Planet of the Humans - Documentary on "Green" Energy

[LTS]

Figured we might try a different level of political discussion in here... because this certainly slams all parties pretty good.

Watched this last night, it's the full documentary right on YouTube, so you can watch it for free (right now anyway).  I'll get into it more in a bit.  I figured I'd throw it out here for people to watch first.

 

[Weave]

I'll watch another time.

One of the subjects that led me away from the Republican party is their full denial of our effects on the environment and global warming as a party platform.  In my opinion it is a stance based solely on short term shareholder effects and energy company influence.  Not unlike the push to re-open the economy ASAP.

Democrats don't have a great track record here either.  It's not like they've pushed with much effort for meaningful change.  Corporate dollars has influenced the Dems as well.  But at least its in their policy discussions and party platform. 

[LTS]

2 hours ago, Weave said:

I'll watch another time.

One of the subjects that led me away from the Republican party is their full denial of our effects on the environment and global warming as a party platform.  In my opinion it is a stance based solely on short term shareholder effects and energy company influence.  Not unlike the push to re-open the economy ASAP.

Democrats don't have a great track record here either.  It's not like they've pushed with much effort for meaningful change.  Corporate dollars has influenced the Dems as well.  But at least its in their policy discussions and party platform. 

Based on what you said here I think this documentary will open your eyes even more.  The underlying tone is that green energy is anything but green and is a fallacy that is being pushed on the unaware public and has largely been something democrats have been involved with. Al Gore is prominently features in this as is Van Jones. It really opens your eyes near the end when they play the whole "Follow the money" game.

[Weave]

4 hours ago, LTS said:

Based on what you said here I think this documentary will open your eyes even more.  The underlying tone is that green energy is anything but green and is a fallacy that is being pushed on the unaware public and has largely been something democrats have been involved with. Al Gore is prominently features in this as is Van Jones. It really opens your eyes near the end when they play the whole "Follow the money" game.

I spent a good portion of my career working on hydrogen fuel cell technology.  Highly touted as green energy,  It was follow the money there too.  Heavily gov't subsidized (by a Republican no less).  Had big oil support too (hey, someone has to supply those hydrogen molecules).

I'll watch it.  Would not be surprised if Dems were in a follow the money game.  The primary difference between Democrat and Republican these days is which industry is important to you (aside from the whole openly courting racists thing of recent).

Edited April 26, 2020 by Weave

[LTS]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

I spent a good portion of my career working on hydrogen fuel cell technology.  Highly touted as green energy,  It was follow the money there too.  Heavily gov't subsidized (by a Republican no less).  Had big oil support too (hey, someone has to supply those hydrogen molecules).

I'll watch it.  Would not be surprised if Dems were in a follow the money game.  The primary difference between Democrat and Republican these days is which industry is important to you (aside from the whole openly courting racists thing of recent).

There's a brief discussion on hydrogen fuel cells as well.  

[Weave]

I thought I couldn't get any more cynical.

There is a fair amount of bias in this video.  Not unexpected.  They cut off the fuel cell conversation before it got to the real meat and potatoes of it, but what they did show was a correct representation.

Greed is killing us, plain and simple. 

 

[LTS]

16 hours ago, Weave said:

I thought I couldn't get any more cynical.

There is a fair amount of bias in this video.  Not unexpected.  They cut off the fuel cell conversation before it got to the real meat and potatoes of it, but what they did show was a correct representation.

Greed is killing us, plain and simple. 

 

The sobering fact, and I've felt this way since reading about recycling that never get recycled, is that we simply consume too much on this planet and there are too many people doing it.

I'm a firm believer that the events happening in nature are the natural order balancing the equation (to pull from multiple sci-fi themes).  We're simply breaking the planet and the ultimate question is whether we are intelligent enough to complete the task and not wise enough to prevent it.

As we ruin the planet, the planets protections are stripped away and thus extreme weather, natural disasters, disease are likely to spread.  They knock down the population count. From a purely analytical viewpoint it's fascinating. From any other viewpoint.. not so much.

[Sabel79]

We're not actually ruining the planet though.  Eventually we'll tip the scales too far (actually, an argument can be made it's already happened, but that's above my pay grade) and wipe ourselves out.  Give the earth a few million years and nobody will ever know we were here.  What we're destroying is ourselves.  Dooming our children and their children to an ever-worsening situation until some relatively small number of generations later the end of human existence arrives and mom cleans up after us.  

All so a few can roll around in money they won't get to take with them.  Seems kinda ridiculous if you ask me, but nobody did, so YMMV.

[SwampD]

We’ll be just fine.

Doesn’t anybody remember Noah and his strange cruise ship? There were natural disasters long before there were elevated CO2 levels.

 

On another note, how amazing is the marketing for the energy companies? They came up with “biomass” and got tree huggers to willingly burn trees so they could have their avocado on toast.

Edited April 29, 2020 by SwampD

[Weave]

29 minutes ago, SwampD said:

We’ll be just fine.

Doesn’t anybody remember Noah and strange cruise ship? There were natural disasters long before there were elevated CO2 levels.

 

On another note, how amazing is the marketing for the energy companies? They came up with “biomass” and got tree huggers to willingly burn trees so they could have their avocado on toast.

The Sierra Club getting into bed with an industry founded on burning forests has cut any last threads I had that were tied to optimism.  That’s unthinkable to me.  Images of Sierra Club members handcuffing themselves to trees in logging areas is still in my head.  They didn’t call them tree huggers for nothing.

The left has sold out to profiteers too. Lump them in with Big Religion.

What a long strange trip it’s been.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Weave

[LTS]

18 hours ago, Sabel79 said:

We're not actually ruining the planet though.  Eventually we'll tip the scales too far (actually, an argument can be made it's already happened, but that's above my pay grade) and wipe ourselves out.  Give the earth a few million years and nobody will ever know we were here.  What we're destroying is ourselves.  Dooming our children and their children to an ever-worsening situation until some relatively small number of generations later the end of human existence arrives and mom cleans up after us.  

All so a few can roll around in money they won't get to take with them.  Seems kinda ridiculous if you ask me, but nobody did, so YMMV.

While we do have the ability to probably ruin the planet, I suppose if you define ruination as the cessation of existence of this big rock we are on, then no.. it won't be ruined, it will still exist.

It just won't be anything like what we're on today and most, if not all, life will be gone.

13 hours ago, SwampD said:

We’ll be just fine.

Doesn’t anybody remember Noah and his strange cruise ship? There were natural disasters long before there were elevated CO2 levels.

 

On another note, how amazing is the marketing for the energy companies? They came up with “biomass” and got tree huggers to willingly burn trees so they could have their avocado on toast.

Before I respond.. how serious is this post? Because honestly, it has the tone of being quite facetious.

[Sabel79]

2 hours ago, LTS said:

While we do have the ability to probably ruin the planet, I suppose if you define ruination as the cessation of existence of this big rock we are on, then no.. it won't be ruined, it will still exist.

It just won't be anything like what we're on today and most, if not all, life will be gone.

Which is entirely the point.  “Save your Children” would have sold a lot better than “Save the Whales” from the beginning.  But oh well.  

[SwampD]

6 hours ago, LTS said:

 

Before I respond.. how serious is this post? Because honestly, it has the tone of being quite facetious.

It's both. I just get a little tired of hearing complaints about what "they" are doing to the environment from people that have hour commutes to work, take three vacations a year on airplanes, have four 50+" tvs going, and don't turn of the lights in the bathroom or shut their computers down.

I probably do more for the environment by living only six miles from work (a choice I made even though I could have a much bigger house and yard for less money farther out) than some kid yelling at me to recycle.

[LTS]

22 hours ago, SwampD said:

It's both. I just get a little tired of hearing complaints about what "they" are doing to the environment from people that have hour commutes to work, take three vacations a year on airplanes, have four 50+" tvs going, and don't turn of the lights in the bathroom or shut their computers down.

I probably do more for the environment by living only six miles from work (a choice I made even though I could have a much bigger house and yard for less money farther out) than some kid yelling at me to recycle.

Okay, well the Noah comment had me wondering.

You are right, and the documentary points out some of that hypocrisy. People buying into "green" energy under the premise it's better for the environment when it's really just better for the corporations behind it.

Your point on consumption is spot on. That's the underlying premise. Too many people, consuming too many resources. I give Greta Thunberg credit (for as much as I know) in that she refused to FLY to the US.  I am guilty of it as well and have tried to step back consumption. If I want/need something i try to buy it used before buying something new.  Overall I definitely consume less than many, but I'm not good enough either.  Not even close.