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paulbaumgart

This doesn't address the underlying problem, but if this is something you'd like to avoid as a consumer, it's worth noting that sewage sludge is not permitted for use in growing organic produce:

> A very important part of the process-based regulatory framework is the prohibition of certain methods in organic production and handling. Methods like irradiation, sewage sludge, and genetic engineering are all expressly prohibited from being used when growing or processing organic foods.

https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/organic-101-what-o...

Re:The Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt? on Sunday June 02, 2024 @10:07AM (#40554241)
I don’t think anyone is arguing that it is a viable alternative to eventual decarbonization of the economy. Or if people are, they aren’t doing so in good faith.

But it does very effectively prevent anything even approaching a “collapse.” Relatively cheaply, even.

Re:The Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt? on Sunday June 02, 2024 @09:55AM (#40554139)
Do you have any evidence to support this claim?

The availability of economically competitive alternatives to fossil fuels (like cheap solar + batteries) is a very recent development.

Re:The Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt? on Sunday June 02, 2024 @09:47AM (#40554089)
To anyone feeling anxious about the future after reading this article:

We have the technology to pause the worst effects of climate change indefinitely for a few billion dollars a year: https://news.uchicago.edu/radical-solution-address-climate-c...

It’s far from a complete solution, but it works well enough that the future described in the article is much more a dark fantasy than a likely reality.

Some brands source their cacao from less contaminated areas: https://www.consumerlab.com/news/best-dark-chocolate-and-coc...
Back in April of this year, they bought my 5-year-old car for $600 more than I had paid for it new. Anecdotal, sure, but somehow I’m not surprised their business is struggling.

Edit: another anecdote: https://twitter.com/willmanidis/status/1569763363357396994

Re:Winter Is Here: Slowing Down to Fight Sad on Sunday December 04, 2022 @10:46AM (#33854671)
I came across this a while back, and it seems like it might be worth a try:

“LED lighting is improving rapidly. You can install very bright lights for treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD) easily and inexpensively. Common sense says that will be more effective than commercial SAD lights that are much less bright. My experience confirms this.”

https://meaningness.com/sad-light-led-lux

How much wiggle room is there in the conclusion that this is level of sea level rise is going to happen “regardless of twenty-first-century climate pathways”?

For example, and setting aside feasibility, if carbon dioxide levels were reduced back down to pre-industrial levels, would that amount of sea level rise still be locked in? Or would the ice stop melting and even gradually re-freeze?

It’s renewable by human timescale standards, just like solar energy.
Re:Programming in the Apocalypse on Monday May 30, 2022 @01:00PM (#31561016)
This is probably true at the level of corporations, but not clearly the case at the level of countries. An interesting paper on the economics of geoengineering, if you’re curious: https://www.nber.org/papers/w18622
Re:Programming in the Apocalypse on Monday May 30, 2022 @12:51PM (#31560892)
Yep. For anyone curious to learn more, here’s a good summary of this energy technology transition: https://www.tsungxu.com/clean-energy-transition-guide/
Re:Programming in the Apocalypse on Monday May 30, 2022 @12:35PM (#31560737)
For a more balanced view, I highly recommend this talk from one of the leading minds in the field: https://hmnh.harvard.edu/file/1039929
This article makes a pretty convincing argument that this connection, while a fun story, isn’t supported by the historical record: https://braciatrix.com/2017/10/27/nope-medieval-alewives-are...
Re:Accidentally exponential behavior in Spark on Monday June 21, 2021 @09:43PM (#27587026)
Is there an alternative you’d recommend?
Makes sense, thanks! It would probably have to become part of the municipal garbage collection service.
This is great. I’m curious if this approach would work for residential fireplace chimneys, as well. Is that something you’ve explored?
Re:The Michael Scott Theory of Social Class on Sunday January 24, 2021 @05:51PM (#25897034)
You may enjoy this. I certainly did when I first came across it: https://vividness.live/charnel-ground
> If tired after an intercontinental flight, go to the gym for some exertion instead of resting.

Personally, I think I’d rather take a 20 minute nap and then go to the gym.

The handful of (tech) billionaires I’ve met all seemed to genuinely enjoy the work that made them rich. People have different utility functions (which is a good thing!)
Re:COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator on Tuesday March 10, 2020 @02:07AM (#22533170)
Looks like the work is underway:

“At least ten clinical trials are testing chloroquine, approved as an antimalarial and autoimmune disease drug. In vitro, the endosomal acidification fusion inhibitor blocked infection of a clinical isolate of SARS-CoV-2.” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41587-020-00003-1

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