Conversations about worthwhile sustainability readings from elsewhere on the web
Dietz Vollrath: “Imagine if, having invented Diet Coke, you could make copies for free. That would lower GDP, as Coca-Cola would drop to essentially zero revenue from here forward. But it’s demonstrably better, right? Free Diet Coke?” [more]
There’s an excellent and thoughtful piece on Medium by David Wolman on the prosecution of geophysicists in the aftermath of the disastrous d’Aquila earthquake in Italy. [more]
A blogger named Thomas Clarke makes a libertarian case for a guaranteed income. [more]
Someone has asked a few climate scientists what they are feeling, and has collected their answers. It’s worth your time.
Nobody knows how dangerous the floating plastic garbage in the ocean is. But somebody knows how to pad that up to a long form article anyway. The gist of the article is in three scary sentences, quoted here to save you time.
[more]
He’s opposed. And he makes a good case. [more]
The Washington Post reports that a Tuvalan couple has obtained refugee status in New Zealand at least partially on account of sea level rise. [more]
Grist reports another example of a fixed budget being overwhelmed by an accelerating problem: the US national firefighting budget is nearly spent, though the wildfire season is just getting going. [more]
A retired physicist claims that a root cause of recent refugee migration is anthropogenic climate change. [more]
The Guardian has an article on sea level rise with a focus on the reality-defying real estate boom in Miami and coastal Florida. It is striking but not surprising. Because of decisions made in a stable climate, the presence of denial in threatened areas is economically rational. [more]
Andy Lacis provides an interesting framework for a response to the common But volcanoes:
The several hundred million tons of CO2 that volcanic eruptions may be injecting into the atmosphere is indeed a large number – probably more than what the entire fleet of trucks in the UK could handle. [more]
Science reports:
Millions of tons. That’s how much plastic should be floating in the world’s oceans, given our ubiquitous use of the stuff. But a new study finds that 99% of this plastic is missing. One disturbing possibility: Fish are eating it.
If that’s the case, “there is potential for this plastic to enter the global ocean food web,” says Carlos Duarte, an oceanographer at the University of Western Australia, Crawley. [more]
A commission chaired by Chris Rapley in the UK has reported that climate scientists have failed to communicate climate science adequately. A circular firing squad immediately ensues.
Have a look at the link.
Let’s play “Spot the Denial” in a mindbogglingly wrong piece by Joe Bastardi. There’s plenty to choose from this time.
Clive Hamilton, criticizing Andy Revkin, says that those who argue for the “good Anthropocene” are unscientific and live in a fantasy world of their own construction. Umm, really? [more]
