Global human overpopulation is not some future problem.
It is already here. Hawaii is no exception.
We are living in what future historians will call the Overshoot Era. Humanity exceeded the sustainable carrying capacity of Earth in the 1950's. Growth in human population since that time has been at the expense of the non-sustainable destruction and degradation of the environment.
Following Overshoot, comes Collapse. You do not want to go there.
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You can't fix Samsara.
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There are indications that oxybenzene sunscreen is contributing to the coral reef bleaching.
http://time.com/4080985/sunscreen-coral-reefs/
Once the coral dies, the sea life dependent on the ecosystem either die or move on.
People secrete oils and chemicals (ammonia) from their skin that is toxic to coral. Touching coral will kill it. Enough people touching the coral will kill a reef.
The Great Barrie Reef in Australia is dying faster and on a much larger scale than around Hawaii.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/image...OUefjC46ag
The oceans are also becoming more acidic due to CO2 concentration levels increasing at ground level and in the ocean.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/ocean...athe-20343
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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A fun little scene from the Newsroom.
https://youtu.be/M1cMnM-UJ5U
.. fiction... or is it?
..What would King Kamehameha do..
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I blame the people who have more than 2 children.
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The canary in the coal mine was an early gas detector. It died, the miners knew they had a few minutes to get up and out. Trouble is when the cart to get them out was broken and nobody had checked it.
The acidification of the oceans is just another symptom of global warming/climate change/greenhouse gas. This is different from the acidification that was happening in the 70's from sulfur in gasoline. This heavier-than-air CO2 concentrations increasing at ground and sea level. The CO2 is being absorbed by the ocean but it is doing that by turning into acid.
Most people are just looking at rising water levels but the acidification may be a more immediate, and worse, change coming rapidly ahead. Think its bad to lose your pet snorkeling area, try losing your whole island.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/10/world/paci...disappear/
Five Solomon islands swallowed by the sea
Remember, the right-wing Republicans have a party platform of being climate deniers.
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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alaskyn66:
A fun little scene from the Newsroom.
.. fiction... or is it?
Thanks alaskyn66, it was good to watch that segment again.
I'd say it's more fact than fiction as the numbers are real.
Glad we have the ESRL Global Monitoring Division at the Mauna Loa Observatory, so we know what condition the aina is in. There's a lot of sacred to be had in measuring the atmosphere and protecting the world beyond our mountain tops.
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”
-Joseph Brodsky
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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Heard a nice little analogy today regarding co2..
Some people claim climate change is a natural process and not man made..
It's true the earth creates co2.. but it is (was) in a natural balance..
Depending on the season plants either make co2 or consume it, to turn it into oxygen.
Look at it this way.. you have a bathtub with one gallon of water per minute running... and it's also draining one gallon per minute..(balance)..
Now add the human factor ...turn the water up to three gallons per minute.. although it's still draining at one gallon a minute.
Now clog the drain with some hair... so it drains even less.. (clear cut a few million miles of rain forest)...
That's pretty much describes it.without a way to (open the drain).. we can't win.
..What would King Kamehameha do..
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As long as they "grow houses" instead of food, as I have seen way too many food source lands, be it orchards or row crops turned into developments sold to offshore investors along with a few residents that can afford it, CO2 will continue to increase with our food sources and forests diminishing to feed the greed.
Community begins with Aloha
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As long as they "grow houses" instead of food
Environmental/worker protection (read: insurance) makes local food production too expensive to be practical; better that someone build houses to increase the tax base.
Alternative is to "preserve" the land as "open space" -- which often means purchasing it from a developer, using public funds, thereby increasing the budgetary load without adding any revenue.
CO2 = fossil fuels = greed = republicans
This is exactly correct: assigning blame is far, far more important than addressing the actual problem. (Bonus round: there is no fundamental difference between "R" and "D", both are more than happy to leverage "the environment" to win voters.)
Consider the "tsunami safe room" requirement. Does it actually increase safety by a meaningful margin, or does it merely increase the cost (including: materials, shipped in on barges that burn oil) of housing? Funny how nobody was concerned about "environmental impact" when there was money on the table.
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The oil companies have had the US in their pockets for a long time. My older brother worked for the government years ago while he lived in Dallas, as I recall. This was after the "oil embargo", when gas was rationed and you could have been sitting in line in your waiting for that $5.00 worth of gas for many hours.
he researched and built a case against some oil company, for price gouging. They were ready to go to court. Then, suddenly, they got word from on high to back off, and the case was cancelled. Pretty sure there was some very high level palm greasing going on.
He ended up later quitting that job and went into private practice, where the big money is.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
