Every millimeter of sea level rise means it costs more to pump the tunnels dry in Boston and New York and to maintain them.
Every millimeter means more money spent on the pumps at the Charles River Dam in Boston, the one that keeps the river from becoming a foul smelling estuary at high tide.
Every millimeter degrates the capacity of the storm drain and sewer systems, making the flood damage worse during intense storms.
Doom? No. Serious expense? Yes. Talk to a Civil Engineer some time.
And when climate changes, fertile agricultural regions become infertile. Rainfall patterns change, making some regions prone to drought, or prone to flooding, or most joyfully, prone to both. Coastal regions have to be abandoned, putting millions of people on the move.
That's trillions of dollars in economic damage. Which is worth more than a dismissive "this happens."
"Inhospitable? You know the earth has been much warmer with humans living on it? Earth had a radically different climate 200 years ago, and 200 years before that, and 200 years before that"
And for most of those periods, large portions of humanity would die off because of crop failures. And if global warming compromises the productivity of our breadbasket regions, of which many are coastal, then the earth will not be so hospitable to all 7 billion of us..
This guy belongs to a neonazi party that literally and un-ironically wants to round up Hungary's Roma population and put them in labor camps. They will use DNA testing if they get control of Hungary.
Mr. Ostrer, on the other hand, is an honest scholar. That is the difference.
This is why scientists have to get their studied approved by institutional review boards: to make sure the study subjects don't have their rights violated.
Now picture someone making a database query to find the addresses of all the young girls in town so they can identify a bigger pool of girls who like to lounge in their gardens in summer clothing.
However, a decent auditing system would limit the number of people able to abuse the data in this way.
It's one thing to know that there are sysadmins out there with the ability to leak my data. At least the sysadmins, are, well, people like me. Who read Slashdot and have read the same things I have about why it's important not to engage in or facillitate creepiness with databases.
But when the system is open to abuse by every halfwitted clerk in the government, that's when seriously bad shit happens.
Iranian scientists aren't responsible for the fact Iran's leader is a giant asshole either, but that hasn't stopped Mossad assassinating them.
The Mossad has been assasinating Iranian NUCLEAR scientists. Just as Iran would do the same to Israel's nuclear scientists if they got the chance. In the meantime, Iran's medical scientists and every other variety of scientist has a lot more to worry from his own government than from the Mossad.
As Simon Baron Cohen puts it, (roughly) Asperger's Syndrome is the label you get if you're autistic but also intelligent enough to at least try to cope.
The Nanny State tries to protect you from your own stupidity.
This is showing the need for the state to protect OTHERS from your stupidity. That is not nannyism. It's a perfectly legitimate role of the government.
The manufacturer of these machines is not legally liable.
You understand what I am saying here? The RAPISCAN company negotiated a deal with the government exempting them from liability of their machines caused cancer.
So at least SOMEONE was worried about the safety of these machines....
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If we want New Orleans to survive, we'd best hire Dutch engineers and implement their advice.
Whether we do or not, the Dutch are paying very close attention to what's going on in New Orleans.
Every millimeter of sea level rise means it costs more to pump the tunnels dry in Boston and New York and to maintain them.
Every millimeter means more money spent on the pumps at the Charles River Dam in Boston, the one that keeps the river from becoming a foul smelling estuary at high tide.
Every millimeter degrates the capacity of the storm drain and sewer systems, making the flood damage worse during intense storms.
Doom? No. Serious expense? Yes. Talk to a Civil Engineer some time.
"We like to make things easy."
Sure. It's only laziness that's caused 300 million people to live in the Ganges delta region.
"Yeah that's nice. So, in breaking news people are migratory and always have been."
The last time people migrated in the numbers we're seeing today, the Roman Empire collapsed.
"But we like to build next to large bodies of water which put us at risk"
We like to drink. We like to eat. That tends to constrain where we settle.
"Ok, climates chage, this happens."
And when climate changes, fertile agricultural regions become infertile. Rainfall patterns change, making some regions prone to drought, or prone to flooding, or most joyfully, prone to both. Coastal regions have to be abandoned, putting millions of people on the move.
That's trillions of dollars in economic damage. Which is worth more than a dismissive "this happens."
"Watching the Deadliest Catch they said the annual Ice was the worst if not worse then in 1972."
In northern waters the worst ice comes right after the spring breakup when lots of icebergs drift south.
"Did those crop failures happen because of global warming?"
Ever heard of a little corner of the world called the Fertile Crescent?
Ever wonder why it ain't so fertile nowadays?
" In the 1970's, it was all about global cooling. "
Cooling from sulfur aerosols and particulates. We have curtailed our emissions of both.
" In the 1980's, it was the O-Zone layer"
Which we have successfully addressed by banning CFCs.
"Now it is global warming. "
Yes. And we need to do something about it.
"Inhospitable? You know the earth has been much warmer with humans living on it? Earth had a radically different climate 200 years ago, and 200 years before that, and 200 years before that"
And for most of those periods, large portions of humanity would die off because of crop failures. And if global warming compromises the productivity of our breadbasket regions, of which many are coastal, then the earth will not be so hospitable to all 7 billion of us..
"1. Controlled tests"
We do not have spare planets to experiment on. Ergo, controlled tests in climatology are impossible.
But, by that standard, you can also dismiss meteorology, archaeology, economics, astronomy, and lots of other fields of science.
This guy belongs to a neonazi party that literally and un-ironically wants to round up Hungary's Roma population and put them in labor camps. They will use DNA testing if they get control of Hungary.
Mr. Ostrer, on the other hand, is an honest scholar. That is the difference.
This is why scientists have to get their studied approved by institutional review boards: to make sure the study subjects don't have their rights violated.
So I doubt this is being done for science.
Now picture someone making a database query to find the addresses of all the young girls in town so they can identify a bigger pool of girls who like to lounge in their gardens in summer clothing.
Probably already happened.
However, a decent auditing system would limit the number of people able to abuse the data in this way.
It's one thing to know that there are sysadmins out there with the ability to leak my data. At least the sysadmins, are, well, people like me. Who read Slashdot and have read the same things I have about why it's important not to engage in or facillitate creepiness with databases.
But when the system is open to abuse by every halfwitted clerk in the government, that's when seriously bad shit happens.
16 years ago, the mere mention of Gates or Ballmer would be enough to get me foaming at the mouth.
Today?
Gates is on track to wipe out polio. And Ballmer? What's to hate? Anti-competitive practices? Apple's a far bigger concern.
What else?
Pollution? Political corruption? Financial malfeasance? Mistreatment of employees? Microsoft does none of this.
And to boot, their product line continues to improve. Can't get the hate going anymore.
Actually, Hamas interferes with Gazan student travel far more than Israel does.
European Jews show a markedly different genetic makeup than Jews from the Arab world, so no, no "similar genetic makeup".
Ahem. Bull. Shit.
The closest genetic relatives of the Ashkenazis are the Yemeni Jews.
Iranian scientists aren't responsible for the fact Iran's leader is a giant asshole either, but that hasn't stopped Mossad assassinating them.
The Mossad has been assasinating Iranian NUCLEAR scientists. Just as Iran would do the same to Israel's nuclear scientists if they got the chance. In the meantime, Iran's medical scientists and every other variety of scientist has a lot more to worry from his own government than from the Mossad.
Because it's useful information?
Under the Americans With DIsabilities Act, Asperger's Syndrome is a get-out-of-stupid-corporate-team-building-activity-free card.
Now just try to claim, without giggling, that you're not tempted to go out and get diagnosed.
As Simon Baron Cohen puts it, (roughly) Asperger's Syndrome is the label you get if you're autistic but also intelligent enough to at least try to cope.
If you "need" a car, then you are needy. As in psycho-ex-girlfriend needy.
You have a responsibility not to be needy like that.
The Nanny State tries to protect you from your own stupidity.
This is showing the need for the state to protect OTHERS from your stupidity. That is not nannyism. It's a perfectly legitimate role of the government.
Nobody knows, because the TSA is not doing a fucking thing to investigate further.
The manufacturer of these machines is not legally liable.
You understand what I am saying here? The RAPISCAN company negotiated a deal with the government exempting them from liability of their machines caused cancer.
So at least SOMEONE was worried about the safety of these machines. ...