I've always hated trucks for all of these reasons. Thanks for doing the science to help me explain why, NYT.
70 karma · joined April 4, 2014
Increased Mortality: Projections indicate an additional 14.5 million deaths by 2050 due to climate-related impacts like floods, droughts, heatwaves, and climate-sensitive diseases (e.g., malaria and dengue).
Economic Losses: Global economic losses are predicted to reach $12.5 trillion by 2050, with an additional $1.1 trillion burden on healthcare systems due to climate-induced impacts. One study estimates that climate change will cost the global economy $38 trillion a year within the next 25 years.
Displacement and Migration: Over 200 million people may be displaced by climate change by 2050, with an estimated 21.5 million displaced annually since 2008 by weather-related events. In a worst-case scenario, the World Bank suggests this figure could reach 216 million people moving internally due to water scarcity and threats to agricultural livelihoods. Some researchers predict that 1.2 billion people could be displaced by 2050 in the worst-case scenario due to natural disasters and other ecological threats.
Food and Water Insecurity: Climate change exacerbates food and water insecurity, leading to malnutrition and increased disease burden, especially in vulnerable populations. For example, a significant increase in drought in certain regions could cause 3.2 million deaths from malnutrition by 2050. An estimated 183 million additional people could go hungry by 2050, even if warming is held below 1.6°C.
Mental Health Impacts: Climate change contributes to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and PTSD, particularly in vulnerable populations and those experiencing climate disasters or chronic changes like drought. Extreme heat has been linked to increased aggression and suicide risk. Studies also indicate that children born today will experience a significantly higher number of climate extremes than previous generations, potentially impacting their mental well-being and sense of future security.
Inequality and Vulnerability: Climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including low-income individuals, people of color, outdoor workers, and those with existing health conditions, worsening existing health inequities and hindering poverty reduction efforts.
They should do it because elected officials will sign it into law. It will be signed into law because people asked for it. People asked for it because they benefit from it. People benefit from it because they need stuff the government pays for.
There is no reason to sympathize with governments that depend on clever paperwork for their nation's success because that is not a tangible good. There is every reason to sympathize with governments that are trying to raise money to invest in their citizens because that is a tangible good.
Eliminating tax havens is no more objectionable than closing an account with a bank that has lost your trust. The bank will adapt and learn as it always does.
Now let's talk about Flexcube. Oh, it's an Oracle app! Guess who else is rich, has no interest in aesthetics, and loves lawyers. I'm seeing a pattern here. Design. Matters.
That makes the total Apollo Program cost $163 billion inflation adjusted to 2008. That's our total cost to go to the moon. Consider, however, that this was for a project spanning from 1959 to beyond 1970 with six successful missions."
This is not going to happen again unless China decides they want to get there first but, hey, it never hurts to hope.