Comments 7

Demokratický hurikán

Nov 4, 2012 Ian Buruma

NEW YORK – Nic nesoustředí myšlení tak jako plně rozvinutá krize. Stejně jako miliony dalších lidí v New Yorku jsem slyšel, jak hurikán Sandy rozdrnčel okna a mlátil dveřmi. Měl jsem víc štěstí než mnozí jiní. Došlo jen na to drnčení.

Odborníci už mnoho let varovali, že takové bouře zastaralou městskou infrastrukturu metropole přemůžou. Do otevřených stanic metra natekla slaná voda. Poškození rozvodné soustavy uvrhlo třetinu Manhattanu do předmoderního stavu temnoty. A to je jen New York. V částech New Jersey mnoho těch, kdo naštěstí ještě mají domov, odřízly od světa potoky surových splašků, které jim šplouchají přede dveřmi.

Nikdo s jistotou nedokáže říct, že tuto konkrétní bouři zapříčinilo globální oteplování, ale téměř všichni experti se shodují, že důsledky tání polárních ledovců a vzestupu hladin moří budoucí bouře zhorší. Přesto se ani jeden z kandidátů v americké prezidentské kampani nenamáhal potenciálně katastrofické důsledky změny klimatu zmínit.

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Phil Cartier Jan 24, 2018

Bringing up old ghosts- Hurricane Sandy was weather, not climate. An unusual, but well-documented set of weather conditions, tides, and timing along with really ridiculous local environmental management and building codes brought on the disaster. Sandy was just a storm. Not a common one, but such disasters have happened in the past along the northeast seaboard.

The term climate change was put forward as a term to describe the climate and should be banned. It is a political buzzword adopted as a catch all alarm when many scientists realized that the global warming characterization was falling apart. If climate change occurs, which it always has in history, then anything can be blamed on it and linked to fossil fuels.

The future projections(notably not couched as predictions) are all based on climate models which have not, and cannot by their very nature, make useful predictions. They are weather models on a grandiose scale. At best they are tools for trying to understand the climate, if anyone using them is open to new ideas. What might happen if ...... ? They cannot make predictions because the error inherent in them balloons asymptotically to a ridiculous after just a few years.
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Phil Cartier Jan 24, 2018

Bringing up old ghosts- Hurricane Sandy was weather, not climate. An unusual, but well-documented set of weather conditions, tides, and timing along with really ridiculous local environmental management and building codes brought on the disaster. Sandy was just a storm. Not a common one, but such disasters have happened in the past along the northeast seaboard.

The term climate change was put forward as a term to describe the climate and should be banned. It is a political buzzword adopted as a catch all alarm when many scientists realized that the global warming characterization was falling apart. If climate change occurs, which it always has in history, then anything can be blamed on it and linked to fossil fuels.

The future projections(notably not couched as predictions) are all based on climate models which have not, and cannot by their very nature, make useful predictions. They are weather models on a grandiose scale. At best they are tools for trying to understand the climate, if anyone using them is open to new ideas. What might happen if ...... ? They cannot make predictions because the error inherent in them balloons asymptotically to a ridiculous after just a few years.
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Carol Maczinsky Nov 5, 2012

Oh well: "How could they know?" haha
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Ali Farouque Nov 5, 2012

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." Winston Churchill
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Duncan Green Nov 5, 2012

For more on Sandy as window of opportunity, read Tim Gore at http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=12392
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james durante Nov 4, 2012

The resistance to action on climate change is complex. Some of the most powerful corporate entities on the planet spend considerable resources to undermine, distort or simply lie about the science behind the problem. Their enormous lobbying resources are used to develop, at the very best, minimal changes in the status quo.

As Zsolt points out, a long history of intertwining cultural factors--western metaphysics, Judao-Christian religion, modern physics--all present a picture of "Man, the master controller of Nature." Cap that off with the most extreme technological hubris ever seen and you get a pretty staunch cultural wall of resistance to meaningful climate change policies.

Then there is the simple fact that no one, ever, at least in any mainstream context, presents simple historical information on the collapse of civilizations. Like each before us we never dream that a catastrophic declines i not only possible but the actual fate of every preceding civilization (unless it was taken over by a larger civilization).

Finally, the very electronic media that enables widespread information is almost entirely devoted to advertising and distractions.

Democracy and short-term policy making is a rather small factor compared to these others. I mean it did come up in several debates, the Keystone XL pipeline. Canada's tar sands: game over for this civilization.
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Zsolt Hermann Nov 4, 2012

I do not think it matters what system we are talking about, whether a democratic or despotic regime has to tackle today's problem, since it does not depend on governance but on human nature.
And regardless of culture or governing structure we all only concentrate on short term profit for ourselves, how much we can gain for ourselves, how we can stamp our own authority on our surroundings, and how we can exploit the whole system for self gain.
And it does not matter if these hurricanes are directly related to global warming, or how much percent of global warming is attributed to direct or indirect human effect.
What is more important is that although humanity as a species is part of the vast natural system, we still think we are above it, and we can do whatever we want and exploit or shape the system to our liking.
Even if we forget the natural environment today we have enough evidence to see that the constant quantitative growth economic model turned out be a cancer for human society, exceedingly exhausting the natural and human resources threatening our future.
Besides despite evolving into a global, interconnected human network, we still make decisions and action based on self calculations, totally ignoring the needs and the well being of the whole system.
Even the reaction to the hurricane in the world media, or films like "Argo" show that New York city and its troubles, or 6 Americans trapped in Tehran are much more important than disasters elsewhere or thousands suffering daily if they exist in "less important" locations.
Humanity today is violating all the strict, unchanging natural laws governing the living ecosystem all around the Universe.
This is not Hollywood, there is no happy ending, there are no appeal processes. Either we learn what laws we need to follow and adapt to them or we will suffer.
If not natural catastrophes, then famine, water shortage, extinction of crucial plants or other animate species like bees, diseases or wars will end our existence.
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Demokratický hurikán

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