahara.

[Atomic Utopia]

The solution is simple. Use nuclear winter to counteract global warming. Just rip up the test ban treaties and set off a bunch of nukes in the Sahara.

I know this is just a joke, but the idea behind nuclear winter requires a firestorm to kick up soot and ash, and thus would not occur unless you nuked an easily burnable city.

[Scandinavian Nations]

I know this is just a joke, but the idea behind nuclear winter requires a firestorm to kick up soot and ash, and thus would not occur unless you nuked an easily burnable city.

So it's all down to picking one. San Francisco?

[Free Missouri]

I know this is just a joke, but the idea behind nuclear winter requires a firestorm to kick up soot and ash, and thus would not occur unless you nuked an easily burnable city.

So it's all down to picking one. San Francisco?

DC? we could solve our two party system problem while we're at it.

[Arcipelago]

I don't really care, and anyone who says they do is probably lying or is just a better person than me.

[Imperial Union of America]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/oct/14/climate-scientists-published-a-paper-debunking-ted-cruz

Some serious numbers. Apparently 97% of scientists agree on climate change.

There is now a scientific paper they released showing the danger of climate change and debunking Sen. Ted Cruz's claims.