Comments pcarbo has made

And....

... whatever you do, don't be stupid and pack your laptop with you (like I did) or anything else that's fragile.On Umbra on winter biking posted 1 year ago 18 Responses

Not a waste of Grist's space

Well that clearly an enlightening debate by Grist readers!

The main problem I have with that paper, like Mr. Romm, is the rather narrow-minded view that this word "technology" is our saviour and only saviour.

I think Mr. Romm is right to complain about this piece... we've become too accustomed to the garbage that falls under the manner of scientific writing, and as a result it diminishes the actual, well-thought-out scientific writing that doesn't get enough attention.

Let's all aspire to constructive, healthy debate.  (To throw out a pie-in-the-sky aspiration.)

PeterOn Why did Nature run Pielke's pointless, misleading, embarrassing nonsense? posted 1 year, 8 months ago 17 Responses

Neutrality

...though it's designed to be revenue neutral and won't raise funds for clean energy like Quebec's carbon tax.

I think being "revenue neutral" is a great move. It sends a message that carbon taxes can play the role of ordinary taxes, except that they discourage greenhouse gases, not profits.

That being said, there it would be a bit of stretch to say the proposed carbon tax is revenue neutral.
On British Columbia unveils carbon tax posted 1 year, 9 months ago 4 Responses

Let me point out a basic flaw in the whole debate

In this debate, we have two parties.

One party uses models to make predictions about climate. The scientists who designed these models hypothesize that they are correct because they are based on a fairly good, global understanding of how weather systems and climate works. They also publish books describing these models. Scientists are also aware of the complexity of the systems they are trying to model, so they don't put too much stock in them (hence, the word "likely").

The other party defends their position by pointing out possible flaws in the models. People belonging to this party publish articles and books bashing the current scientific understanding of climate change.

Notice the asymmetry in the debate: the onus is on one of the parties to develop a scientific understanding of climate. There is no attempt by one of the parties to propose alternative predictive models, and publish scientific articles demonstrating the viability of these models. Once they start doing this, I will take more time to listen to their arguments.

PeterOn The fourth IPCC report is still going strong a year later posted 1 year, 9 months ago 65 Responses

Maybe you're looking in the wrong places

I would suggest:

• Airline industry
  
• Coal industry
  
• A supporting member of the Republican party.

A selfless environmentalist says...

... no.

There are lots of other internationally respected scientists, artists and politicians that would do an equally good job acting as a pylon for a bulldozer. We can send a powerful message without running the risk of sacrificing Al Gore! We don't need Al Gore! (Yes, we're grownups!)

Nonetheless, I do sincerely wish RAN (and others) all the best.On Should Gore get arrested protesting coal? posted 2 years, 1 month ago 4 Responses

Fantastic, thoughtful essay

The connections one can explore here are endless. This one is certainly a compelling one! But it also seems rather mind-boggling to contemplate: how can we get the military to halt its obsession with toys that kill?

Living in Canada, it seems to me that people view the role of military somewhat differently. Unfortunately, the idea of "peacekeeping" has been largely abandoned. Nonetheless, very different political environments with respect to war.

ps My other thought was: what is it like to spend one's entire waking life posting absurd, random comments on Grist, such as the one immediately above me? (This is a rhetorical question, by the way.)On Stopping global warring and global warming posted 2 years, 1 month ago 16 Responses

The Ingenuity Gap

I just finished reading Thomas Homer-Dixon's The Ingenuity Gap, which was much to my surprise one of the most mind-bending, thought-provoking books I have ever read (on par with Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel and maybe Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance).

The Ingenuity Gap hits the nail on the head on our environmental problems as well as any other book.

While the idea of an "ingenuity gap" isn't particularly new in substance, and most of his arguments are anecdotal, his breadth is utterly captivating, along with the way he is able to synthesize so many different problems (public policy, understanding ecosystems, financial economics) under a common perspective.On A review posted 2 years, 4 months ago 70 Responses

I need an analogy here

You establish that China and India are obligated to pledge GHG reductions equal to the U.S. and other developed countries, despite the fact that the developed countries are responsible for the vast bulk of the GHG already in the atmosphere, and still far exceed China and India in per-capita emissions.

I would like an analogy from sports or the schoolyard to illustrate to my friends why the waiting-on-China-and-India game is not cool. My imagination is failing me. Any suggestions?On Shockingly, it's the same as the old climate strategy posted 2 years, 6 months ago 10 Responses

Counterargument, yo

"There is no way that we can forever preserve the mild climate that we as a species have enjoyed for the last 10,000 years."

Imagine if we adopted the same attitude for everything in life: tuberculosis is natural, so there's no point doing anything about it; earthquakes are an act of God, so we shouldn't try to stop them from destroying our cities---even if we survive this one, a bigger one will eventually wreak havoc; I wasn't born smart enough, so no point studying for this math test, especially when Seinfeld is on!

There were naysayers at every time in human history, that this or that couldn't be done because it's too daunting or because we haven't done it before, or because we can't change the current course of events. Utter b-s!

You're right, frostica. Those comments were not stupid. They were perfectly rational. But it is also rational to be selfish and lazy.On Hard to believe he's part of the Bush administration! posted 2 years, 6 months ago 24 Responses

What if...

... we were to get rid of all income taxes, and replace them with "resource" taxes---taxes on using natural resources such as water and trees, and of course expelled carbon, provided it were realistic to measure consumption. Would more people of the conversative ilk be receptive to such a shift?

After all, isn't the real bane of a conversative's existence the tax that discourages our capitalist proclivities?On Business is splitting from Republicans; the time is right for a tax posted 2 years, 6 months ago 2 Responses

Coca

Let me post a small addendum, if I may.

I have a friend working in Bolivia, and she tells me  the natives have many other uses for coca: "Coca is not addictive, it has more calcium than milk, it reduces hunger and fatigue (especially important in the case of Bolivian miners who work long hours), it has an enormous amount of nutrients found in foods, can be used as an anaesthetic, and the list goes on..."

That's all.On So That's Why Their Little Hearts Beat So Fast posted 2 years, 6 months ago 1 Response

Holy doodle, Dave!

Small note: Canadian's say "eh" but not "brilliant".

Let's just hope British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell ("Gordie") doesn't push hydrogen fuel cells down Arnie's throat.

Once the hockey playoffs are over, we Canadians should start learning a thing or two from California...
On More exciting than it sounds posted 2 years, 7 months ago 13 Responses

And...

Perhaps we'd have to give up air travel, too.On The view from Washington posted 2 years, 7 months ago 6 Responses

George Monbiot says "it's lethal"...

... Canadian TV ads say:
biofuels consumer = environmentalist

There's been a lot of talk about biofuels in these pages. Convincing arguments have been made time and time again against putting corn in our cars. But George Monbiot's latest blog entry wraps these arguments together in a way that would surely make the Grist beat writers proud.

And for an example of the hearty government enthusiasm towards biofuels, view these priceless ads that have aired up here on Canadian television. I particularly enjoy this segment:

"I can tell from your SUV that you're really concerned about the environment." (in sarcastic tone)

"Actually. It runs on ethanol."On Biofuels force the choice on us posted 2 years, 8 months ago 16 Responses