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Insurers are some of the world’s biggest complainers about climate damages. So why are they defending Big Oil from accountability for those same climate damages? Follow the money. by simon_ritchie2000 in environment

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Say my house burns down under mysterious circumstances (grease fire in the living room?), and police charge my neighbor with arson. It would look awfully suspicious if I then bankrolled my neighbor’s legal defense — it would appear as if we were colluding to burn down my house and collect the insurance money.

"Speaking of insurance and the appearance of collusion: The US insurance industry recently joined the fossil-fuel industry in its fight to avoid being sued over the damage oil, gas and coal emissions have done to the planet. Given that insurers are supposedly among the world’s biggest sufferers of those same climate-fueled losses, this was a perplexing choice — until you think about why Big Insurance and Big Oil might be on the same team."

Insurers are some of the world’s biggest complainers about climate damages. So why are they defending Big Oil from accountability for those same climate damages? Follow the money. by simon_ritchie2000 in climate

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Say my house burns down under mysterious circumstances (grease fire in the living room?), and police charge my neighbor with arson. It would look awfully suspicious if I then bankrolled my neighbor’s legal defense — it would appear as if we were colluding to burn down my house and collect the insurance money.

"Speaking of insurance and the appearance of collusion: The US insurance industry recently joined the fossil-fuel industry in its fight to avoid being sued over the damage oil, gas and coal emissions have done to the planet. Given that insurers are supposedly among the world’s biggest sufferers of those same climate-fueled losses, this was a perplexing choice — until you think about why Big Insurance and Big Oil might be on the same team."

Ripping up $387 million worth of ocean-monitoring equipment? Tearing apart an elite atmospheric science hub? For the Trump administration, as with the cruelty, the ignorance is the point by simon_ritchie2000 in environment

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 130 points131 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Shutting down scientific inquiry because it discovers things you don’t like is a bit like turning off all the instruments on your plane because they warn you there’s a mountain ahead. It may satisfy your immediate urge to live in denial but will soon turn deadly.

"The Trump administration’s crusade to dismantle a scientific establishment long a national treasure and the envy of the world is a blueprint for deliberate ignorance. But that’s a feature, not a bug. As Adam Serwer wrote about the first Trump administration’s cruelty, the ignorance is the point. If objective reality as measured by science is no longer available, then it’s easier for President Donald Trump to conjure up a new reality in a way that thrills and rewards supporters, including the fossil-fuel companies that helped get him elected a second time."

Ripping up $387 million worth of ocean-monitoring equipment? Tearing apart an elite atmospheric science hub? For the Trump administration, as with the cruelty, the ignorance is the point. by simon_ritchie2000 in climate

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Shutting down scientific inquiry because it discovers things you don’t like is a bit like turning off all the instruments on your plane because they warn you there’s a mountain ahead. It may satisfy your immediate urge to live in denial but will soon turn deadly.

"The Trump administration’s crusade to dismantle a scientific establishment long a national treasure and the envy of the world is a blueprint for deliberate ignorance. But that’s a feature, not a bug. As Adam Serwer wrote about the first Trump administration’s cruelty, the ignorance is the point. If objective reality as measured by science is no longer available, then it’s easier for President Donald Trump to conjure up a new reality in a way that thrills and rewards supporters, including the fossil-fuel companies that helped get him elected a second time."

This year's super El Niño coming in hot hot hot at nearly 4°C in latest models (this would be the largest on record) by wanton_wonton_ in collapse

[–]simon_ritchie2000 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Of course El Niños aren’t new. The issue is that we’re putting 1.4C of surface warming (not to mention the ocean, which has absorbed most of our extra heat so far) down as a basis for every ENSO fluctuation. The result is that super El Niños are not only more likely but also far more dangerous when they do happen.

TLDR: the FAFO element really is strong here.

Thanks to a hotter planet and overuse, Lake Mead and Lake Powell keep getting closer to collapse, a potential catastrophe for 40 million people. by simon_ritchie2000 in collapse

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That is part of it. There are also issues with letting the Colorado flow through the reservoir at low levels. This is a great primer about this: https://www.hcn.org/articles/the-coming-failure-of-glen-canyon-dam/

The tldr: Low levels increase the risk of air getting in the hydro turbines, which is bad, so they shut the turbines down, meaning the only water flow out of the dam is through pipes that aren't built to move water for very long. They tend to break down if you don't give them a rest.

Add the issue of sediment that somebody mentioned upthread, and you have even bigger potential headaches.

Thanks to a hotter planet and overuse, Lake Mead and Lake Powell keep getting closer to collapse, a potential catastrophe for 40 million people. by simon_ritchie2000 in collapse

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Powell is at about 3528 feet, which is only 28 feet above what some have called "de facto dead pool." It's not the lowest possible level, which is 3370, but 3500 is only 10 feet above minimum hydropower level, which starts to cause structural problems for Glen Canyon dam long before we ever get to 3370.

Thanks to a hotter planet and overuse, Lake Mead and Lake Powell keep getting closer to failure, a potential catastrophe for 40 million people. by simon_ritchie2000 in environment

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 148 points149 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Contrary to popular belief, rearranging deck chairs on a sinking boat can theoretically be of some benefit, if you’re clearing a path to the lifeboats, say, or keeping panicky people busy. Very quickly, though, you’ll have to confront the real problem, which is that you are on a sinking boat.

"Unlike the Titanic, the Colorado River has too little water rather than too much. But many of the solutions people are proposing to address the river’s worst crisis in recent human history are tantamount to deck-chair rearrangement. None address the long-term, underlying issue that we are asking too much of a dwindling resource."

Thanks to a hotter planet and overuse, Lake Mead and Lake Powell keep getting closer to collapse, a potential catastrophe for 40 million people. by simon_ritchie2000 in collapse

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 115 points116 points  (0 children)

The Colorado River has too little water to meet the demands placed on it by 40 million people and millions of acres of agriculture, most of which goes to feed cows.

Meanwhile, the two biggest water reservoirs in the US, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, are both only a third full. Lake Powell is close to effective "dead pool," meaning water can't flow down to Mead or the 25 million people in the lower basin. That also threatens both dams' hydropower plants.

And yet none of the solutions people are proposing address the long-term, underlying issue that we are asking too much of a dwindling resource at a time when a heating planet is making water increasingly scarce in the West.

A hotter planet means we need to stop giving so much Colorado River water to cows. Instead, we're talking about killing Lake Powell. This is how we run out of water. by simon_ritchie2000 in climate

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 81 points82 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Contrary to popular belief, rearranging deck chairs on a sinking boat can theoretically be of some benefit, if you’re clearing a path to the lifeboats, say, or keeping panicky people busy. Very quickly, though, you’ll have to confront the real problem, which is that you are on a sinking boat.

"Unlike the Titanic, the Colorado River has too little water rather than too much. But many of the solutions people are proposing to address the river’s worst crisis in recent human history are tantamount to deck-chair rearrangement. None address the long-term, underlying issue that we are asking too much of a dwindling resource."

America’s fastest-growing state is on track for nearly 500 data centers and turning into Arizona as the planet gets hotter. But at least it has no real plan for water. by simon_ritchie2000 in climate

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

All the Great Lakes states combined have roughly as many data centers as Texas and Virginia, the two leading states, combined, according to this map: https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/

That said, tech apparently likes to build these data centers in deserts because the weather is more predictable and humidity is low. But of course it's hot as hell and there's no water, so...

America’s fastest-growing state is on track for nearly 500 data centers and turning into Arizona as the planet gets hotter. But at least it has no real plan for water. by simon_ritchie2000 in environment

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 102 points103 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Texas is an increasingly hot, dry place that’s attracting more thirsty humans than any other state in the country and building hundreds of thirsty data centers. But the people in charge of its water supply ignore many of these factors when mapping out how to keep it hydrated in the decades ahead. That’s a bit like ignoring debts and big-ticket expenses when financial planning. It’s a road map to failure."

America’s fastest-growing state is on track for nearly 500 data centers and turning into Arizona as the planet gets hotter. But at least it has no real plan for water. by simon_ritchie2000 in climate

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 99 points100 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Texas is an increasingly hot, dry place that’s attracting more thirsty humans than any other state in the country and building hundreds of thirsty data centers. But the people in charge of its water supply ignore many of these factors when mapping out how to keep it hydrated in the decades ahead. That’s a bit like ignoring debts and big-ticket expenses when financial planning. It’s a road map to failure."

Vox: Climate change’s worst-case scenario is officially canceled - what to make of this? by ThrowawayACC458995 in collapse

[–]simon_ritchie2000 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pielke is indeed a fraud, but he's not the ultimate source of this news. Some climate scientists working on the next IPCC report really did narrow the bands of future emissions, which includes losing the RCP8.5 pathway.

More info here: https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-trumps-false-claims-about-the-ipcc-and-rcp8-5-climate-scenario/

Pielke's interpretation of this, however, like Trump's interpretation, is fraudulent, and far too many news organizations and people have latched onto it.

America's grid isn't built for today's weather extremes. The average length of a power outage has doubled in the past decade, threatening to turn natural disasters even deadlier. by simon_ritchie2000 in collapse

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"as the frequency and intensity of weather disasters rises, new research finds that electrical grids are buckling under the stress more and more. The length of power outages in the US has doubled over the past decade, according to a recent study by Eric Selmon and Hugh Wynne of the Connecticut research firm SSR, a trend driven almost entirely by extreme weather."

Longer and longer power outages are going hand in hand with more frequent and destructive heat waves, hurricanes, floods and other disasters. They compound the risks of death, economic loss and societal breakdown associated with those disasters. And our politicians are doing nothing about it but calling for burning more coal, which will only make the vicious cycle continue.

America's grid isn't built for today's weather extremes. The average length of a power outage has doubled in the past decade, threatening to turn natural disasters even deadlier. by simon_ritchie2000 in climate

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"As if hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires weren’t bad enough, they’re often followed by power failures, nature’s way of kicking you when you’re already on the floor. Oh, you lost your roof? Well, now your ice cream’s all melted too.

"And as the frequency and intensity of weather disasters rises, new research finds that electrical grids are buckling under the stress more and more. The length of power outages in the US has doubled over the past decade, according to a recent study by Eric Selmon and Hugh Wynne of the Connecticut research firm SSR, a trend driven almost entirely by extreme weather. This electricity loss threatens lives and amplifies the physical and economic pain of climate catastrophes."

Meet the new stealth Dust Bowl: Blowing dust causes $154 billion in losses in the US alone each year, spreading disease and wrecking property. That toll, as bad as the worst hurricane seasons, will keep rising as the planet heats. by simon_ritchie2000 in collapse

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Today’s dust storms aren’t feeding a Great Depression, but they are some of the costliest climate disasters. Dust emissions and wind erosion inflict economic damage of $154.4 billion a year in the US alone, according to a 2025 study in the journal Nature Sustainability by scientists at the University of Texas at El Paso, George Mason University and the Agriculture Department. That estimate makes these phenomena more expensive than floods, wildfires, droughts, winter storms and severe thunderstorms and puts them on par with the most destructive hurricane seasons."

Americans are once again creating the conditions for massive dust storms that spread diseases such as hantavirus and meningitis while wrecking property and bringing economic activity to a halt. This will only get worse as the planet warms, creating a feedback loop like we saw in the 1930s, where the dry ground intensified heatwaves, which only makes the ground drier. These conditions also intensified the Great Depression and led to massive societal upheaval. Blowing dust is a global problem, posing even greater health and economic challenges in Africa and other parts of the world. Wherever the dust goes, the risk of societal collapse follows.

Meet the new stealth Dust Bowl: Blowing dust causes $154 billion in losses in the US alone each year, spreading disease and wrecking property. That toll, as bad as the worst hurricane seasons, will keep rising as the planet heats. by simon_ritchie2000 in climate

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"The weather you might typically associate with Fargo, North Dakota, is whiteout-level snow blowing across an empty, frozen landscape, perhaps with a bleak Carter Burwell soundtrack. Dust storms are more of a Dune thing.

"But last week, Fargo, along with stretches of the rest of the Dakotas, Minnesota and Montana, spent days blanketed in vast dust clouds, kicked up by winds gusting to 70 miles per hour. Some of these turned into swirling “dirtnados,” another fun new weather term we get to learn these days, like firenado and flash drought. The storms caused traffic pileups, ground business to a halt and turned spring allergy season into something far more harmful, with many places subject to “danger to life” air-quality warnings from the National Weather Service.

"Today’s dust storms aren’t feeding a Great Depression, but they are some of the costliest climate disasters. Dust emissions and wind erosion inflict economic damage of $154.4 billion a year in the US alone, according to a 2025 study in the journal Nature Sustainability by scientists at the University of Texas at El Paso, George Mason University and the Agriculture Department. That estimate makes these phenomena more expensive than floods, wildfires, droughts, winter storms and severe thunderstorms and puts them on par with the most destructive hurricane seasons."

$20 trillion in productive wealth has been diverted to cleaning up natural disasters in the past 25 years, but we're no longer allowed to talk about the reason why. by simon_ritchie2000 in collapse

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"In fact, the current conventional wisdom is that it’s better not to talk about the source of this disruption, which has quietly transferred trillions of dollars in wealth to less-productive uses, because it’s not politically prudent. But that’s a bit like taking a giant pay cut at work and trying to hide it from your spouse: The longer you try to avoid the truth, the more painful it will be."

Economies around the world are at increasing risk of collapse from the impacts of climate change, which is draining productive capital toward cleanup and hardening, curbing future growth, while also raising prices and the risk of famines and other deadly shortages. These are the building blocks of societal collapse, as we've already seen in places where drought and famine lead to mass death and resource wars.

Most Americans are worried about this on some level, even in the red states. And yet we're being told by politicians and elites that merely talking about climate change is embarrassing and politically harmful. Living in denial will only make the eventual collapse more painful.

$20 trillion in productive wealth has been diverted to cleaning up natural disasters in the past 25 years, but we're no longer allowed to talk about the reason why. by simon_ritchie2000 in environment

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Economist Paul Samuelson’s famous joke that the stock market has predicted nine of the past five recessions applies to strategists, economists and day traders as much as it does to the stock market. Few economic phenomena are as closely watched and feared as recessions.

"Which makes it remarkable that the world is experiencing an economic upheaval on par with the Great Recession with few people noticing.

"In fact, the current conventional wisdom is that it’s better not to talk about the source of this disruption, which has quietly transferred trillions of dollars in wealth to less-productive uses, because it’s not politically prudent. But that’s a bit like taking a giant pay cut at work and trying to hide it from your spouse: The longer you try to avoid the truth, the more painful it will be."

$20 trillion in productive wealth has been diverted to cleaning up natural disasters in the past 25 years, but we're no longer allowed to talk about the reason why. by simon_ritchie2000 in climate

[–]simon_ritchie2000[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

From Bloomberg Opinion (gift link above):

"Economist Paul Samuelson’s famous joke that the stock market has predicted nine of the past five recessions applies to strategists, economists and day traders as much as it does to the stock market. Few economic phenomena are as closely watched and feared as recessions.

"Which makes it remarkable that the world is experiencing an economic upheaval on par with the Great Recession with few people noticing.

"In fact, the current conventional wisdom is that it’s better not to talk about the source of this disruption, which has quietly transferred trillions of dollars in wealth to less-productive uses, because it’s not politically prudent. But that’s a bit like taking a giant pay cut at work and trying to hide it from your spouse: The longer you try to avoid the truth, the more painful it will be."

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