The fourth one of those is unfortunately an almost plausible theory. Plenty of people are seriously advocating for studies into Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) in order to mitigate climate change so that the almighty free market would have more time to fix the problem without any need for systemic change.
But that wouldn't be visible to the naked eye :D
Funnily enough, contrails like all other clouds composed of ice crystals actually warm the planet up by letting shortwave radiation from the sun through while reflecting longwave (infrared), effectively trapping heat. Thcker and lower clouds are more effective at reflecting shortwave radiation.
Every other human around you has almost the same genes as you. Just being kind to others is already a tiny contribution to the survival of the species and the genes we share. Pretty sure one would have to be actively suicidial or a Bond villain in order to not to help the genes that survive on with every breath anybody ever takes.
It's not limited to direct reproduction of one's own genes. Keep in mind that we live in a society. Contributing to that society means helping others of our species (with almost the same genes) pass their genes on. Just being kind to others is already great. You're valid.
Fair point, but despite how we as a society treat artists, I still think that the underlying impulse to do art is an attempt to capture the interest and appreciation of others, building social bonds. Rarely is art made without a tought of presenting it to others. This is how art seems to happen with every other species on earth that does it.
Perhaps not with conscious intent. I suppose even staying alive and contributing to a society still means that you help your relatives pass their genes on. Even gay penguins do this when they adopt an orphaned egg.
The war is bound to happen at the latest when the Himalayan mountain glaciers melt away and a sufficiently bad drought hits the region. We'll see if they have the patience to wait that long though...
If you really boil it down, all that any species ever does is in some way an attempt to propagate its genes. We aren't any different either. The artistic spark that got Davinci to paint the Mona Lisa was there due to such behaviour being an evolutionarily beneficial trait (being good at art increases the social standing of a person and thus increases their chances of reproduction). I don't want to sound cynical about this because I'm not. That's just life. It really doesn't matter. The painting is still beautiful.
Sorry, I suppose I'm a bit too used to idiots going off about the smoke plume caused by the rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite or such. When there's anything to be gained, the costs of the endeavour should be measured up to that. Here there's no gain for anybody (unless one of those fuckers onboard has enough braincells to be able to appreciate the overview effect enough to affect their future behaviour for the better), so it's a net negative no matter how much the cost for the planet is. My intent was not to excuse anything about this.
I was talking about the direct emissions of launching a rocket. The indirect emissions are obviously vastly larger and might as well include everything in the wider economy that enables stuff like this. Just maintaining the necessary industrial capacity is already a huge strain on the planet. That's what I'm after with these comments. The rich fucker joyride is a largely inconsequential yet overtly visible result of a bloated system hiding in plain sight. The aerospace sector as a whole is just the tip of the iceberg of a global industrial society in ecological overshoot.
I was talking about the direct emissions of launching a rocket. The indirect emissions are obviously vastly larger and might as well include everything in the wider economy that enables stuff like this. Just maintaining the necessary industrial capacity is already a huge strain on the planet. That's what I'm after with these comments. The rich fucker joyride is a largely inconsequential yet overtly visible result of a bloated system hiding in plain sight. The aerospace sector as a whole is just the tip of the iceberg of a global industrial society in ecological overshoot.
Yes, the comment I replied to is technically right in that there are some tiny countries out there. Or they would be, if the rocket in question would've been a vastly larger rocket that burned a carbon containing fuel. The New Shepard tourist joyride is tiny for a rocket and its exhaust is water vapour.
I hate rich fucks as much as anybody, but this particular vehicle uses liquid hydrogen and oxygen for propellant, so no direct carbon emissions from the fuel.
The spacex superheavy is the biggest rocket stage around and has somewhere around 1.7 million kg of methane in it at launch. That results in about 4.7 million kg (4675t) of CO2 when it's burned. That's the same as the yearly emissions of 338 average americans, or 962 people at the global average.
Rockets are big, flashy and make a lot of smoke, but the numbers really don't amount to much when compared to the sheer scale of more mundane economic activities.
The difference between a sauna and an oven is that the heat is transferred from the heater into the air by pouring water onto hot stones, which then boils off and carries its heat and humidity into the air. The rocks have to be hot and have sufficient heat storage capacity to also stay hot even if more water is thrown at once. Having a hidden main heater would be a huge hassle to get the humidity right with some automated system, while also taking away the fun of throwing the water yourself.
Since the hot steam rises up, the benches should be up high enough that people can ideally get their feet above the surface of the stove. Hot air rises up, but the temperature gradient isn't completely smooth. The rising steam mixes the air around a bit, so below that the air doesn't mix all that well and the heat drops much faster the lower you get.
In this one, your entire lower half is in that significalntly colder air and the vast space above you is where the heat escapes to, far from your skin where it's no use to anyone.
Sure looks nice, but that sauna can't produce an adequate heat. The benches are way too low and the heater is utterly undersized. One's feet would be getting cold even with a heater five times the volume of that one.
The fourth one of those is unfortunately an almost plausible theory. Plenty of people are seriously advocating for studies into Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) in order to mitigate climate change so that the almighty free market would have more time to fix the problem without any need for systemic change.
But that wouldn't be visible to the naked eye :D
Funnily enough, contrails like all other clouds composed of ice crystals actually warm the planet up by letting shortwave radiation from the sun through while reflecting longwave (infrared), effectively trapping heat. Thcker and lower clouds are more effective at reflecting shortwave radiation.