Cont: Global warming discussion V

[The Atheist]

On the one hand, there's MAGA GOP's 'Drill, baby, drill', and on the other hand, there are the corporate Democrats, who dare not mention it because they'll attempt to appeal to the sentiment of people brainwashed by Big Oil and its astroturfing campaigns than argue against them and thus enlighten their constituents.
Corporate Democrats don't bite the hand that feeds them ...

Who is "dumping on Talarico"?
I'm bloody quoting him!

The quote above isn't quoting him and is definitely dumping on him.

Maybe you should read your own posts.

 

[dann]

The quote above isn't quoting him and is definitely dumping on him.
Maybe you should read your own posts.

Maybe you should read my post before making up claims about it.
It doesn't mention Talarico at all so where exactly is it "dumping on him"?
The quote from my post is also accompanied by a quotation and a link to an article that also isn't "dumping on him."
This one:

The Earth is sizzling, but climate change isn't a hot topic for Democrats in this year's campaigns (AP/PBS, Aug 29, 2026)
During President Donald Trump's first term and especially during the Democratic primaries to determine who would run against him in 2020, Democrats spoke constantly about climate change. They used it to rally young voters such as Hughes, fueling protests and sweeping demands to remake the economy with proposals like the Green New Deal.
But there has been a national shift in the conversation that is sharp enough for some researchers to coin the term "climate hushing" to describe it. The Searchlight Institute, a Democratic think tank, urged the party to stop mentioning climate change because it is not a priority for voters.

Are you using hallucinating AI to summarize my posts for you instead of reading them yourself?

 

[Pixel42]

A more optimistic take than usual:

Climate solutions most likely to reach ‘positive tipping points’ revealed by scientists

Global shift towards clean electricity could trigger ‘cascade’ of progress, helping reduce air pollution, cut waste and revive oceans

www.theguardian.com

A rapid global shift to clean electricity could trigger a “cascade” of progress towards repairing the damage to the planet by the climate crisis, according to a report identifying the environmental solutions most likely to bring about change.

The analysis focuses on “positive tipping points” – thresholds beyond which a sustainable technology or practice becomes increasingly cheap, widespread or politically popular, allowing progress to become self-propelling.


It identifies clean electricity as the “highest-leverage” transition, because cheaper solar and wind power can accelerate change far beyond the energy sector. Clean power improves the economics of electric vehicles, heat pumps and cleaner industrial processes, while reducing air pollution and stimulating further demand for renewable electricity.

 

[dann]

A more optimistic take than usual:

Climate solutions most likely to reach ‘positive tipping points’ revealed by scientists

Global shift towards clean electricity could trigger ‘cascade’ of progress, helping reduce air pollution, cut waste and revive oceans

www.theguardian.com

I'm sorry about putting a spoke in the wheel of the optimism of the article, but it is much too utopian.
It may be true that "a rapid global shift to clean electricity could (!) trigger a “cascade” of progress towards repairing the damage to the planet," but it would still require that the hypothetical "rapid global shift" was allowed to happen, which it isn't.
If it weren't for capitalism, it would happen.
And if capitalism were as rational a way of producing things as its fans claim, it would also happen.
But that is not the case, so instead of letting "cheaper (!!!) solar and wind power ... accelerate change," the owners of the fossil fuel industry are bribing politicians everywhere to hinder the transition to renewables while subsidizing oil and gas and infrastructure that supports the burning of oil and gas.

This condition is rational only from the point of view of the fossil-fuel industry. It's how it prevents its stocks and bonds to become worthless. It doesn't matter to a capitalist that it harms the rest of society and even kills people. It's what Big Oil has in common with Big Tobacco. That and the lies they depend on to make people allow it to continue.

 

[dann]

Case in point:
:

Feds quietly exempt oilsands and gas power plants from environmental impact assessments (Canada's National Observer, Sep 10, 2026)
The federal government has quietly stopped evaluating whether new gas power plants and oilsand facilities will damage Canada's rivers and lakes, air quality and species on the edge of extinction.
The change comes as part of a suite of amendments to Canada's impact assessment laws passed by the Carney government early Wednesday morning.
The amendments remove in situ (underground) oilsand facilities and gas-fired power plants from the list of projects that require an evaluation by Canada's impact assessment agency.

As the price of oil rises, so have electric vehicle registrations in Canada (CTV News, Sep 10, 2026)

 

[The Atheist]

It doesn't mention Talarico at all so where exactly is it "dumping on him"?

The post is clearly about him, coming on the back of your previous post. Don't try to cute your way out of the newest hole you've dug for yourself.

Guys like you are Trump, Farage and AfD's best asset.

(also, there's only one of us uses AI, and as stated multiple times in the AI thread, it ain't me)

 

[Stout]

Again not true. I hadn't heard of Charlotte Bellis before now, so you get a point for dredging her up. Rest assured that if I was in charge there would have been no quarantine issues - because I wouldn't have let anyone in, period. That's because unlike Jacinda Ardern I'm a heartless bastard who puts science above feelings. If most other countries had closed their borders tight like we (and some others) did then Covid would have been quickly snuffed out and most of the pain avoided.

Affectionally referred to as "Travel Apartheid" by the UN Chief (Dec 2021). You guys are actually kind of famous for going bonkers during Covid, like you completely lost your ◊◊◊◊ after the Mosque shootings.

Also not true. Climate activism is achieving real change. The only 'failure' is not having more of it.

You can keep telling yourself that I suppose, but the numbers say different.

https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2026/co2-emissions

And now that the UN has thrown in the towel, capitulated, rolled over and put all four paws in the air...they might as well have their precious COP 31 via Zoom (or whatever people are using these days) and save the jet fuel.

Entertaining for sure, and possibly useful information for people who like spending time in the bush. I've done a bit of it myself so I know how difficult it would be for the average 'city slicker' to survive without the right equipment. New Zealand has a lot of native bush on mountainous terrain that can easily kill you if you aren't careful. An average of 5 people per year go into the bush unprepeared and end up dead.

They are entertaining but I figure I'd simply starve to death before I got half way through building one of these structures. My point in mentioning it was they're fun to watch people (apparently) building things using only hand tools. No doubt there's a big crew and power tools off camera and the builder guy, no matter how much of that dry clay earth he mixes up into "concrete" he never, ever gets dirty (or breaks a sweat) But with the speeded up format, it's no longer a satisfying ASMR experience as the guy looks and sounds like he's working frantically and when his dog pants, it sounds like it's having a siezure.

 

[Stout]

A more optimistic take than usual:

Climate solutions most likely to reach ‘positive tipping points’ revealed by scientists

Global shift towards clean electricity could trigger ‘cascade’ of progress, helping reduce air pollution, cut waste and revive oceans

www.theguardian.com

It's been done. That article is just another variation on if we do things differently, then things will be different. It's a puff piece and the author could probably land a job writing Hallmark sympathy cards should The Guardian gig fall through.

 

[Stout]

If it weren't for capitalism, it would happen.

◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊.

China, the world's largest emitter is totally Communist.

Just wait until Canada gets those cheap Chinese spy cars. Rumour has it they detect when you're stuck in traffic and play CCP propaganda videos which you can't turn off.

 

[Roger Ramjets]

Affectionally referred to as "Travel Apartheid" by the UN Chief (Dec 2021). You guys are actually kind of famous for going bonkers during Covid, like you completely lost your ◊◊◊◊ after the Mosque shootings.

Not sure why the UN chief would say that.
Apartheid

...was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa[a] (now Namibia) from 1948 to 1994. It was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap (lit. 'boss-ship' or 'boss-hood'), which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation's minority white population.

Equating quarantine measures to that is silly. We didn't separate anyone by race, wealth, or any other social metric. Every New Zealand citizen was treated the same. Everybody went into self-isolation until the incubation period was over, no matter where they came from. The border was closed to foreigners simply because we didn't have the resources to handle a wave of infected tourists, and had to prioritize our own citizens. Some did get in on compassionate grounds though - the government wasn't heartless.

Describing our response to the Mosque shooting as 'completely losing our ◊◊◊◊' is cultural imperialism. New Zealand isn't the US. We have a large number of recreational gun owners here, but they don't keep them to ensure 'the security of a free State'. However we do have a problem with gangs using firearms to kill people, and we've had a few religious cults stockpiling arms. The Christchurch Mosque shootings was just the catalyst for gun control measures that we would have implemented sooner or later anyway. The fact that the shooter bought assault rifles from the one dealer in New Zealand who was pushing US gun culture just shows that the concern was real - and much of that concern came from gun owners.

One more thing, don't get your 'news' from foreign websites that don't understand New Zealand. Many of the articles published on these topics were generated by fringe activists inside New Zealand who were taking advantage of the global lack of knowledge of the situation. The news media publishes such articles because they fit their agenda of social justice and/or libertarianism, treating us the same as some third world dictatorship where journalists risk their lives to get the truth out.

You can keep telling yourself that I suppose, but the numbers say different.

Global growth in energy-related CO2 emissions slowed in 2025, rising by around 0.4%, the slowest rate since 2021... Emissions from fuel combustion grew by close to 0.5% (around 185 Mt CO2), while emissions from industrial processes declined by roughly 2% (about 40 Mt CO2), partially offsetting the overall increase. Emissions growth remained below the pace of global economic expansion (global GDP increased by about 3.1% in 2025), indicating a continued decoupling between emissions and economic activity

Together, solar PV, wind power, nuclear power, electric cars and heat pumps avoided around 3 Gt of CO2 emissions in 2025, equivalent to around 8% of global energy-related CO2 emissions annually. In some markets, the impact has been even more pronounced. In China, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil, the deployment of these technologies since 2019 avoided the equivalent of more than 10% of energy-related CO2 emissions in 2025.

Climate activism did help. Without it emissions would be through the roof. The 'business as usual' scenario is now off the books because we didn't follow it. Perhaps the progress is slower than you want, but it is happening - at a pace that is achievable politically and economically.

And now that the UN has thrown in the towel, capitulated, rolled over and put all four paws in the air...they might as well have their precious COP 31 via Zoom (or whatever people are using these days) and save the jet fuel.

No, they haven't.
UN: Avoiding a climate catastrophe means acting now

“We can still bring warming back below 1.5°C by the end of the century,” he said. “We must make the overshoot as small and short as possible, limiting how high temperatures rise and how long they remain above 1.5.”... “The science is clear,” Mr. Guterres said. “The solutions are at hand, and the world has never been better equipped to deploy them. Now is the time to raise ambition and accelerate action.”

 

[Roger Ramjets]

◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊.

China, the world's largest emitter is totally Communist.

Not true.
State-owned enterprises of China

The state sector is a major part of China's economy, with SOEs accounting for approximately 25% of the national GDP as of 2020... With the exception of a small number of national monopolies, SOEs compete in the market as privately enterprises do. State ownership does not prevent SOEs from seeking to make profits

This isn't 'total' communism.

Just wait until Canada gets those cheap Chinese spy cars. Rumour has it they detect when you're stuck in traffic and play CCP propaganda videos which you can't turn off.

Yes, those Chinese EVs will be spying on us — just like all the other cars already do

A 2024 New York Times investigation into GM’s OnStar service found that GM was selling data collected on millions of its customers without their consent. The data was sold to the global data and analytics company LexisNexis, which then sold it to insurance companies... In 2023, the Mozilla Foundation... reviewed the privacy policies of 25 U.S. vehicle manufacturers. The study found that, “all new cars today are privacy nightmares on wheels that collect huge amounts of personal information.”

Don't like it, don't own a car. It'll save you a bundle, improve your health and be better for the environment.

 

[Stout]

Not sure why the UN chief would say that.

He said it in response to western countries closing their borders no non-western covid hotspots, like Africa. The man was more concerned about the political optics than the response to limit transmission. But, hey, it's the UN, what do you expect other than drivel?

Describing our response to the Mosque shooting as 'completely losing our ◊◊◊◊' is cultural imperialism.

Did those Crusaders actually change their name? Was a music festival temporarily shut down because someone saw a tattoo that might have been scary? Weren't half your non-Muslim women running around wearing hajibs? Armed guards at cemeteries, massive censorship. The list goes on.

Climate activism did help. Without it emissions would be through the roof. The 'business as usual' scenario is now off the books because we didn't follow it. Perhaps the progress is slower than you want, but it is happening - at a pace that is achievable politically and economically.

\We keep hearing it is already through the roof. Remember all that house on fire rhetoric? Every weather event is now tied to, and blamed on, climate change despite climate activists raising the alarm, or amplifying the signal, or speaking truth to power though their videos, articles and protest actions...then going right back to gobbling up the very same resources they rail against. In short, they failed.

No, they haven't.

Yes, they have. They've gone full on CCS in their latest missive. Technology that doesn't exist anywhere near scale to get the job done however they may have knowledge of some secret process, like an EMP that zaps all the carbon molecules in the air and causes it to rain diamonds. I'm sure all will be revealed at COP 31. Probably not though, they'll just go on about loss and damage (get out your wallets) and hope China and India don't try to derail the whole conference like they tried at COP 28, so they could continue to burn coal.

This isn't 'total' communism.

Close enough unless you were planning on producing some sort of argument that shows that the CCP doesn't have a very tight leash on these SOEs. Point being, of course, blaming capitalism is a mug's game when we have obvious commie mass emitters, mass emitting in 2026.

Don't like it, don't own a car. It'll save you a bundle, improve your health and be better for the environment.

Or buy an older car, forgo the Onstar subscription. But what can I say, people love being under surveillance. It gives theme some sort of peace of mind knowing that various governments and corporations know their locations through their phones.

 

[dann]

The post is clearly about him, coming on the back of your previous post. Don't try to cute your way out of the newest hole you've dug for yourself.
Guys like you are Trump, Farage and AfD's best asset.
(also, there's only one of us uses AI, and as stated multiple times in the AI thread, it ain't me)

The post is clearly not about James Talarico. The post is clearly about what it's about: corporate Democrats and climate change. Apparently, it's unheard of in The Atheist's universe that two posts following each other can be about two different things. If the post 'coming on the back of' my previous post had been about Talarico, it would most likely have been integrated in the first of the two posts.
The Atheist has to resort to an argument about the sequence of two posts instead of pointing to something in the actual post that shows it is about Talarico. This is The Atheist's way of trying to cute his way out of the newest hole he has dug for himself. It would have been so much easier for hi to simply say, 'I'm so sorry, I made a mistake.'

A reading guide for The Atheist and anybody with limited reading comprehension:
The post that will follow on the back of this post is not about Talarico!
I repeat: It's not about James Talarico!

 

[dann]

Oceanographer and climate scientist David Ho (Wikipedia):

David Ho on bsky, Oct 29, 2024
In recognition of us doing ◊◊◊◊ all to reduce emissions, let me remind y'all that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is useless unless we decarbonize drastically.
rdcu.be/dbFbB

Carbon dioxide removal is not a current climate solution — we need to change the narrative
Drastically reduce emissions first, or carbon dioxide removal will be next to useless.
www.nature.com

David Ho's short thread from yesterday has gone viral:

David Ho on bsky, Sep 12, 2026
I resigned from ExxonMobil today. I spent the last three years doing fossil fuel extraction research at both BP and ExxonMobil. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing to maximize extraction while the window to act closes, and gambling with our lives. More below. 1/6

David Ho on bsky, Sep 12, 2026
Do not underestimate the scale of this climate crisis. We are watching feedback loops accelerate, ice sheet collapse, ocean heat content, methane release, that could lock in irreversible warming. We have all witnessed the data, and it is not slowing down. 2/6

David Ho on bsky, Sep 12, 2026
The people running these companies believe that climate change could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a fringe worry. Publicly, many executives soften their language to sound reasonable, but privately, the fear is real. No other industry poses this level of danger to civilization. 3/6

David Ho on bsky, Sep 12, 2026
A common response is "if they know this, why keep drilling?" At BP, many have not internalized the stakes personally. At ExxonMobil, the stakes are well understood, but they're locked in a race for market share, believing if they don't extract it, a competitor will. 4/6

David Ho on bsky, Sep 12, 2026
Treating this as an unstoppable race, and accepting the "endgame" of runaway warming, is a reckless gamble that should never be decided in a boardroom alone. Betting on future carbon removal to fix today's emissions requires far more confidence than the evidence supports. 5/6

David Ho on bsky, Sep 12, 2026
If you work at an oil major, I urge you to think hard about what the next decade will feel like. Do you want to greenlight another decades-long extraction project without reckoning with its full climate cost? Or use this moment to demand a different path? 6/6

And just to make sure that nobody misunderstands this post:
This post presented oceanographer and climate scientists David HO.
This post is not about James Talarico!
However, I am aware that since it mentions both ExxonMobil and CO₂ removal, it can be construed as 'dumping on' Talarico because Talarico is wrong about both of those things.
It's just a fact. It can't be helped.

 

[dann]

Not true.
State-owned enterprises of China
This isn't 'total' communism.
Yes, those Chinese EVs will be spying on us — just like all the other cars already do
Don't like it, don't own a car. It'll save you a bundle, improve your health and be better for the environment.

Why bother? Nobody believes him anyway.
It's just ****-stirring.

ETA: This post is about Stout. It is not about James Talarico.

 

[Stout]

Why bother? Nobody believes him anyway.
It's just ****-stirring.

ETA: This post is about Stout. It is not about James Talarico.

I know...It can be upsetting coming to the realization that your entire climate philosophy is based on a lie, and when those terrifying thoughts start to creep in, having to run to find some video and article to help keep the dream alive. But it's OK to admit that it takes a superior intellect to deal with the fact that the people who are burning fossil fuels are actually the people who are burning fossil fuels. They can stop, they just won't.

Speaking of superior intellect, this David Ho may have been a smart guy however posting this crap.

The people running these companies believe that climate change could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a fringe worry. Publicly, many executives soften their language to sound reasonable, but privately, the fear is real. No other industry poses this level of danger to civilization.

is an indication that she should head straight to his neurologist and get checked out for a brain tumor.

Really, David, that's just over 3 years away. The Day After Tomorrow was a work of fiction as is your statement. I'll allow it however, it's good for my climate anxiety business and after your "viral" thread, my phone is ringing off the hook.

 

[dann]

The New York Times on bsky, Sep 14, 2926
Breaking News: The E.P.A. is said to be planning to announce that the U.S. will no longer limit climate pollution from power plants.

E.P.A. Will Erase Limits on Climate Pollution From Power Plants
Generation of electricity is the second largest source of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming gases in the United States.
nyti.ms

jetblackbox on bsky, Sep 14, 2026
everything Trump does is exactly what enemy foreign agencies dream of doing to harm America

Shy on bsky, Sep 14, 2026
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was the point.

Hawkatana on bsky, Sep 14, 2026
No, this is just the American ruling class ripping out the copper wiring to enrich themselves. No foreign influence necessary.

Ryan Marino on bsky, Sep 14, 2026
The rule they are overturning was predicted to give $120 billion in public health benefits by 2047, with projections that by 2035, it would would prevent up to 1,200 premature deaths, 870 hospital and emergency room visits, 360K asthma attacks, 48K school absence days and 57K lost workdays each year

 

[dann]

cysam on x, Sep 14, 2026

Matt Bors on X, Sep 14, 2026
It was exactly ten years ago today, on my 33rd birthday, that I posted this comic online.

 

[Stout]

Hummm, the NYT and Bluesky have jumped on the CCS bandwagon now. I can understand the NYT following in the U.N.'s footsteps because that's what they do, but Bluesky. Oh well I don't suppose an outfit that was only yesterday "going viral" over a post that says we only have until the end of the decade, then doomsday. China is doing CCS so it has to be good, right?

Meanwhile in Canada, our educations of higher learning are teaching that, yes individual action does matter. CBC

"The first message we’re conveying to people is that individual actions count, they're important. But if you look at a bigger picture, we need to consider system-level transitions to really make our low-carbon future come true."

Good to see that the universities are finally catching up to me and willing to toss the whole idea of individual actions don't matter, all you need to do is complain, to the bottom of the priorities pile where it belongs.

 

[dann]

This is hilarious! Stout doesn't seem to understand the article he quotes because he reads only the first sentence of the quotation and entirely ignores the second sentence, which begins with a very clear "But ...":

"But if you look at a bigger picture, we need to consider system-level transitions to really make our low-carbon future come true."

We do indeed need system-level transitions to lower CO₂ emissions!
It gets even better if you look at the context, i.e. the two sentences preceding Stout's quotation:

Why this student offers tours of climate solutions hidden throughout Vancouver (CBC, Sep 10, 2026)
On the walk, Li also talked about political systems, and the importance of looking at the big picture."Everyone's behaviour is shaped by how the system is designed," she said.

So much for Stout's and Big Oil's lie about the all-importance of individual action.
In will come as no surprise to anybody that Stout also has time to present a strawman about the alternative to cold showers, turning down the thermostat and recycling tin cans:

... all you need to do is complain ...

Nobody has ever claimed that "all you need to do is complain."
What I have stressed again and again is that societal change is what's required, i.e. infrastructure, "system level transitions," and "how the system is designed."
Stout's article doesn't "toss the whole idea" of this "to the bottom of the priorities pile." On the contrary, it elevates it to the top of priorities where it belongs.