Sanctions on Russia
in War in Ukraine ·
Harold Doyle3 said:Sooner or later, we’re going to have to walk away from most fossil fuel energy.
It’s basically just millions of years of stored solar energy that we’re releasing all at once right now, which heats up the planet—not to mention the nasty byproducts of combustion making it even harder for Earth to cool itself down.
The ideal move is tapping into solar power via panels. That way, as a planet, we stay in thermal equilibrium. Whatever low-entropy energy hits the Earth gets emitted back out as high-entropy energy into the rest of the sky, excluding the sun. (Plus, plants store a bit of that energy too.)
If more energy from the sun is hitting the Earth than we actually need, then honestly, just paint your roofs and other accessible surfaces white to reflect it back.
This war in Ukraine is probably going to accelerate our departure from fossil fuels, giving us a fighting chance to avoid boiling ourselves alive through global warming.
If things heat up, you can expect massive populations from countries near the equator and at low altitudes to start migrating toward the poles or higher elevations where temperatures are tolerable and the ground stays dry. (Russia might actually look like a pretty attractive destination for people moving from the south, though they probably won't bother asking permission before showing up.)
We can also expect a surge in technological progress, which usually happens right after a crisis hits.
If we fail to make the jump, then frankly, we’re evolutionary scrap.
Bottom line: if cows don't stop farting, we're screwed.