How will YOU survive global warming?

[KurtNYC]

It has been 8 years since "An Inconvenient Truth" laid out what we are up against. Humanity has done nothing significant to slow the progress of global warming and this year we are seeing massive crop failures in corn and other major commodities.

The rate of progress in combating global warming is zero. In fact more people are using more energy and producing more carbon. Major polluters finance eco-porn and greenwash their brands, offering such nonsense as eco-friendly SUVs. Global warming is not being treated as a crisis and there is no international entity with any authority to address the disaster.

20 years ago I moved from Los Angeles to NYC and gave up my car. I walk, bike and use mass transit. I have talked with others who live completely off the grid -- solar, wind and hydro, grow your own, shoot a deer, all that.

But the truth is none of that will make a dent in what is unfolding now. Some scientists believe we will see an 80% reduction the human population by the end of this century -- famine, floods, resource wars, tropical diseases. The clock is ticking down. The Titanic is sinking while the band plays on. The question is not longer whether global warming is real, or even what can be done to stop it but rather 'how will any one of us survive?'

Any ideas?

[patrice]

1. Everyone move in together. Create co-operative living agreements. & WORK for a TAX ON FOSSIL FUELS,

the proceeds of which are to be dedicated to the development of sustainable GREEN entrepreneurship for energy and local economies.

There is research out there that says things are very bad, worse than most people realize, but some things can be done about and that will have good effect upon the problems. That research recommended a new tax on fossil fuels to be invested in sustainable local entrepreneurship.

I'll go see if I can find that link for you.

[Fumesucker]

6. I've been in several different extended family living together situations..

The conflict levels skyrocket when people are put too close together, every little mannerism becomes an irritant.

Not a good idea in a culture as heavily armed as our own, IMO.

And a tax on fossil fuels will be heavily regressive, those with the lowest incomes will be hurt the worst by it while the Mitt Romneys of the world won't even notice except to evade the tax somehow.

[Trillo]

14. I agree with your comment about conflict levels.

Some of us wish to have privacy inside the walls of our vastly overpriced living units.

[patrice]

24. The situation is "no pain, no gain" for most of us. Do or don't what you can about the Romneys of

the world and then turn one's back on them, in order to make what one can of one's own life with like-minded others. Co-operative living can encourage whatever honestly functional adaptations are possible by also developing co-operative economics. All of which will be very situationally idiosyncratic to the persons and conditions involved.

Funny, that you appear to be concluding, TTE, that "Because it has not happened, it cannot happen." Is that rational?

[Fumesucker]

28. Have you ever actually lived in such an arrangement?

I'm speaking from bitter experience, holding something like that together is very difficult..

It took years after the end of one of my experiences before hearing the laugh of a certain female relative didn't quite literally put the hair up on the back of my neck and I'm generally a pretty easy going and tolerant person..

As to fossil fuels, when electric cars become more prevalent who is going to be driving the old fossil fuel powered cars?

The poor, if they can even afford an old hooptie wagon, I know I can't..

[patrice]

33. Perhaps I am assuming more choice in the matter of who is and is not in a co-operative. It's called

"intentional living" by some, also co-housing, but the participants engage in evergreen management of a collaboratively engineered set of living processes, so there'd be solutions in place and choices with agreed upon consequences. One of the drivers I hope to see is new ways of developing actual real value equity in the co-operative enterprise. That would be equity that could be sold, bought, leased and inherited according to the basic terms of the collaborative living agreements. There are possible solutions in that kind of real value, especially if it is adaptable to the needs of those involved, that could be ways of solving for "the laugh of a certain female relative" or whatever like conditions violate the basic agreements.

And I have lived temporarily, only for a summer, in a "co-operative" environment that wasn't really co-operative at all, but since I had alternatives, I guess that doesn't count. I also grew up in a huge family, so I do know a thing or two about INTOLERABLE relatives.

There are solutions, my experience is that people make imperfect commitments to them, beginning with the fact that most of us rarely put DISCOVERING the solutions in the position of the primary priority in all things.

[Fumesucker]

36. It's been my experience that interpersonal politics trumps everything else..

Look at what's happening in Israel, a nation founded in many ways on the pattern you are speaking of, intentional communities, AKA Kibbutz.. The Kibbutz philosophy is rapidly disappearing in Israel and the nation gets ever more right wing..

The community doesn't have to get that big before there will be someone who wants to run everyone else, a significant part of the population just can't help themselves, they are Social Dominators to use Dr Bob Altemeyer's terminology he used in "The Authoritarians", they can no more refrain from trying to manipulate others to do their will than they can from breathing. This inevitably leads to internal strife in any community of significant size even leaving aside any other personality traits.

[Nay]

45. Gotta agree there. I've lived with roommates; in a small commune(the authoritarian was front

and center there); and in two extended-family situations. I have also visited two long-term communes. Nothing in any of these situations was attractive, even tho in one of the family ones we all got along together.

I'm not an authoritarian type, I do not like to order people around but neither do I like being taken advantage of. Many roommates and commune members will be happy to shove their messes off on you, and it becomes irritating to have to keep 'negotiating' with these people. That's my opinion on why there are so many singles living alone -- lots of 'em just got sick of dealing with someone else's constant messes, drama, expectations, etc., and they bailed.

There comes a time when you just need LOTS of time by yourself. I've been that way all my life, but now even fairly gregarious people are giving up on living with more than one or two others, if that many.

[patrice]

77. I do think in smaller terms & also with clearly laid out options up front, so that if, after a

series of choices that did not work out functionally for everyone, it becomes necessary for someone(s) to find other more appropriate arrangements, because of informed choices s/he made, that option is there for them. Just brainstorming here. My basic assumption is that no matter how many crazies there are, rational people can discover solutions for themselves, if they're willing to make decisions and accept the consequences of those decisions. So, the cook in your community turns out to be a Social Dominator and, after a series of informed behavioral choices and consequences, functional adaptations have not occurred, there is an option for people to move to other more appropriate/fitting situations, or not, and as a member I should place the atmosphere of the whole over how much I like what the cook does. Ultimately all of the Social Dominators will end up with no choice but one another, whether they comprise amongst themselves the skill sets that result a life or not.

Not sure how that would work out, but I'd prefer it to suffering and not doing anything about the causes of suffering. It would take dilegence and commitment, but evergreen functional adaptability might help people steer away from "The Beach" situations. One important driver and a difference between this idea and perhaps some others is personal, real value/work, equity that is completely portable and perhaps at least to some limited degree also fungible and I'm not talking about money here.

[Fumesucker]

109. Every organization I've ever been part of has "doers" and "talkers"..

While the doers are busy doing the talkers are busy playing politics and deciding what the doers should be doing next.

The talkers of course being the Social Dominators, I have one in my family I have to deal with on about a weekly basis, she makes it so unpleasant to disagree with her in the slightest matter that the natural urge is just to go along in order to get some peace.

Social Dominators for the most part _thrive_ on conflict that would drive most of us around the bend tout suite, battling them is a constant drain on the psyche because they enjoy the conflict that most of us hate.

[roguevalley]

57. I will do my best daily to make my footprint miniscule. I am old. My stay in hell won't

be as long as my babies. It will take a freaking catastrophe to make a big change possible. I am afraid for everyone young.

I live in Alaska next to the melting tundra and the releasing methane. Maybe I won't be a lingering death after all.

[RKP5637]

129. Same concern here, "It will take a freaking catastrophe to make

a big change possible. I am afraid for everyone young."

My observation over decades is good things often do not come about without some huge event forcing them to occur. I think global warming is easy for many to just ignore, and many politicians and corporations are not at all proactive in really making changes.

The one thing that could change this is significant profits for some entity. Short of that, I don't see a lot of change coming about too quickly.

That said, we can all do our own small part to make changes.

[RebelOne]

2. I will not be here by the end of the century,

so I am not going to worry about it. I am already 73 years old though I hope to live at least another 10 years.

[patrice]

4. Do you have children? Family? Anyone you care about who will be here after you've gone?

[Skidmore]

23. The problem with this snappy reply is that

it assumes that someone who is older hasn't been doing a darned thing. I will tell you that as much as I have worked over these years to keep it simple and to support green policies, as much as I have gardened and scrimped and saved, as much as I have recycled and and repurposed (I hate that $3 word), I will not live forever. At some point, our children need to step up and help. One way would be to stop focusing on technologies that are for the purpose of trafficking in information and start learning to produce items of practical value. You can't feed a population with an iPod or a smart phone.

We all will die. That is a reality. Some sooner than others.

[patrice]

29. I'm pretty intimately acquainted with death. & I have been saying exactly what you are saying here

about producing "items of practical value" for as long as I can remember, for I too have been around doing what I can, more or less effectively, to change us and have raised two authentic counter-culture revolutionaries in the process.

[RebelOne]

31. Thank you. I can't do anything about what is going to happen.

My kids and grandkids are just going to have to step up and help in the future.

[Fumesucker]

32. I know this sounds snide but are you posting using a tin can and a string?

I for one am absolutely thrilled that I can access information readily on the internet, it's allowed me to do and learn a great many things that I would never have done or learned otherwise..

If all of us only had the information that we could personally generate we'd be living back in the caves, probably wouldn't even have fire to keep us warm and cook our food.

[Skidmore]

53. It is snide and you can only accomplish so much

at a keyboard. Sometimes you have to get out and turn the soil over, plant the seed, tend it, and harvest it. Bottom line is information is useless without application.

[randome]

39. Actually, with the advances in stem cell research, etc...

...many of us now alive may live to be hundreds of years old.

That is not fantasy. It's possible.

[Skidmore]

49. Why anyone would want to do that is beyond me.

[Odious justice]

52. you could live long enought to watch the rest of us die...

due to global warming. Everyone wins! Except the opposite.

[BlackHoleSon]

125. First

really good laugh I've had today. Thanks!

[randome]

54. I'm not trying to depress you but why would you NOT want to live longer?

I'd do almost anything to stay with my daughters and friends longer.

[Skidmore]

55. I do think there comes a time when as organism we are

intended to die. I love my children and grandchildren. I loved my mother dearly, but when it came time for her to pass, we allowed her to and we have a lifetime of memories that we hold precious. When my time comes, I will go. Why should I seek to become an economic burden to my family for selfish reasons in this time we live in?

[randome]

56. I hear you.

But I think longer lifespans will dramatically change society. For one thing, the topic of this thread will be more of a concern to a greater number of people when they realize they don't need to leave any time soon.

[patrice]

94. Why do you assume that you have nothing that they need? Have you been in any or our nation's

classrooms lately? Do you really want to abandon certain kinds of people to each other's tender mercies? How will they affect people you care about?

ALL of our times are coming and it's way better to choose it than it is to let it have its way with you.

Just saying here that the notion of what people are worth seems to be very strongly limited to "economic burden" even amongst those whom I thought were re-thinking and wanting to explore those CONCEPTS to discover things that we are blinding ourselves to currently, things that are valuable in ways that money never will be and that's why we are in this situation to begin with.

[Skidmore]

97. I don't think I said that. What I said was

that I am able only to act so long as I am alive. There comes a time when the burden needs to shift. How long do we carry it? I know my health is not good and I have neither the strength or the stamina any longer to shoulder what I used to. In fact, it was the that excessive amount of work which broke my health. Right now, I feel my best efforts are geared toward teaching my adult children how to be active citizens and to teach my grandchildren about how much has changed in my lifetime. They need hear something beyond some of what is sanitized for our school curriculum and text. I teach them critical thinking too. I participate in my community.

As far as economic burden, that is a very real consideration. When the financial burden of caring for someone exceeds the family's capacity to care for its smallest children, then the insistence that you live far beyond your capacity for self-care does become a selfish decision. I will not have my family's resources siphoned off into the nursing home industry nor will I give myself over to be cared for by technology. That is my choice.

[roguevalley]

60. at some point everyone gets the message to move on. Some take longer. no one wanted

to stay more than my parents but they died ten months apart. I have been sick enough a couple of times that I could feel my heart winding down. Only indomitable will at the time made the difference. Now after a near death experience, i know i will go in good grace in future. I feel deep pain in my heart for those who have to stay in the world as it is now.

[RKP5637]

130. Wow, that would certainly be overpopulation on steroids. n/t

[patrice]

3. Director of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies says work for a tax on fossil fuels - link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/climate-change-is-here--and-worse-than-we-thought/2012/08/03/6ae604c2-dd90-11e1-8e43-4a3c4375504a_story.html

[KurtNYC]

35. I think there was an opportunity to limit the damage 40 years ago

but now the ship is sinking. Nothing that we do now to limit carbon emissions will have impact for decades.

Personally, I hate hot weather and starvation so maybe the Adirondaks will be my life boat.

[patrice]

76. I'm not sure that particular tax tactic is so much just about limiting damage as it is also about

giving the bottom classes other behavioral response options, too, by reinvesting the proceeds of such taxes in their entrepreneurship/lifestyles.

I'm not saying you aren't right about how late it is, just that some tactical response is more than none and I'm just conservative enough to believe that that "some" could be worth something in some important ways.

[lapislzi]

5. Easy. I won't.

I reserve the right to take myself out at any time.

There is no golden parachute waiting for me at the end of my useful working years. If I cannot work, I cannot eat. Period. I have a small amount of "retirement" savings, but they will not sustain me for very long. I will be a "useless mouth" and the world doesn't need more of these.

I will not deprive others with better survival skills of needed oxygen or other resources.

[LiberalAndProud]

8. I can't afford old age either.

What I will be leaving for my grandchildren to live through, though, is shameful.

[patrice]

19. Re what will be left for them to live through is why we need to be here to help them make the

changes that need to be made, so that they can grow something new out of their situation, not just repeat the patterns that they inherited, only to do the same thing to others.

[jwirr]

84. I have been encouraging my family to learn the old skills like gardening, farming, etc. But I am not

so sure that I qualify as a good guide. As many of you know I ended up homeless and am living in the corner of one of their living rooms. Living together in a multi-generational family is saving all of us a lot of money and footprints but it is not easy.

I have always thought that small separate living quarters and shared kitchen/bath etc would be the way to go. Working together when we can.

[patrice]

92. We were talking about those smaller separate kinds of arrangements when I worked in long-term-care,

which has issues very similar to assisted living too.

There is another kind of revolution coming in this country that has to do with what will happen to billions of Boomers who just lost not only a significant portion of their wealth, but also the opportunity to WORK and do something about what they have lost. Keep well informed about the Affordable Care Act, and/or HR 676 Expanded and Improved Medicare for all, to see this all go down and STAY involved.

BTW, it is my experience that you may have much more than just work skills to contribute to whatever is next. If you're near my age, you come from a generation who didn't just throw relationships away, we did what we could to FIX them and really valued what we could out of whatever was left. Those are practically LOST interpersonal skills at this point and I have a feeling that whoever's next is going to need them, no matter how much they bring to their situations.

[jwirr]

103. Born in 1941 and have witnessed all the modern changes that effect us so completely now. Fortunately

most of my children knew my father and experienced his off the grid farming practices.

[patrice]

16. What if someone needs you to help them do the right thing in their time here?

If you'd engage in suicide for the sake of the living, what if the living need you, because they are not completely equipped to live (without going off the deep end like we are seeing so much more now - and - btw, I am thinking of some 20-somethings I know when I say this to you) anyway . . . if you'd suicide for Life, what if the chances of Life succeeding are diminished by the capacities of those who would be more positively engaged but for the absence of certain perspectives in their own cohort, perspectives that they could acquire from different others.

I know the standard position against what I'm saying here, TTE, "If the living can't figure out how/why to live, they should die too, just like me/us" but I'm bringing motive into question. Do you die because you are useless? Are you REALLY useless? What functions, other than those which you perhaps mistakenly think you have failed at, do you provide? If we're going to judge ourselves by our assumptions about functionality, perhaps we should be more honest about what functionality is and is not in all generational cohorts.

Suicide has to do with questions about whom does one die for. One's self? because one is used-up and is no point even to one's own self? Or does one die for others, because one is "useless" to them, which may be a fatal error to those whom one assumes one is dying for.

[lapislzi]

21. Those are really, really good questions.

I'm not ready to pack it in just yet. There are still things I need to do, ways in which I can make a difference.

When I am past that point, when I am a burden to others, when my health fails, when I have imparted every bit of life experience to my offspring, or, when I am alone, then I can make those tough choices.

I have discussed this with my family, and everyone understands my feelings. It may be a tough call on whether my continued existence will be to the benefit or detriment of others, but I will have to make that call based on the best information I'll have at the time.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[patrice]

27. Thank you for considering what I am saying. I will admit my bias, I am helping the young people

around me. I'm kind of poor myself, but I have the luxury of being able to volunteer in my community. We have great needs here to overcome racism in our city. It makes me happy to help. I too am very worried about the next 10-20 years and I will consider passing on if that looks necessary. Just trying to not be too selfish about that "solution". I have known so very many young people very closely (my family is huge and I taught high school and I know how blind and lost so many are) so I am highly concerned about how their talents will or will not buy a chance or two to save them from what is happening.

[Warpy]

7. Oh, some of us will survive, we're a highly adaptable species

What won't survive is the advanced technological culture that produced global warming. Most of the world's great cities will be drowned or otherwise unlivable.

There might be a double whammy of a sharply reduced life span conferred by unchecked HIV, people who survive childhood dying in their 20s and 30s, most children being raised by other children.

What you've suggested are all short term bandaids for frightened people who live in highly technological societies. While those things might buy a few individuals a little time, the residents sleeping in shifts and keeping watch with shotguns in their laps against hungry poor folks from the cities, I'm not altogether sure I'd like to live like that.

Then again, we might survive as a species after the first wave of death from famine and disease with enough of the remnants of technology to eliminate HIV and go on with a less destructive technology and lowered expectations. I wouldn't mind living in that world.

Until then, banding together is the only solution, pooling knowledge and resources while the Randroids die alone in their bunkers, armed to the teeth and stir crazy from solitude.

[guardian]

47. oh good grief!

>>"Most of the world's great cities will be drowned or otherwise unlivable. "

You've been watching too many reruns of the Day After Tomorrow and 2012. Gear down the DOOMmobile. Per the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):

* Low range: best estimate temperature rise of 1.8 °C with a likely range of 1.1 to 2.9 °C (3.2 °F with a likely range of 2.0 to 5.2 °F) resulting in a sea level rise likely range [18 to 38 cm] (7 to 15 inches)

* High range: best estimate temperature rise of 4.0 °C with a likely range of 2.4 to 6.4 °C (7.2 °F with a likely range of 4.3 to 11.5 °F) resulting in a sea level rise likely range [26 to 59 cm] (10 to 23 inches)

Do you REALLY think that a sea level increase of 7 - 23 inches is going to result in "most of the world's great cities will be drowned...". Really? Really? Take a look at the elevation of some world cities: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_elevation or http://www.pmiusa.biz/pdf/US%20City%20Elevation%20Chart.pdf . For your claim to be true "most of the world's great cities" would need an elevation of less than 1 meter..actually more like 0.5 meters. And that's for the worst case scenario per the IPCC.

This doomer hysteria is so old.

[meaculpa2011]

68. I live 150 feet from the water...

about four miles outside of NYC. The house is nine feet above mean high water. During severe storms and hurricanes it's not uncommon for the funnel effect to cause the water to rise six or seven feet above normal. Last year during Irene we had four feet of water in the street, but not a drop in the house. We evacuated and stayed with friends inland, 700 feet above sea level. We had to fire up the generator to keep the sump pumps going because a near bye stream overflowed its banks. . The effects inland were much worse than near the shore as the heavy rains caused rivers to overflow. Inland towns in New Jersey, Connecticut--even as far north as Vermont--were completely inundated.

There are places in the world where an 18 inch rise could be disastrous. Even near us, there are places where the streets are flooded during full and new moons. These places would become unlivable with a water table 18 inches higher.

[guardian]

82. I don't think

your beach house flooding during a hurricane equates to the the comment that "Most of the world's great cities will be drowned or otherwise unlivable. "

While your basement flooding is a major issue to you individually, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't even rate as background noise. If (and still a big if) there is an 18 inch rise in sea level over the next hundred years people and cities will adapt just fine. It won't be doomsday. New Orleans is 8 feet BELOW sea level. They seem to have adapted....or do you claim New Orleans is "unlivable"?

[meaculpa2011]

83. First, I said that we didn't...

get flooded and that the adverse effects of Irene were far worse hundreds of miles inland. In fact, we've been here for nearly thirty years and have never had a drop of water in the house.

Second, I never said beach house. Not that I wouldn't love to own one.

Third, my point was that we WILL adapt just fine, but there will be a few places that will be dramatically affected. There are waterfront areas here on Long Island that are uninsurable. If portions of them were washed away it would be very difficult to rebuild. I'm not talking about Westhampton Beach, but middle and working class communities.

I travel to New Orleans periodically. It's my favorite American city and have considered making it my permanent hometown.

Most, if not all, of the world's great cities will weather the rising tide just fine.

I don't get your point.

[Odin2005]

62. The crisis will force us to advance as a civilization, not regress.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

[Warpy]

63. I sincerely hope so

but we haven't shown too many signs of that thus far. Half of us are mulish and spiteful and cling to the past rather than try to meet the future.

[aikoaiko]

9. Invade Canada. They are so friendly...

...it will be easy.

[KurtNYC]

38. just invade during the hockey game

and they won't notice.

[Canadian 2]

117. You're kidding, Eh?

Interrupting Our Game is the one time we're allowed to, uh, well, send a strongly-worded letter to your government!

[B Calm]

113. You'll be underwater, that will be the new north coast!

[Motown_Johnny]

10. I won't

I'm pushing 50 now. If I have another 30 years in me that is probably about it. Global warming will survive me but I won't live long enough to survive it.



My only idea isn't my idea at all (except maybe the global power grid thing).


Produce enough solar panels to supply the world's energy needs 2 or 3 times over and station them around the globe so that enough are always facing the sun to supply the entire world with energy. Then you need to connect them to a global power grid. The article I am linking to takes a slightly different approach but it has the same general idea and some good solid numbers.



http://landartgenerator.org/blagi/archives/127

^snip^

According to the US Department of Energy (Energy Information Administration), the world consumption of energy in all of its forms (barrels of petroleum, cubic meters of natural gas, watts of hydro power, etc.) is projected to reach 678 quadrillion Btu (or 7.15 exajoules) by 2030 – a 44% increase over 2008 levels (levels for 1980 were 283 quadrillion Btu and we stand at around 500 quadrillion Btu today).

I wonder what surface area would be required and what type of infrastructural investment would be required to supply that amount of power by using only solar panels. To create fuel that can be used in vehicles and equipment I am assuming that some of the electricity generated would be used to create hydrogen. We should all start wondering about these things since we will have really no other choice* by the turn of the next century.

So to find this out we start with the big number 678,000,000,000,000,000 Btu.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If divided into 5,000 super-site installations around the world (average of 25 per country), it would measure less than 10km a side for each. The UAE has plans to construct 1,500MW of capacity by 2020 which will require a space of 3 km per side. If the UAE constructed the other 7 km per side of that area, it would be able to power itself as a nation completely with solar energy. The USA would require a much larger area and approximately 1,000 of these super-sites.

[Amonester]

61. CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) could also be used.

CSP doesn't require costly high-tech (rare-earth materials), and can be operational when the Sun is not present.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sustainable transport
Electric vehicle

Environment portal

Concentrated solar power (also called concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal, and CSP) systems use mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight, or solar thermal energy, onto a small area. Electrical power is produced when the concentrated light is converted to heat, which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an electrical power generator.

CSP is being widely commercialized and the CSP market has seen about 740 MW of generating capacity added between 2007 and the end of 2010. More than half of this (about 478 MW) was installed during 2010, bringing the global total to 1095 MW. Spain added 400 MW in 2010, taking the global lead with a total of 632 MW, while the US ended the year with 509 MW after adding 78 MW, including two fossil–CSP hybrid plants.[1]

CSP growth is expected to continue at a fast pace. As of April 2011, another 946 MW of capacity was under construction in Spain with total new capacity of 1,789 MW expected to be in operation by the end of 2013. A further 1.5 GW of parabolic-trough and power-tower plants were under construction in the US, and contracts signed for at least another 6.2 GW. Interest is also notable in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as India and China. The global market has been dominated by parabolic-trough plants, which account for 90 percent of CSP plants.[1]

CSP is not to be confused with concentrated photovoltaics (CPV). In CSP, the concentrated sunlight is converted to heat, and then the heat is converted to electricity. In CPV, the concentrated sunlight is converted directly to electricity via the photovoltaic effect.

[Junkdrawer]

11. Aside from downloading my brain to a titanium computer....

capable of withstanding 300C temperatures and 10 Bar pressures, I'm guessing that WORKING TO FIX THE PROBLEM is my only choice.

[Locrian]

12. I have no answer....

Every scenario I can think of won't come close to the horror of what the reality would be.

There is no 'winnable' survivalist strategy.
No place to hide.
No way to 'buy' your safety.
Nothing.

The only chance we have is if everyone starts to work together. Which seems rather a remote possibility - it would mean we have to start thinking about the welfare of others as a collective (for "us" to survive) vs our own interests.

[pretzel4gore]

13. the recent colorado firestorms

apparently, the size and heat generated by the storms scared the daylights outta the fascasti....we are going to 'flare off' the global atmosphere if too much moisture removed from the biosphere, and turn the very air into 'fuel' for firestorms. It could happen next year, or maybe within a decade. I think we are going to see a sudden 'disappearence' of rightwing mass media that has been pooh poohing the global warming controversy since it began- the big lie has been too well sold and the fascists realize it's maybe getting late!
We put 90 million tonnes co2 into earth atmosphere every 24 hours. It adds up fast....

[guardian]

50. Well that's a new one

"...we are going to 'flare off' the global atmosphere if too much moisture removed from the biosphere, and turn the very air into 'fuel' for firestorms. It could happen next year, or maybe within a decade...."

Do you actually have any evidence of this...ahem...theory?

[pretzel4gore]

136. sorry ... so long to reply

no evidence, but logic. Mister pig rules with iron fist, on the informing of the people; he has to, or else we (the people) would destroy the grinning stooges of fascism, to the last goonie! Consider this: the first submarine built, in the late 1700's, was able to operate underwater for near 2 hours, using compressed air to: spin the propeller, empty ballast tank and, supply air to its crewman etc. Yet, 200 years later, the grinning stooges of fascism INSIST wind/solar and geothermal power etc can't be depended upon because BATTERY technology still too costly and ineffective! Also, Hemp, (ie marijuana) was the 5th largest crop in america in 1870 (it was criminalised as part of the pig's scheme to control the economy) Does anyone know that an estimated 700 thousand americans have died in the grinning pigs 'war on drugs'? Or that the numbers concerning 'global drying' (warming) -are well known, and frighten even many of the grinning stooges themselves? Otherwise, the pigmedia simply not mention it, like they don't mention the fact: The only one benefitted from 911 was ALSO the only one able to carry off the cheap stunt (due to their control of the newsmedia). It was staged at 830 am EST (for max media inpact- too bad the obvious red flag escaped attention)
Anyway, who cares? I have no children, no 'hostages to fortune' , and my 'amor patriae' died when that male model/4th rate actor reagan was foisted on the goddam foolish human race.... that was 30 plus years ago!
Another thing, guardian, unlike those who pooh poh the possible dangers i don't have to be right, indeed if i'm wrong that's great. But the polluters otoh have to be 100 percent right. iow, zero tolerance for once, has a valid application! And, naturally, no one will even think about the issue until too late....

[guardian]

137. I don't see how

anything in your response would affect the laws of physics and cause a "'flare off' the global atmosphere if too much moisture removed from the biosphere, and turn the very air into 'fuel' for firestorms".

[pretzel4gore]

138. i value your respect

and thus, i will fashion a reply for you- ONE month late! Sorry. As i said, i've become so cynical regards this civilization we are members of that its very success (see the stock markets!) are proof of our bankruptcy. The evil has become so embedded i believe there's no way out, and whether the end occurs during next 20 years, or whether it will take a century or two- are of no importance. I'm not a scientist, math expert, or in any way an authority, and my voice is just part of the cacophony you're hearing, but
a) it's all about numbers, and the numbers transcend politics
b) fascism, ie rightwing politics, is totally in control of the human race
c) there is a God, and God is a doomed, as the rest of us, are!

the 'numbers are fairly simple- one needn't be a physicist to sum them up. The earth weighs so many trillion tons, the seas weigh (?) the air weighs (?) and so on. Humanity puts 96 million tonnes carbon into atmosphere every 24 hours. That's about 36 BILLION tonnes every year....year after year. The mean temperature of atmosphere tells us how much moisture there is the the 'biosphere' including the oceans. Since 1980 (when male model reagan was put into WHouse) the drying of the atmosphere has been getting worse. Carbon in, moisture out. The planets as a living entity is getting dryer every day. eventually, someone lighting a cigarette MIGHT set the very air on fire!
Maybe, that's why they're trying to outlaw smoking(?) is it possible?

Granted this sounds ridiculous, but ferchrissake WHY did GOD put 700 or 800 billion tonnes oil into the ground in the first place? And why hasn't ANYONE ever said that maybe the oil is needed right where it was? ANSWER. Because rightwing fascism CONTROLS the info entertainment industry- including the PORN industry, which is 5 times more then Hollywood- and the oil was free!

I haven't time to discuss the 'god' part of the argument, but if YOU created humanity, i betcha YOU'D be pissed off, after all almost 1/2 of the total wealth of human race is spent on military garbage. And it's getting worse (obama is said to be soft on the enemy)

[guardian]

139. I think you can rest easy tonight.

Even if the humidity level dropped to zero the global atmosphere would not ignite when exposed to open flame.

For the atmosphere to become flammable the atmospheric composition would need to massively change, such as increasing the methane content by 290,000,000%. But at those levels the air would become poisonous to breathe long before the concentration reached the point of flammability.

Further, warmer temperatures evaporate more water from the oceans, expand air masses, and lead to higher humidity. So any global warming would tend to increase the amount of water vapor, not decrease it.

[democrat_patriot]

15. I should go off the grid, or set up the ability to do so.

If it gets to that: Food wars, societal breakdown etc. Do I want to survive?

Live in a militarized compound, a la Madd Maxx? Watching family get raped and killed. No thanks.

It will be the right-wing militias in charge; can you imagine? Nah, I'll leave with what little dignity I have.

[Trillo]

17. I don't expect my body to survive it.

That said, the struggle continues until that particular day.

[musiclawyer]

18. I'm moving to the far Nor-Cal Coast (Eureka)

as soon as I can quit this job in the next few years. I am lucky in that I can afford to buy a small house for cash above the tsunami line. I'll then write songs , maybe start a youtube channel for young people by old people and hang out with a bunch of old, pot vaping democrats until THE grid or MY grid fails.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

40. Hey, that's my escape route too.

See you there.

[n2doc]

41. Hope you love fog

Or else move inland a bit over the coastal mountains.

Unless you have friends there it can get lonely.

[musiclawyer]

42. I grew up in fog

So I'm good with it. And they have an airport which is key. Pricey but ok with proper planning/budgeting. My kids can visit from Bay Area and fly in if they want...... I refer to the "lost coast" as Santa Cruz without San Jose invading every weekend.

[NYC_SKP]

20. Let it happen (on the one hand)...

...and on the other, do all you can.

I work full time in public education specifically on the topic of energy and the environment, promoting programs and training and awareness.

But still, it can only go so far and help so much.

One step forward, two steps back as other countries try to be like us (sigh).

[Blue_In_AK]

22. I don't have a whole lot of ideas.

I've just chosen to live somewhere that's still relatively cool and has lots of water. We're retired, we don't drive much. I grow a vegetable garden in the summer. A wind farm is currently being constructed on Fire Island, offshore of Anchorage, so hopefully when that goes on line we'll be burning less carbon-based fuel for our power.

I worry very much for my kids and their families who live in Colorado and California, where I feel certain there will be water issues in the future. They can always come home, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

[cbayer]

25. Living as much off the grid as possible right now.

On the water. Solar. Water maker. Vehicles which require nothing but wind or man power.

I still buy some diesel, but not much. Canned goods, rice and beans can be stored for a long time. Growing what I can.

I will miss the internet, though.

[hack89]

26. Big ass air conditioners?

[Son of Gob]

108. Put them on full blast and open the windows to cool off the outside

That's what I do currently.

[Kalidurga]

30. Move to Alaska maybe...

Depends on how bad it gets in my lifetime. I don't know how many more prolonged heat waves I can survive truth be told. I am very susceptible to high heat anything over 80 degrees with high humidity gives me heat cramps, even with drinking a lot of water. The only thing that helps is staying were there is air conditioning. I have a couple more decades to live if I don't die of heat stroke.

[Blue_In_AK]

48. I would encourage as many Democrats and libs as possible to move to Alaska,

and maybe we can turn this state around. It used to be a Democratic state until the oil boom.

Incidentally, speaking of Alaska, we do have incredible potential sources of renewable energy here. All it would take is the political will to make them a reality. Many of the smaller towns are already using wind power, and a new wind farm is being constructed near Anchorage. We also have geothermal, tidal, hydro, and solar (in the summer) that could be developed.

[RebelOne]

51. I would move to Alaska in a heartbeat if I could.

But I do not have the money nor do I have any family or friends there. All my family lives here in the South in Florida and Georgia. And I hate the South because I hate the heat though I have lived here most of my life.

[lunatica]

34. We have the technology and science to do something right now

Ocean turbines

[Lifelong Protester]

43. A lot of this Sci-Fi better come through

soon! I like what I see here.

[Zalatix]

64. It's not sci-fi. It's not even an engineering problem. It's a political problem.

[Marrah_G]

100. It's not scifi- its science not being put to use on the scale it ought to be.

[MindMover]

79. Great info, do you have a link ...? Thanks

[lunatica]

99. They all came from different sites and different times

I keep them in Photobucket and post them when the time is right.

Just google skysraper farms or vertical farming and you can get started.

[slackmaster]

37. I've already gotten rid of nearly all exotic landscaping plants that aren't drought-tolerant.

There really isn't a whole lot more than I can do.

[yawnmaster]

44. Global warming won't be what kills me. For others, they will adapt...

as man is uniquely able to do.
Those that don't, won't survive.
An equilibrium will be reached.
That is nature.

[Alduin]

46. I'm staying near fresh water.

Thankfully MN is full of lakes.

[CK_John]

58. I hope you are north of 145th and out of the new flood zone. nt

[Odin2005]

59. The Upper-Midwest is in a good location to weather the comming storm.

And we are a communitarian culture, we help each other. Minnesota Nice and all that. We are far enough north that the heat will not become unlivable.

[limpyhobbler]

65. Why is it taking so long to bring solar energy online ?

The problem of avoiding catastrophe is mostly political, not technical.

Why are we opening the arctic for oil drilling? I don't understand how people can support that policy.

[KurtNYC]

69. I agree with those who believe that the time when we could avoid catastrophe has passed

I still do what I can to limit my own carbon footprint but only because it seems like the right thing to do; not because it will have any significant impact during my lifetime. But it is like tapping the brakes as your car goes off a cliff.

How is that human beings when acting collectively are so much stupider than individuals?

[limpyhobbler]

70. I wonder if climate change defeatism is the new climate change denial ?

Both seem to result in no political action. It's clearly going to be hot. But there is a big difference between 2 degrees hotter and 3 degrees hotter. Maybe we should keep some hope than we can mitigate the weather crisis, otherwise we don't have any reason to act for change. I don't necessarily buy into the idea that we are stupid in our collective actions. We are not collectively opening the arctic for oil, We are not digging out tar sands, blasting tops off mountains, rejecting international climate treaties, or scripting the media to avoid the issue.

Those are certain groups and people in positions of some power. If it was really decided by "We", I think we would address the problems very quickly and mitigate the warming. We would go into "war economy" mode and put the full productive power of the United States into building and installing solar and wind power everywhere. Similar to our war production effort in WW II. It would also have the economic benefit of employing people and money.

I think we would do that collectively because it's the clear common sense thing to do in this situation. But something prevents it. And that thing is that we aren't really deciding collectively. Instead the decisions are being made by .... a small powerful elite driven only by short term profit.

[KurtNYC]

72. In 40 years there has been no progress on global warming

We have lots of graphs showing the climate warming and the oceans rising but we have no graphs showing how much progress we are or aren't making in reversing this damage.



My grandkids need to find a way to survive this. Pointing fingers, feeling guilty, driving hybrids and wishing it wasn't so is not going stop what's happening right now. If we stopped putting carbon in the air tomorrow we would still see temperature rises for the next 30 years. We need aquaponics. We need air-conditioners that run on solar power. We need to invest in the technology that will help the present and future generations survive this.

Demanding that we deal with reality doesn't sound like "defeatism" to me.

[limpyhobbler]

74. Ok I don't disagree with we need to adapt .

I guess we are just emphasizing different things. Seems you are mentioning climate change adaptation, while I am mentioning climate change mitigation. We need both really.

It's quite right we need to prepare for the coming changes.

Don't we also need some political decision to stop carbon extraction and switch to renewables? That's that part I'm focusing on, trying to get to that decision. I guess maybe sometimes it comes off as pointing fingers. I blame the fossil fuel industry and politicians who work on their behalf.

[canEHdian]

66. By selling you food when the Breadbasket moves North

Believe me, you'll get a much better price from us than you'll get from the Russians!

[sendero]

67. I could tell you..

... but it would just make you all jealous.

[Topanga119]

71. The earth will survive despite us.

Earth will survive. We'll kill ourselves off. No problem.

[raouldukelives]

73. The biggest thing I did was to end my support of the stock market.

It just became ludicrous to think of myself as some kind of liberal when I was profiting from creating more pollution and the destruction of forests, wetlands and water tables. Selfishly caring only about my own bottom line and not the well being of those who will have to live with what I was aiding.
Since then I have been growing a lot more of my own food and increasing my bicycle use for quick errands.
Beyond that, all I can really do is try to talk to others and beg them to think for a moment about what they want the memory of their lives to be. Do they want to be counted as one of the people who didn't care enough to end their support of GE or BP? Or would they like to be thought of as someone who tried to ease the coming suffering every living thing on this planet will experience?

[crazyjoe]

75. Unfortuantly since many points made in "an inconvenient truth" were proven to be false or

exaggerated, many folks just assumed that global warming is bullshit. Not nearly as big a deal as some have "attempted" to make of it. I have to say, while this will not be popular on this site, I cannot get on the "were all gonna die" bandwagon. There are just as many scientist who say we are going through a natural climate change that the planet would go through anyway as there are who say we are killing the earth.
And I find Al Gore flying around the world in a private jet screaming about global warming and how we are killing the planet as a joke. One trip across the country in one of those jets produces more pollution than any one of us on this site will create in our entire lifetimes.

[truebrit71]

86. So you don't think the planet is warming, that man is directly responsible for the rapid...

..increase of the melting glaciers/ice-caps, that CO2 has NOT been increasing in the atmosphere and is now well past the point that scientists believe the earth in its current state can survive because Al Gore flies in a private jet?

Can you show a few of the many points that were false? I don't recall seeing them...

[crazyjoe]

102. google it, you will have enough reading to keep you busy for days.

[truebrit71]

107. No, you google it for me..you made the claim

...i'm just asking you back it up with a few of the biggies, you know, the real howlers....

[crazyjoe]

112. nah, to easy.....can't be bothered, I'm bored with you. go away.

[truebrit71]

115. So you have nothing...that's what I figured...

..typical

[crazyjoe]

116. ok, you win. I did a quick search and found pages of results.

i will give you just a couple, but of course you will say these are right wing talking points, or this is political in some way. If you disagree with any of the points that are made, please back it up with something other than calling me names.
Let me just say that just because I believe in universal health care, womans rights, gay rights, a strong government, higher taxes for the rich, too many guns and gun nuts in this country, and mittens will be the downfall of America if elected, doesn't mean I have to believe global warming is going to make this planet unlivable for human beings in the next 50 to 100 years.
For me, I think Al Gore's film was full of exaggerations and inaccuracies, and all it accomplished was creating more debate about the effects of global warming.
It is my feeling that we need to do a lot more to cut down on the filth and pollution that is spewed into the atmosphere from greedy corporations, right down to the average citizen recycling plastic and buying fuel efficient cars. But the alarm ism of saying we will be evacuating islands and all the polar bears are dying because they can't find any ice is ridiculous, IMHO.

http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/monckton/goreerrors.html

http://abcnews.go.com/US/TenWays/story?id=3719791&page=1

[truebrit71]

120. One quick thought on your reply re: Alarmism

..you said "But the alarm ism of saying we will be evacuating islands and all the polar bears are dying because they can't find any ice is ridiculous, IMHO."

...you know that is happening NOW right? I mean RIGHT FUCKING NOW...not in the future, not possibly, but RIGHT NOW..TODAY...in 2012...

http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/first-official-climate-change-refugees-evacuate-their-island-homes-for-good.html

http://pbsg.npolar.no/en/status/status-table.html

Don't forget to tell me how none of that is reason for alarm whatsoever...

Cheers!

[KurtNYC]

91. This isn't about predictions or whether Glen Beck said that Gore shouldn't fly on airplanes

because we can simply trust our own experience now. If people want to believe that this is just nature trying to roast and starve us fine but we still have to deal with it.

"Some stuff technically is not going to be worth the combine bill to harvest it," he said. "This is my 49th crop, and I have never had a year like this." Mike Buis, farmer.

Such individual calculations are replicated thousands of times across the 1,336 counties – about a third of the country – that are now officially a disaster zone, because of a brutal combination of triple-digit (40C) temperatures and prolonged drought. Scientists see both as evidence of climate change.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/22/americas-corn-farmers-dry-harvest

The troubles are threatening to multiply: dry weather in eastern Europe has dimmed wheat crop prospects in key grains-exporting countries including Russia and Kazakhstan, while a less-than-stellar monsoon in India threatens crops there, escalating the challenge for policymakers worldwide.
...
There are good grounds to be concerned. Chicago Board of Trade corn futures have soared more than 50 percent in the past two months, and were trading just shy of a record on Tuesday. Soybeans are up nearly 30 percent since mid-June, but prices are 9 percent below a record reached last month.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/07/usa-agriculture-idINL2E8J6ENL20120807

[dembotoz]

78. costco now stocks emergency food in a bucket

they don't make many marketing mistakes
the market must be out there.....

[truebrit71]

87. I noticed that too this past weekend...plus portable solar panels...

...

[4th law of robotics]

80. Turn up the cooling unit slightly

positronic brains are amazingly resilient to minor climatic variations you carbon based lifeforms are always complaining about.

[AsahinaKimi]

81. I don't think the weather pattern has

Changed much for the city of San Francisco. We seem to always be under fog..during the Summer time, and don't get nice weather till fall. Its always been that way. With the hot temperatures around the country..I hope it continues to stay cool and grey in the city.

[cottonseed]

85. Who are these scientists?

[Ganja Ninja]

88. Living in Florida I might have to move north.

Maybe to the upper peninsula of Michigan. But things would have to get pretty bad pretty fast for me to do that. I turn 59 in about a week. I'm not expecting it to get any worse here than living on the equator is today before I die.

I think if we start to have massive repeated crop failures then we'll see algae based fuel take off since one of the by products is a high protein feed.

[belcffub]

89. cannibalism

what... all good end of the world stories have cannibals.... someone needs to step up...

[patrice]

95. Nailed. it. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

90. Mother nature can be quite emphatic when reminding us who's really in charge.

We like to think ourselves special and commanding but we're like the flea on the elephant's forehead who thinks he's steering.

[Tikki]

93. I live near the Ocean on the West Coast...it will buffer me for awhile.

My need for heating, cooling is minimal. I walk to stores. Shop green. Recycle, repurpose, reuse.
This and protesting is what I can do.


Tikki

[sarcasmo]

96. I figured moving as far north as possible would be the answer.

Winnipeg would be a good start and as things get worse, the further north in Manitoba I hike.

[Marrah_G]

98. Skills and educating oneself

I don't mean the sort of education you get in school. I mean literally educating yourself. Learn what the potential problems are going to be and then learn skills that will help you to get through it. This means of communication that we are using right now contains a vast amount of information and you can usually find it at no cost beyond your internet access bill.

[bluedigger]

101. Move, adapt, or die.

Certain themes are a constant in human history.

[Sick of the GOP]

104. I won't

I don't want to.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

105. Welcome to DU...

I'm really sorry to hear this. I hope that you can get help in order to live your life more fully...

[Tikki]

106. HI....Welcome to DU..

It will eventually become a very fluid situation. I hope by then we will be able to help each other.



Tikki

[KurtNYC]

110. Welcome to DU

share your piece of the truth with us

[Liberal_in_LA]

111. interesting thread. kick

[Bonobo]

114. My idea is get the fuck out of the city for one thing.

When a disaster unfolds, I wouldn't be caught dead in a place where chaos will erupt 12 hours after the local 7-11 runs out of sandwiches.

Millions of people concentrated in a tiny area packed with weapons and with no more than a few days supply of food sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.

[RKP5637]

132. Yep, agree! I think cities might be devastating places to be. n/t

[DainBramaged]

118. I will be dead

it's that simple

[datasuspect]

119. i will raid your compound and take your water, fuel, and food

or die trying.

[KurtNYC]

123. and you expect us to 'just walk away'?

&feature=fvwrel

[datasuspect]

124. that's the "die trying" part

you'd be surprised what people will do when they are hungry or thirsty and can't go to the store anymore.

[Grave Grumbler]

121. I live in the mountains at over 9,000 feet. Not a problem.

[laundry_queen]

122. I have a plan.

First part of my plan: Be born in Canada. lol /jk

My ex-husband and I had a bit of a plan, then he went and decided it was more fun to leave his family and screw some blond (no, not bitter ) so now I have to start over. So here's what I have planned: I'm a single mom and I'm in school for a particular program that is in very high demand in my area and has a high starting salary and the choice made for that program was specifically for monetary reasons to help further my plans. I have recently bought a new, very energy efficient duplex (tankless hot water, heat recovery system, 99.5% efficient nat gas furnace, spray insulation, low VOC materials, energy efficient appliances, low flush toilets, low flow taps/showers, CFL bulbs in all fixtures, and more...), 1500 sq ft for me and my 4 kids, with a small backyard. The house should be ready to move into by Nov or Dec. In the spring I plan on starting a few raised beds with square-foot gardening techniques. I'm also going to plant several hardy fruit trees (I'm pretty far north). My parents live nearby and have fruit trees and a garden. They also own a lot on a lake that has plenty of edible wild plants as well as fruit and nut trees (and a lake with fish - I used to work at a fishing store so know the tricks on depleted lakes). I know how to can, and plan on getting a pressure canner and a dehydrator. One thing I have looked into is a 'portable farm' which is aquaponics http://portablefarm.com/farm/ and it looks promising.

Once I'm graduated and working, I will be saving a large percentage of my salary (currently child support and alimony pay all the bills) towards a possible acreage. I'm also looking into our local gardening club which has large plots for rent for gardening for before I am able to afford an acreage. Once I do have an acreage (I'm guessing 10-15 years) my plan is to build a very small home (As my kids will be moved out or almost moved out) in a sustainable way (haven't decided yet - concrete forms? Cob? Straw bales? Need more research but concrete is winning so far as we get the odd tornado and that would be even worse with global warning. This year has been very active.) and make it run off the grid. I have an electrician friend who has done several homes with solar/wind and batteries and he said he could help me out with it. Water would likely be well or dugout. And of course, plenty of space to garden, plant fruit trees. I'd like to live off the land. Maybe own some animals. I haven't decided what to do for heat. I'd likely have a wood stove back up, but hopefully I can generate enough electricity to heat the home and water without natural gas which is the default here.

I plan to buy an electric or hybrid car with my next vehicle purchase, but it would have to be bigger than what's on the market currently as I have 4 kids. Hopefully by the time I can afford it, it will be available. I think Ford has a hybrid SUV I may look into but I think my current minivan gets the equivalent mileage.

I have been trying to make my footprint smaller for many years - I cloth diapered & breastfed my kids, we recycle, I limit our car use, we use environmentally friendly cleaners (although I occasionally have to use stronger stuff with our hard water). My kids have always worn hand-me-downs (the advantages of having 4 of the same sex). I have a long way to go still. We waste too much. We have some bad habits. Tackling it with baby steps.

I find the lack of progress disheartening. Even my conservative family (here in Canada, conservative can be to the left of the DLC) thinks the government should mandate all new construction have rooftop solar panels feeding into the grid. I mean, why not? And those are people who work in the oil industry. BTW, it'll probably never happen so long as that industry is making record profits.

I realize the OP was about how to survive. Well, I watch doomsday preppers and I'm not sure I'd ever go that far, but I do plan on being somewhat prepared. Unfortunately, you never know if your kid will bring home the next plague or if a comet is going to land on your head (well, with the latter you may have a few days warning) and I don't want to live in perpetual fear, but I plan to be prepared for the more likely (and more survivable) scenarios.

[applegrove]

126. I live in Canada so though our flora and fauna are chaging...I hope this summer drought

isn't what global climate change will bring permanently. I also walk everywhere.

[hughee99]

127. I'm going to hoard carbon credits.

After the coming environmental apocalypse, I plan to eat, drink and generate power from an abundance of smug.

[yawnmaster]

128. My idea? let the Earth equilibrate. If an 80% decline in human population is necessary...

then it will happen.

[fascisthunter]

131. I will rob republicans...

[Shankapotomus]

133. Move to Antartica

and bring livestock and seeds.

[Vattel]

134. Some sicentists would say that you are an alarmist.

Seriously though, there is no scientific consensus that global warming poses a threat of an 80% reduction in the human population. What scenario do you have in mind that would produce such a reduction?

[yawnmaster]

135. It might include global warming along with another natural phenomenon...

like an asteroid strike.