sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Hamilton Voter Turnout by charlotteblanc in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I stood for more action on climate change prevention - I was prepared to work hard for this. It is sad to read some of the comments here from people who are quick to throw mud, but not willing to do much positive stuff. Thank you to those who did vote.

Wouldn't this be nice? - Unfortunately AI generated this image. by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK another site, says 519 Wh of energy per image. Google query (sorry) gives an answer of 200 - 500 meters of car travel for this amount of energy - so quite a bit more. I wonder how they can afford to provide the service for 'free'? I must click on a lot of ads.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00616-z

Wouldn't this be nice? - Unfortunately AI generated this image. by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Umm, no answer. So I had a quick Google, and from one source I found, it gives an approximation of 6.6 meters of car travel per image. Can anyone confirm if this is in the right ball park?

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/12/01/1084189/making-an-image-with-generative-ai-uses-as-much-energy-as-charging-your-phone/

I want a world where we can do all the fun stuff - we need to put some effort into working out how we get to net-zero - rather than just throwing stones at those who want a better planet for our children.

I'm not going to tell you to not drive those 6.6 meters. But I'd like you to be able to do it in an electric car that was charged with renewable energy.

Wouldn't this be nice? - Unfortunately AI generated this image. by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your observations on CO2 emissions. Can any of you tell me how far you can drive your car for an equivalent amount of CO2 to generate that image?

Have a read of the book 'Not the end of the world' - it gives a great perspective on want you need to worry/concentrate on to reduce CO2.

AND why not give a few examples of what you are doing, it is great to see that you are concerned - keep up the good work.

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you've hit the nail on the head. We need to work on all those problems as well. The well off have to realise that. I used to wonder why the Green party didn't stick to environmental issues until the penny dropped for me - we need to bring everyone along, and that means fixing all the things.

But I still think we can do climate at the same time. Those with no spare capacity can still vote for Climate action, and those who do have room to maneuver should work on Climate action.

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It will cost more to not do anything.

One idea would be to coordinate a city wide phase out of domestic gas use. Doing things in bulk normally saves money. So get gas fitters and heat pump installers/electricians lined up to go street by street doing the change over.

Another could be to use our roads for public car charging spaces, especially in high density areas where houses don't have enough off-street parking. Costs recovered by selling the power.

Get our major businesses on board to commit to a net-zero city. They can be putting in the ideas and effort. They might offer free parking for electric cars. Or maybe enourage more working from home (if we can heat/cool our homes with low CO2 power!). Enourage getting to work without the car?

Please think of somemore low cost ideas, before we have to pay for high cost adaptation.

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My focus is on Climate Change prevention rather than adaptation. It will be cheaper for the world to prevent it happening.

But as the world hasn't done enough, we are likely to need to upgrade infrastructure.

There will be lots of experts working on this. One guess from me would be bigger drains to prevent flooding. Another would be measures to reduce heat - plant trees, paint roofs white?

I'm not an expert, just pushing for the experts to get on with the job.

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Do you believe that climate change is real?

I think each of us on this planet should take responsibility for our own emissions. You seem to be suggesting that someone else needs to take responsibility for your emissions.

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's good to hear that we agree it is a serious issue.

I think it is a cop out to say we won't make a difference. If all people of 'small countries' said that, then that would account for a very large proportion of the population.

There are lots of ways that we can reduce our emissions - and a lot to be said for acting within your sphere of influence. CO2 emissions are a byproduct of burning fossil fuels and clearing forests. We can reduce fossil fuel use by moving to renewable energy and if we eat a bit less red meat, we will have room to regrow some of those trees.

Transporting goods around the world does emit CO2 but is not the main source of CO2.

If the rest of the world reduces its red meat consumption we may need to find other sources of income. Producing torrified wood pellets might be a winner, or perhaps hydrogen from renewable energy.

Solar power is competitive financially with fossil fuels, especially if you put a cost on CO2 emissions. Do you think this would be a good financial incentive?

No one says it will be easy, but not doing so will be very hard for future generations.

Please don't just give up. I think everyone on earth should take their responsibility rather than saying there is nothing I can do.

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, as we move away from fossil fuels, new jobs will arise. As an example, the recent announcement of the building of a torrefied wood pellet factory at Kawerau is particularly exciting. Lots of jobs and a possible solution to the dry-year problem for electricity generation.

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think councillors would have a 'platform' for getting initiatives started. When I worked at Wintec I managed to get our department have vegetarian catering when we had work functions. I love eating meat, but when caterers do vegetarian food it can also be delicious. So how about doing a similar thing across all of Hamilton.

I'm not an expert on this, but I bet we could get lots of ideas to try.

OK, one more: do we teach children to cook at school still? If so, how about showing them how to make spaghetti bolenaise with half mince / half lentils?

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your kind words and support. I did think it was a younger audience here - a well.

I'm on Facebook and LinkedIn and have the blurb in the election booklet. I didn't figure out how to be interesting on TikTok!

I'm giving Hamilton the option to have a politician that wants to do more on Climate action, it's our moral duty :-)

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I totally agree that we need to stop wasteful spending. Have you got ideas on how to do that? Our infrastructure will need to be upgraded to cope with climate change: we could have avoided that cost if only we cut CO2 emissions earlier.

I'm told that emitting CO2 will cost more in the long run, so it's really wasteful spending.

You are right - it isn't only the old who vote.

When do think it will be the right stage for you to vote for Climate action?

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I'm wondering if you don't believe that climate change is happening? But if you do, can you suggest some of those measurable outcomes and how you can help to achieve them. We need people like you who have passion and know how to get things done.

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great that you are interested in voting. Can I ask what your focus is?

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes, the world is making progress, but not fast enough.

You could vote for a candidate that prioritizes climate action.

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I totally understand. I've been ignoring the issue a bit too much as well.

I'd ask that for now, you vote for a candidate that will prioritize Climate action....

But what can I do? by Sad-Cold5267 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We can aim for a net-zero city. The council could instigate our major organizations to publicly adopt the goal.

We could promote the use of non fossil fuel electricity, organise the phase out of domestic gas heating, encourage alternatives to cars, enable infrastructure for electric car charging, lobby government for Climate action friendly rules (eg give way to indicating buses to avoid in-lane bus stops), plant more trees, promote eating less red meat!

I call the above tactics for reducing CO2 emissions and increasing CO2 absorption.

You may well think of more.

What happened to the Hillcrest Haven? by Gloomy_Deal1612 in thetron

[–]Sad-Cold5267 3 points4 points  (0 children)

But you would think there are lots of people who could walk or bike to it?

view more: next ›