Merv's Politically Incorrect Audio Blog

No, these are "solutions" proposed from politics. The solution science would propose is a little too much for the public to bear (literally zero emissions right now).

There are scientists who agree with what you're saying, but coming up with a solution that is both scientifically and politically agreeable is quite difficult.

Incidentally, China has taken more real action against climate change than any developed nation in the world (forgive the propaganda like statement, but it is hard to argue against it).

 

In regards to science, pharma, doctors (hospital groups) and, everything else being driven by profit - I had a discussion with a friend the other day about how corporations suck the life out of their employees in the name of profit. My response was that to some degree, we are ourselves to blame. Every single one of us who has a retirement account and/or owns stocks, wants to see pretty numbers at the end of every quarter. Very few of us (if any), are hitting the boards and CEOs over the head about the treatment of employees which lead to our own personal wealth creation.

I'm not saying that we're solely or mostly at fault (we're small fish compared to the ultra rich who own the vast majority of corporations). Just pointing out that nothing is simple. If you or your retirement funds own a piece of Apple, Phizer, pick your company here, you are a (small) part of the problem.

 

The science on climate change hasn't really changed in 30 years, since before I even finished high school. The problem and solutions are still the same - we need to cut carbon release at all costs. It has taken politicians, policy and the public decades to catch up. And yeah, the actual actions being taken are still quite lacking.

Is this the fault of the science? I really don't think it is. Even if the sci comm was 100% perfect, no amount of data is able to convince some people that they should make sacrifices and cut consumption for the greater good. I mean shit, here we all are with multi thousand dollar audio setups, how many of us have made, or are willing to make real sacrifices?

The parallels with COVID bite hard. About 1/3 of Americans are unwilling to protect themselves and their neighbours through vaccination. Not because of the science, but because of belligerence, politics and selfishness.

 

Over the years I've seen plenty of scientific reports trying to calculate the maximum human capacity of the planet at current and future technology levels. It always looks grim for about half of us. This science is dismissed by the public as quackery and alarmism. Is this the fault of science, or people?

So what do we do then? You working on depopulation? I'm sure you have access to big guns in Texas. I'm sure you have a bathtub and razor blades. I am obviously being 100% facetious by suggesting mass murder or suicide, but is our unwillingness to take action the fault of the science or the people? Was China's one child policy enlightened, fascist, or scientific? How the hell did we even get to talking about this?

 

Zero emissions is impossible but a massive cut is not. Nuclear energy is greener than solar and wind. Unfortunately, everybody watched too many Chernobyl documentaries. However, there is real progress being made on micro reactors. They're basically the size of a shipping container and transportable. I don't understand the mechanics of it but apparently there is safety built in since a failure results in the core hitting the salt water the reactor is in and the reaction is killed. I suppose they could be land based sitting in a pool of salt water as well. And if one does go nuclear, they're small enough to not cause a disaster.

 

Where some of this gets even more depressing is in our inability to make effective changes swiftly, even when doing so appears to be straightforward and sensible.

Back in June, Nevada outlawed "non-functional" grass (on street medians, etc.) as part of an effort to conserve water (AP article about it here). I don't know enough about the issue or about hydrology to comment on the merits of the law. Apparently the law was passed with bipartisan support. If we assume that this is indeed the right thing to do then why the hell does the law stipulate that the ban will take effect in 2027? Surely it doesn't take five and a half years to let grass die and to plant succulents? (Or do they have to remove the watering systems?)

As Purr1n notes, our ability to contend successfully to climate change will require adapting effectively and swiftly enough.

I hate to say it but ASR is ahead of the curve on some of this stuff: we should all be switching over to peddle power to drive our amplifiers. In his review of the Violectric V281, Amir writes:

"I am getting worried about sitting at my desk so much doing these reviews and not getting enough exercise. Fortunately I saw on TV they have a set of wheels you can peddle while sitting at your desk that lets you lose 30 pounds in 30 days. Yippee! Need some money to buy it so please donate"
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[Edit: in case it didn't come across this way, I'm being sarcastic at the end here]

 

What a f'ing dick.

 

I have that exact cycle. It's like $75 on Amazon. So sad to see how far Amir has fallen from his glory days at Gates' side. I wonder what's next. I love Ramen but can't afford - please donate?

Sarcasm off.

 

I do agree (especially re degrowth) but carbon capture sort of makes it possible to get net zero... but only sort of.

 

A bit late, but stepping back a bit about science and the public... how about science having a few more heroes? Everybody here knows who Alexander Fleming was, and what discovered, right? Who here, outside the trade, knows a name and a face to attach to any of the key covid-vaccine researchers. They are not all invisible, some, at least have been written about, but what we know and remember is the pharma-company names not the individuals.

Back to emission...

 

You're entirely right. Some of these folks should have become household names. I can only think of Sarah Gilbert, but that's because I'm British and I have elderly relatives in the UK whom I worry about, which means that I follow the news back home carefully. Beyond Gilbert, I can't remember the names of others. The names of the Turkish-German couple who founded BioNTech escape me, for shame, and I can't name anyone associated with the Moderna vaccine.

I believe Sarah Gilbert is now a Dame. The honours system isn't fit for purpose any more - not that it ever was, necessarily - but there are many who deserve public recognition. It's too bad that 2021's Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients so far have included two politicians (eye roll) and three people who made their living by using sticks to whack white balls into little round holes across the countryside.

 

https://apnews.com/article/years-research-groundwork-covid-19-shots-f204192f07cfcc3503dc9c7687ae6269

 

Presented on the floor of the US Senate. Vaccinated vs unvaccinated Covid deaths. England is being transparent with the data. Why isn't the fauci brigade?
https://twitter.com/i/status/1443777704994672644

 

First of all, here's the report he references. The death numbers he calls out are on page 20. Vaccination data to the same timepoint as that report is here, with a nice graph on page 4 showing percent vaccination by age range.

Let's focus on the over 50's, since that is your age bracket. Approximately 95% of people over 50 have been vaccinated. Or 19 vaccinated people to 1 unvaccinated person.

Total deaths on the over 50 is 2336, total unvaccinated deaths over 50 is 590 (25%), total vaccinated deaths are 1746 (75%). Or approximately 3 vaccinated people to 1 unvaccinated person.

Simple calculation of 19/3 means you are 6 times more likely to die if you are unvaccinated if you are over 50 in the UK.

Additional factors to consider, this is the most vulnerable age group, where vaccines are known to be a little less effective. The over 50's will be getting Astra Zeneca, which is less effective against delta than Pfizer and Moderna.

Ron Johnson is an idiot. Data without proper context is useless.