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Originally Posted by redpoint5
The problem isn't so much one of education, it's of interest. Knowing something is meaningless unless we're motivated to do something about that knowledge. As you point out, people want to watch mindless stuff to occupy their bored and underutilized minds.
Climate change is not an existential threat. Show me someone with compelling data to suggest it is and I'll be open to the idea. I've not heard anyone but environmental extremists suggest humanity is seriously threatened by GW.
I agree that freedom is conditional, which is why I'm not a Libertarian. Their attitude often is something along the lines of "what do you care if I pee on my end of the pool".
The thing is, when everyone is peeing, it takes a united effort (global) to have a meaningful impact in a just way to every person.
From your link:
Disadvantages
Slower charging – Due to the lower efficiency, devices take longer to charge when supplied power is the same amount.
More expensive – Inductive charging also requires drive electronics and coils in both device and charger, increasing the complexity and cost of manufacturing.
Inefficiency – Inductive charging is not as efficient as direct charging. In one application, the phone being charged gets hot. Continued exposure to heat can result in battery damage...the Magne Charge vehicle recharger system employs high-frequency induction to deliver high power at an efficiency of 86% (6.6 kW power delivery from a 7.68 kW power draw).
There is no way inductive charging was nearly 100% efficient, unless we consider something like 75% to be "nearly". The systems built into the road are even less efficient than this.
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It might have been Jerry Seinfeld who made fun of Tabloids at the supermarket checkout line,with headlines like 'Child Who Cries Rocks!',or,'Woman Gives Birth To Her Own Mother!'
I had an uncle who was fond of saying that 'Dog Bites Man!' isn't news,but 'Man Bites Dog!' is.
Lomberg cited a textbook for journalists which emphasized using a shock and awe sort of drama when constructing story lines for publication/broadcast.
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I keep my radar on for anything to do about the climate mentioned in the media.And,other than tangential comments made on AccuWeather,and the PBS NewsHour/NOVA,It looks like an abyss out there.
If climate change isn't news it has no importance.If it was important,all the networks would be covering it.
If it's not important,we don't pay attention to it,and are unaware of developments.
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If you have access to Science or Nature,you can read the articles/papers/etc.. right from the climatologists' mouths.
They're observing changes which are exceeding the best model predictions for some of the parameters which are kinda the canaries in the coal mine of change.
Latent heat of fusion is a compelling mechanism with respect to ice and snow.
The Btu's it takes to melt 1-lb of 32F ice,into 32F water,once the ice is melted,will go on to raise the temp of that 32F water to 176F.
And without the 85% reflective index(albedo) of the ice/snow,we now have dark water which absorbs 93% of the incoming solar radiation,exacerbating and amplifying the warming.Evaporation,atmospheric rivers,Salinity,density,stratification,light penetration.................the list goes on and on........... reflects these self-reinforcing feedback loops that are scaring the ....out of some observers.
Dissolved Methane,frozen Methane which are more potent GHGs increase the warming.70-billion metric tonnes of Methane release potential.
Warm water intrusion is attacking continental glaciers from below the water line,Greenland and Antarctica.Earthquakes from continental rebound as weight of ice sheets diminish.
Without ice shelves buttressing the continental ice sheets,they accelerate calving events,with ice bergs which raise sea level.
The polar jet is being deformed by warmer air infiltrating the poles,which upsets the jet stream which is experiencing excursions below the equator at times.Meridonal transits can lock geographic locations into a high pressure areas for weeks at a time with no relief from heat events.Thawing permafrost.
Extreme weather events are becoming less rare.
It just goes on and on.
Heat deaths.Drought.Crop failures.Seawater infiltration into freshwater.Grounded airline flights do to density altitude go-no-go situations.Flooding,more powerful storms.Forest kills as insects migrate north.Wildfires as dead forests provide fuel for lightning strikes.Then mudslides after severe rain events hit the wildfire locations.Tropical diseases are moving north.Hurricane/cyclone/typhoon intensification.
We know from climate proxies,that in the past,Earth has undergone 'abrupt' climate change in as little as a decade.
We can't genetically engineer plants to deal with something like that.Species of flora which cannot move north face extinction.Photosynthesis ceases at 104F.Leaves wilt,pollination stops,solar capture is reduced,stomata,which otherwise absorb CO2 for growth close down.
Phytoplankton which provide our breathing oxygen are negatively impacted by warming ocean temperature.Ocean acidification (lobster,starfish,zooplankton,shrimp,coral die off).Algal blooms,red tides,dead zones,beach closings,coastal nuclear powerplant shutdowns (cooling failures),nuclear-powered military vessel shutdowns (cooling failures).Heat indexes as high as 176-degrees F in the Middle East.
It goes on and on.And its the speed at which its happening that's alarming observers.
Last week we had 109-degree F heat index here.
It's an interesting movie to watch!