Vice-Regent

Fusion will never be scaled up enough. There is a reason why they went for red button "solutions" to scale down demand so growth can fulfill demand. We need everything in our arsenal to overcome and survive a future that doesn't want us. This is the bed that we have made for ourselves. Inertia is difficult if not impossible to erase.

There are massive holes in the renewables argument as well @skierinvermont. Long-term I don't think it's workable we would need to reduce demand by as much as we increase growth due to shortages of raw materials and what not. Our first priority should be energy storage and recycling as you have beautifully laid out for us.

Thermal expansion brother.

Long-term 100 meters seems inevitable if methane feedbacks come online but we have enough time to dismantle anything under threat of inundation. Brah' if oceans rise 100 meters rip the fabric of civilization. That is incomprehensibly bad which is why even your boy has cognitive dissonance.

The nuclear reactor technology is simply unable to keep pace with China's domestic demand. Doesn't scale very well where we need it the most. Pandora's box speaks but is anyone listening? Will we accept our economic and human losses or wait for AGW to do the heavy lifting?

Cannot build nuclear on coastlines due to rising seas so we would need to pipe in the energy on wires or some other incomprehensible method.

Populations will certainly be culled by the limits to growth processes so I certainly don't believe there is any need to bloody our hands directly. We have already done this perhaps collectively to ourselves. Live and learn I suppose or maybe we are just doomed to live in the moment in perpetuity. For better or worse.

It is the resource use per capita (per individual) that is most relevant. This is the first post where I really started to question your integrity but you wouldn't be the only one. It's just thermodynamics man. All readily available fossil fuels will be burned for consumption until nothing remains or we become incapacitated. We have all been blindsided by Pandora's box also known as technological industrial civilization.

What does it mean? Wherever it is we are going with it.

Agreed brother LB. It is just not manifesting in the way prior and current generations had hoped for. The rise of authoritarianism can lead to "negative" feedbacks in society.

It looks like severe tinnitus but that is the optimistic outlook for what is going on in regards to the hum phenomenon. Many things can cause tinnitus that are also concerning or poorly understood and which are related to exposure to modern technology.

Definitely don't want that in my body. People are catching on to the terrors of technology.

It's worth considering we all depend on technology but when it's disruptive to our communities we must live with the cost. We are left holding the bag per se. Before our cities were designed around the automobile you could easily live within walking distance of your business or occupation. Now we are forced into additional complexity and personal expense as for most people owning an automobile is absolutely necessary. This also includes it's own variety of domestic disturbances and noise pollution.

Always a solution for something. It's the cumulative impact overtime and once it scales there are sure to be more in the pipeline. I have just lost faith in civilization. I may be bitter but I can afford to walk away I could cut my electricity tomorrow and still be fine. Collapse early and avoid the rush. Saying we are going to depend on a highly complex technology with many moving parts such as a wind farm is not in line with a good life. You want to be as self-sufficient as possible and reduce your dependence on technology where it is convenient.

Top of the shelf cognitive dissonance. I believe shorebirds use that area for migrations as well. Civilization has no future brother. Someone in the future might prefer to eat the shorebirds than sit inside a climate controlled house for rich people powered by offshore wind.

If the problem regarding absent negative feedbacks is really that severe not only do the ocean's have more room to heat (forcing in the pipeline) but also do it more rapidly. Ocean heat uptake is poorly misunderstood especially by the public. 98% of the additional radiative forcing goes into the ocean and the remainder land regions and ice caps. This may be a rare instance where I suggest geoengineering as the problem appears to be very severe and an extinction event in it's own right (first in the seas and spreading onto land).

Because it's so nice outside. I feel you.

Obvious sarcasm I hope. Why did we wait so long this won't come soon enough to save the billions of people who rely on fossil fuel energy. I do not endorse limitless supplies of energy for a small minority or at all.

I always visit these threads when @A-L-E-K posts for obvious reasons. Using the most unsavory topic ever to exist for a science or political forum is questionable. As to speak or write about it without an emotional consideration is deeply troubling. Wait and see my friends.

As always these technologies are fossil fuel extenders and a luxury seldomly appreciated. The amount of material inputs and the general lifespan of a wind or solar farm do not make them permanent solutions. With that said I think it is promising and a good investment if you live in the United States.

That high pressure gradient was roaring in near white-out conditions if not outright momentarily. Unreal storm for us that Jan 3rd. Not to boast but It was actually too violent to be enjoyable.

Real talk Alex. I find the appeal of this one much greater since it is occurring during the day and should be less windy versus Jan 3rd. Some prefer the wind but nasomuch here.

Go home NAM you are drunk. Still going to be remarkable regardless.