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Billions Face Risks From Climate Change

gollum123 writes with a link to a kind of grim BBC story. According to a report drawn up by 'hundreds of international environmental experts', billions of people face drought and famine, as well as an increase in natural disasters, as a result of climate change. Individuals in the poorest countries face the most danger, due to a lack of infrastructure and geographic location. "The scientific work reviewed by IPCC scientists includes more than 29,000 pieces of data on observed changes in physical and biological aspects of the natural world. Eighty-nine percent of these, it believes, are consistent with a warming world. Several delegations, including the US, Saudi Arabia, China and India, had asked for the final version to reflect less certainty than the draft."

5 of 659 comments (clear)

  1. Re:When has the climate not changed? by wass · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Since we've had people on earth, we've had to face the risks of climate change.

    Since we've had people live in cities on earth, they've lived primarily along coastal areas, including seas, lakes, and rivers.

    II'd say the biggest difference now is that we subsidize people to live on shorelines and flood plains. Before we go crazy on carbon emissions, we should dump federal flood insurance and stop incentivizing people to live in stupid places.

    I assume you're talking about the US here, as per your federal comment. But hey, what a great idea, let's not live near any shores because there's flooding and tornados. Who cares that that's where the majority of the populace of this country has been living since people first walked across the Bering land bridge.

    Oh, and we can't live in the MidWest, that's Tornado Alley. Those people are just asking for tornado damage and it's federal relief funds.

    Okay, that leaves the great SouthWest. Wait, but they have huge federal programs to bring in water and deal with increasing droughts and wild fires, so that area's out.

    While we're at it, we must get rid of highways, some people don't drive cars and shouldn't be forced to pay for taxes that support national, state, and local highways for the priveledged car drivers. Especially things like railings for bridges, what a waste of money that good drivers are forced to pay for.

    And get rid of schools, inherently intelligent geniuses like yourself shouldn't have to pay for those.

    Hey, and I bet you're a relatively safe person, so you have no need for police, let's get rid of them. After all, if you're not a criminal, there's no need for cops, right?

    Hmmm, back to your original proposal, how much living space is left? Let's cram in the 300 million people of the USA into those small safe pockets, that way we don't even need highways, maybe with the ensuing madness we won't need schools anyway.

    Seriously, get off your fscking righteous high horse, no matter where you live in this country there are countless federal, state, and local programs that you're taking advantage of which other tax payers are subsidizing.

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    make world, not war

  2. Re:Bitch slap by ch-chuck · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    a few other capital cities had several inches of standing water from increased sea level, you can bet something would be getting done.

    Yeah, they would pack up and move to higher ground just like any sensible person would do in a flood. I'm sorry, but rasiing gasoline taxes or charging "carbon credits" isn't going to make the ocean waves stop, King Canute

    [ Getting modded troll/flamebait in 3...2...1... ]

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    try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
  3. Fear-mongering... by BarnabyWilde · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ...at it's best.

    Run! NO, stampede!!!!

    (like good little sheeple)

  4. Is Global Warming Really Happening? by sdbytnar · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    I have a real hard time believing scientists/enviro-nazis that have an agenda. Remember how bad Freon and CFCs were? They were going to destroy the ozone layer. Not so much... http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/blackstock5.html

  5. Re:let's get all talking points out of the way by goldspider · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    I love it when people refer to us skeptics as global warming "deniers". Makes a real nice emotional correlation to HOLOCAUST deniers, doesn't it?

    Your list of "poisons" is pretty long. Couldn't it be possible that at least a few of them are true? Who's being close-minded now?

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    "Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy