Climate Crisis: Are we doing enough?

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Weird, we are fully aware of thge devastating impact climate change will have on the world, we know and understand the cause, we have the technology needed to address the problem, we can afford costs of addressin the problem but we (the world) continue to do nowehere near enough. What does that say about the human species?

Ian
Money is more important then reducing
Put the internet in space. Only half joking.
Yeah why stop with polluting a planet if we have an whole universe to cover right?
NESO have drafted a report for Miliband detailing how to decarbonise the grid by 2030. The plan isn't realistic as it was a response to a naive new government asking how to meet their manifesto. Nonetheless, it's a decent plan to decarbonise by 2035.

Or to put it another way, there is a massive amount of renewable energy and nuclear power that will connect to the grid in the next 10 years, and it will cover a data centre.
Is that already decided or one off rhose ''we can do Y if we do X'' kind of plans?''
We are all going to die, HOORAY!!
Jup, but spoiler there is not much stopping that fact of live.

Whilst I am sure he means well, does that mean that, as per usual, it's down to us to continue putting our rubbish in the right coloured bins, whilst those at the top, who have the real power do sweet F. A.?

Aye, thanks Arnie!
The bins is a f*cking with the poor kind of thing, putting compostable garbage underground storage and the rest in bins like we have now works better if on the other end is not a landfill but a state of the art facility that can sort and recycle as much as humanly possible. (and that is in fact a lot.
 
Is that already decided or one off rhose ''we can do Y if we do X'' kind of plans?''

Something in between the two. There is currently 16GW of offshore wind with 8GW in construction. NESO suggest 43-50GW in their 2030 plan. No one thinks that is possible by then, but there are plenty with planning approval already, so a significant chunk will be added assuming the grid upgrade works happen (NESO has approved a load of them).
 
Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.
Don't underestimate the speed humans can destroy things, 90% of the pollution causing climate change(i say it like that because we do have natural climate change which is often confused) is caused in the last 100-200 years of industrial revolution. We don't hear about it very often but space pollution is already a thing, it happens at random that it crashes into a satellite for example.
 

Mad Doug Biker

Just plodding along as always.
Don't underestimate the speed humans can destroy things, 90% of the pollution causing climate change(i say it like that because we do have natural climate change which is often confused) is caused in the last 100-200 years of industrial revolution. We don't hear about it very often but space pollution is already a thing, it happens at random that it crashes into a satellite for example.

It's Blue Bin Day on Monday, please advise... 😀🙃
 

First Aspect

Well-Known Member
Don't underestimate the speed humans can destroy things, 90% of the pollution causing climate change(i say it like that because we do have natural climate change which is often confused) is caused in the last 100-200 years of industrial revolution. We don't hear about it very often but space pollution is already a thing, it happens at random that it crashes into a satellite for example.
Space pollution has no detrimental impact on the planet, just your satnav.

Any orbiting internet or storage would be relatively low orbit, to achieve acceptable latency. Those satellites experience significant atmospheric drag and stay up about 5 years.
 

Psamathe

Über Member
ution has no detrimental impact on the planet, just your satnav.
All those satellites re-entering Earth's atmosphere represent a signinicant issue
Dying satellites can drive climate change and ozone depletion, study finds
Aluminium emissions from satellites as they fall to Earth and burn up is becoming more significant as their numbers soar

The results, which are published in Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, show that the re-entry material will accumulate at high latitudes and could result in temperature anomalies of up to 1.5C in the middle to upper atmosphere, reduction of wind speeds and ozone depletion, ...
But it's not just the satellites, they need launching and with a 5 year life that's a lot of launches. Flacon Heavy upper stage is 4+ tonnes burning up (so 20 Starlink satellites add both themselves plus 4 tonnes launch vehicle).

And given the Climate Crisis we are facing, the future ... Starlink aiming for 12,000 satellites. Plus One-Web (600), plus Kuiper plus Qianfan (Chinese version of Starlink 14,000-15,000), by end of decade expected 100,000 satellites. Worse estimates of 1m https://www.space.com/million-satellites-congest-low-earth-orbit-study-shows.

Ian
 

Ian H

Squire
Put the internet in space. Only half joking.

You'd need a bloody strong telescope to read the screen.
 

First Aspect

Well-Known Member
All those satellites re-entering Earth's atmosphere represent a signinicant issue

But it's not just the satellites, they need launching and with a 5 year life that's a lot of launches. Flacon Heavy upper stage is 4+ tonnes burning up (so 20 Starlink satellites add both themselves plus 4 tonnes launch vehicle).

And given the Climate Crisis we are facing, the future ... Starlink aiming for 12,000 satellites. Plus One-Web (600), plus Kuiper plus Qianfan (Chinese version of Starlink 14,000-15,000), by end of decade expected 100,000 satellites. Worse estimates of 1m https://www.space.com/million-satellites-congest-low-earth-orbit-study-shows.

Ian

Things burning up on re entry don't present a significant environmental issue. The carbon footprint of launches has to be weighed against the equivalent to power and cool the same infrastructure on earth. I don't know, but I imagine putting data centres in the arctic and antartctic would be a better option overall.
 

Pblakeney

Well-Known Member
Things burning up on re entry don't present a significant environmental issue. The carbon footprint of launches has to be weighed against the equivalent to power and cool the same infrastructure on earth. I don't know, but I imagine putting data centres in the arctic and antartctic would be a better option overall.

To melt the Artic and Antarctic? 😉😂
 
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