Climate Change and Global Warming

[Dudeman]

It was mostly a joke because I thought someone would come in claiming global warming didn't exist and it would turn into a big argument thing, etc., basically what FireArrow said.

Same here.

[Sebastian]

Same here.

[Dude]

Same here.

knowing how things have gone earlier I wouldn't rule it out.

[Tobbeh99]

Wrote a long post on a Swedish "environmentalist" facebook group called "Miljövänligare Vardagsliv" where I wrote a post about the issues in the transport industry and the need for a focus at the environmental-friendly groups on the issues deriving the transport sector when it comes to climate change. The groups is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/279469128757971/, and I obviously don't feel like translating the "article" I wrote, but if you want then I'm "Tobias Höglund" and I wrote a long post as you can see. But to sum it up:

-I believe that a large contribution to the climate change lies in the transport industry.
-I believe it's a really really super-duper sensitive issue but an issue of highest importance.
-I believe there has to be a will and a strong force of willingness within the environmentalist progressive organisations.
-But I also believe there has to be an understanding and a respect for other partners involved in this issue for it to be fruitful.
-I believe it is of highest importance that we have trust in the scientific forces, communities and universities if we want to be able to live on a planet freely and happily.
-And I believe that there has to be a strong sense of carefulness when being nick-picky when it comes to people ordinary lives and changes in people habits and daily routines.

It sounds probably really complicated and confusing. But I want people to have an open and sound mindset when approaching this challenge. It doesn't matter if you're a business entrepreneur, a leader of a great science university, an influential force within a grassroots community, or just a casual guy going to school every morning. I believe that this is a great challenge for all of us, and if we want to something about it, it has to come from us ourselves! Believe in the force!

[Tobbeh99]

Eyyyyy, why not continue this "debate" with a 3rd post here at Tobbeh's opinions on climate change. This time I'm going to have an approach that some might find both provocative but also relatable (btw this isn't even word, wtf!?). And the issue I want to talk about is the relation between environmentalistic movements advocating a sound reliable and sustainable relation between human kind and the planet, and on the other hand various religious groups with no or very vague connection and trust for scientific research and the importance for human kind to adopt certain changes. Basically how religion still can be religion but also live an eco-friendly lifestyle, and not become nerdy scientific atheists.

To clarify certain things:

-I see myself as I guess you could call it "agnostic", but maybe atheist and also maybe christian. I live in Sweden, a country with around like 90% atheists, but on the other hand I'm a very "spiritual" person and sometimes I feel like "things just happen" or "just goes my way". Sometimes I feel like the term Christian Atheist, Atheist Christian would be suitable, or maybe just Protestant Christian, but I'm not sure and I don't care much for religion anyway, and that's my point.
-With religion, I'll focus on specifically Christianity as I feel like most on the site are Christians or have some relation to the religion and that people might get interested in discussing with me, when I talk on my views on this topic, in contrast to that not many would care or be affected if I talked about something like "green islam" or "is judaism green".
-I'll basically say my opinions and views on this topic. Feel free to disagree and criticize my opinions or give feedback and sympathize with me on my views.

So let's start:

-First of all I think that many people of religious belief are more conservative. So in an argument of advocating more green fuels and those alternatives, people might say "but we've used those for decades, and it has been fine". But then it can be even more important to talk about that humans have only used fossil fuels since the 1900, so Jesus was born at, I guess, year 0, so that's like 1900 years where people lived without fossil fuels, so it's a pretty "new" thing.
-Speaking of religion, when thinking of adapting a "green living style and mindset (when it comes to politics and that kind of stuff), I think it's important to realize that the front figure of Christianity, Jesus, and in fact all other world religions, basically lived "eco-friendly". There was no cars at his time (no fossil fuel), no electricity, he probably didn't ate to much meat as it probably was expensive. So if you'd follow Jesus' habits in that regard, well then you'd live with respect to nature.
-I haven't read that much about religion, so I'm not an expert at it, and very little from the bible itself. But if there is Anything I remembered from the religion classes it's why god actually put man on Earth - to take care of his creation. And you could say that taking care of the earth is to not let it get to hot, to not let us sway too much in cost of the earth (which god has created). You could even say that it is a responsibility to listen to the advice that the scientists gives us. And you question that and say "But how does religion go hand in hand with science" and one approach to that question is by saying "God has created the world But Science helps us understand it". So the idea is that God has created the earth, and also that he is present, but it is by science and research that we can understand his creation and how we humans have a responsibility as the "image of god". And with that term you could derive that if God represent all things good, and if good created the earth, and if god created mankind as an "image of himself", than humans as "image of god" has the responsibility to morally pure and that could be defined as "taking care of the earth" and "taking care of the plants, the animals, the birds, the fishes, the trees etc."
-I also think there are some bible verses that hint that mankind has responsibility for the earth. But I don't have the energy and time to search for adequate bible verses that take up those issues. And I think that people of religious belief are more willing to do so themselves if they find it interesting.

[mikey]

You're making a lot of assumptions about religious people that aren't necessarily true (even though some are) and I can't imagine there being a correlation between religion and environment

[Tobbeh99]

You're making a lot of assumptions about religious people that aren't necessarily true (even though some are) and I can't imagine there being a correlation between religion and environment

...well God created The Earth. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[mikey]

That's not what I mean

[E. Gadd Industries]

I don't feeling like quoting, but Jesus was actually born around 3 or 4

Also,
*looks outside. Sees frost*
*looks at forecast, sees snow*
Global warming my left foot! That's a bunch of bologna!




All kidding aside, regardless of climate change, I'm in favor of trying to find alternate energy resources, especially those renewable and all the more effiecient. If it slows climate change by any large factor, all the better. Aside from that, my views are fairly nonexistent, given as I never really take the time to sit down and acknowledge these things. Maybe I should. But I don't see it as much of an issue, given as it seems people are trying to prevent whatever climate change is happening.

[FireArrow]

At the very least, be mindful of your energy usage, emissions, and such.

[Tobbeh99]

Also,
*looks outside. Sees frost*
*looks at forecast, sees snow*
Global warming my left foot! That's a bunch of bologna!

Just because it's snowy and cold doesn't mean that it has do with climate change. yes the earth is getting hotter but Also by that means that the risk of extreme weather increases, like blizzards and cold periods. So there's not just one side of it, if I've been interpreted the clues the scientists has given via websites and stuff.

[Tobbeh99]

Finally! When I'm now unbanned, I can bring up my 3:rd, and a very important point, on global warming and climate change!

Guess what the topic is... ... ... 3... 2... 1...

Spoiler

Trade and economics! ,or more so the type of trade policies being valued.

[close]

-I believe trade has a big impact on global warming and that the type of trade being highly rated has direct impact on global warming.
-I believe that a more protectionistic trade policy will have a milder affect on the climate, as less transport is needed.
-I believe people have to face the fact that we really live in a world of abundance, when you can buy food, for example, produced on the other side of the world at your local supermarket at a pretty cheap price! And how it's actually more or less a luxury to be able to do so in the first place.
-I believe that a trade policy, based on more local and regional trade will help mitigate the effects of global warming, as well as create an economic landscape where the local and regional companies and salesmen have a big role and have great influence and opportunity rather than in a economic landscape of free market.
-I believe that there has to be made a cultural change in terms of how we treat products. And a more "economic" mindset and a mindset where you value quality in front of quantity, rather than and mindset of "buying and throwing away and then rebuying" (what we call in Sweden "köp-och-släng", literal meaning "buy-and-throw away"). This would make people use their products to their full, or almost full, potential. And if people buy less products but more valuable ones, than fewer will be produced and that will help the Earth in the sense that we harvest fewer resources from it, and that also uses less transports.
-I also take into account, in this subject, the consumption of meat, as a product. It was different back in like 1900s where people ate a lot more vegetables, because meat was expensive to produce. And when you look at most site and reports about the heat level in the atmosphere, most show that the temperature started increasing around 1850-1900 and then started increasing really rapidly in the 20-century. And when you think about that, you also know that the trade was different back then and also what food people consumed. And that it was probably better for the environment, according to most scientists.     

(have been waiting a loooong time to make this post, which I couldn't because I was banned, and finally I made it! Yay!)

Thanks for reading my posts on this topic! I think that it is a topic of highest importance in today's society, and a topic in need of being looked into if we want to live on a stable and sustainable planet ...for years and even more years to come!

And, as I talked about in my posts here, I believe that the 3 key topics regarding this topic are - The Fuels in our Transports, The Energy-production & (last but not least) The Trade Policies.

[Tobbeh99]

If my talk about climate change is boring, here's a documentary about it that you might find interesting:

And if that one seems too much "Dicaprio doing film-stuff and acting like he cares about important issues", then this might suit you better:

Anyway I find the first one very emotional. The way he speaks about climate change resonates with what I think about it (maybe Dicaprio is a bit similar to me, but still not, lol). About how it seems like time is running away from us, how the human civilization is really to be honest "taking over" the Earth! And  find it crazy when you think about it because, we've basically taken over the Earth and really is "Owning" it. Like what threat do we have against us? Some unknown virus that could kill us all? I mean I guess, but to be honest - we are the biggest threat to ourselves rather than some other specie or some other power. And that basically means that we have a great power! ...and time for me to quote a favorite and important quote from a "special and mundane source" - "With great power comes great responsibility" (Spiderman). That's right "responsibility" I think is a key word when you realize that we have so much power and influence on the Earth, I mean... it's almost ridiculous, we can basically do anything we want, only if there's a will behind it, and that is also... pretty scary... So I think it's important to think about the "responsibility" and not always "care about yourself or other people" but also about "the Earth".

Thinking about this just as I look at the fine chocolate bar I bought on my way home. I basically went into the store, looked around, and (as usual) picked and bought a chocolate bar by intuition. Did it taste good? Well yes, and really yes, it tasted fantastic, just as it said on the actual front "Baobab Dark Chocolate. With Baobabfruit that gives a delicious aftertaste of sour revitalizing citrus-tones" - exactly what it tasted like and exactly what I wanted at that moment, it was awesome! But the question I, when I watched the documentary, posted was... "how good was it For The Earth that I bought it?". And then I started to think about the transportations it takes for it to go from Peru to me here in Sweden. And if they have to cut down forest and disrupt nature in order to produce this chocolate; I'm thinking that they might not need that much as it was kind of "fine" chocolate that costed a bit at least, so maybe it's better than buying a "big-well-known-brand " chocolate bar, but still it's not that good. I mean the best, if I wanted to eat something would probably be to buy some berry-bar thing from Swedish berries, it's just berries from here in Sweden, just a small distance of transport needed for it to be transported to me, and I maybe also help some local people (the countryside of Sweden is getting scarcer and scarcer day by day as people move in to the cities ).

So I think I'm going to, as a personal goal, focus on - buying less "small candies and stuff" like chocolate (which I love), and also eat less meat (which I also love as I think it really gives a long feeling of fullness, which I need working with pretty physical work). I'm going to achieve the first goal by buying more local snacks and buying less snacks in general, and the second one by! - making more food myself rather than buying from some local hamburger kiosk or something like that, and also focus on eating food with less meat and especially beef (as it is supposed to be the worst in terms of a climate change perspective).

I'm a bit sad that people doesn't seem to care about my opinions about global warming, and that there is little to no discussions about the topic. But to maybe begin some discussions or to hear some opinions at least here are some questions I'd like to hear peoples opinion about:

-What did you think about the documentarie(s)?
-How big of an issue do you think climate change is?
-What do think is the biggest concern in terms of climate change (fuels?, meat?, bad politicians?, bad habit that people have?)
-What do you do to help mitigate climate change?
-What are you interested in doing in order to mitigate climate change?
-Do you think that politicians are doing a good job of stopping climate change?

Funny final question:
-What do think about my initiative to even create this topic to begin with ?

[Dude]

You're still talking?

[Tobbeh99]

I'll never stop talking about this XD. Because I believe that protecting the planet and making this planet the best it could be, and not damaging it by us human who just consume too much from it, is very important thing to care about and a very good thing in general.