(07-21-2022, 06:06 PM)grampahol Wrote: I was expecting quite a few,  but as far as I can remember this year we've only had one very minor tropical storm off the Carolina coast and there's nothing brewing in the Atlantic basin.. There's been a couple off the west coast of Mexico, but they've fizzled out too..
Seems a bit strange considering all the heat in a lot of places. Carolinas have been relatively cool compared to the past few years. 
Meanwhile Europe seems to want to burn down and London at 104 F? Yikes.. 

(07-22-2022, 12:06 AM)grampahol Wrote: The problem I have with environmental issues is that we've been grossly mislead not about climate change, but what we can reasonably expect to happen in terms of the cars we drive and where we can expect to get energy from. 
As much as I would love to see the alleged green revolution come to fruition we simply don't have sufficient sustainable supply lines to provide everything we need. 
We know how to drill oil and how to sustain the supply lines, but what we don't have right now are the sustainable supply lines for all the raw materials needed to make the green revolution reality nor do we have enough mature technologies and industries. What is also left out is the fact that a lot of the things needed will require a lot of really dirty energy to manufacturer enough of the green technology to offset it all. It's damned if you do and damned sure damned if you don't.   The lack of sufficient copper mines alone are a huge issue. Hint..electric motors for everything require a lot more copper than we currently have available. That's just the beginning. 

(07-21-2022, 11:31 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I believe that the climate in general and the water shortage in the west in particular will be a very big issue in the 2024 election.

For a long time lots of people have been asking for environmental policy, but when it came to money people were still willing to bump the environment down the list.  But I think in the next couple of years it is actually going to start getting scary.  Probably a few more powerful hurricanes also.

It is one thing to fight to protect polar bears, but when it actually starts effecting humans, like a water shortage will, people will get serious about it.

(07-22-2022, 12:06 AM)grampahol Wrote: The problem I have with environmental issues is that we've been grossly mislead not about climate change, but what we can reasonably expect to happen in terms of the cars we drive and where we can expect to get energy from. 
As much as I would love to see the alleged green revolution come to fruition we simply don't have sufficient sustainable supply lines to provide everything we need. 
We know how to drill oil and how to sustain the supply lines, but what we don't have right now are the sustainable supply lines for all the raw materials needed to make the green revolution reality nor do we have enough mature technologies and industries. What is also left out is the fact that a lot of the things needed will require a lot of really dirty energy to manufacturer enough of the green technology to offset it all. It's damned if you do and damned sure damned if you don't.   The lack of sufficient copper mines alone are a huge issue. Hint..electric motors for everything require a lot more copper than we currently have available. That's just the beginning. 

(07-22-2022, 03:28 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: PLEASE 

This shouldn't stop humanity from at least TRYING to do better. 

Government can do something as easy as banning single use plastic bottles and it would make a huge impact. They can also lean more on nuclear and take it as a more serious option. 

The viewpoint you share is the same one that has gotten us nowhere the past 10-15 years. 

Also, how have we been "mislead" about climate change? Half of the Great Barrier Reef is bleached and dying because of rising water temps and we still like to pretend like this isn't a thing? 

(07-23-2022, 06:51 PM)grampahol Wrote: We still have more than enough countries incapable of using green tech and even more who can't afford it. 

(07-22-2022, 03:38 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: better recycling program here would go a long long way.....

(07-23-2022, 06:51 PM)grampahol Wrote: A few things to consider.. First I want a green system as much as anyone, but there are definite constraints. A large amount of the raw materials at this time are not that easy to come by and of those raw materials we're in fierce competition for from every country also trying to get a hold of them. China is the biggest competitor,  but hardly the only one. Things like rare earth minerals are mostly located on the other side of the planet and a bunch are in conflict zones. 
Silicone is absolutely essential, but the silicone needed has to be highly refined and that takes a lot of dirty energy to produce.  The vast majority of nickel is in Russia or Ukraine where we're not going to access it anytime soon. Copper has to be mined in vast quantities and processed and it too is getting harder to source. 
The point about the difference between green tech and fossil fuels is we have no problem sourcing fossil fuels, but green tech supply lines are strung out all over the world ..It's supply and demand and demand is outstripping supply. It's just one of many reasons we're still having wars and there are very likely going to be more wars on the way for the supplies. 
Hey, if we could all meet and sing kumbya and get along great our problems are solved, but...Last time I checked that ain't happening. 
We still have more than enough countries incapable of using green tech and even more who can't afford it. The planet just keeps getting hotter in the meantime. 

(07-21-2022, 07:34 PM)Stewy Wrote: It's early days yet.  The peak of the season is in mid-September.

Note where mid July falls on this chart.

(07-26-2022, 12:32 PM)need2mellowout Wrote: You're right, it's way too early.  Also I live in South Florida and it seems we've been getting a lot of Saharan dust this year and it interferes with storm development.  However, I worry how bad this season is going to be.  I spent a lot of time this past week at Ft. Lauderdale beach and the ocean water was hot.  That's what fuels the storms and it has me worried for this season.  

(07-29-2022, 12:57 PM)samhain Wrote: It's not hurricane related, but storms and flooding are pounding eastern Kentucky right now,  The state went from almost a month of barely any rainfall to monsoons every other day.  I have a couple of friends in Letcher county that people were making facebooks posts for to confirm their safety.  I don't recall anything like this in my adult life.