fuzzy's recent activity

  1. Comment on A start-up aiming to make geothermal energy mainstream goes public in ~enviro

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    I hear you - and I encourage you to read the resources I linked, which go over these concerns in detail. First, even extreme levels of stratospheric aerosol injection wouldn't necessarily reach...

    I hear you - and I encourage you to read the resources I linked, which go over these concerns in detail.

    First, even extreme levels of stratospheric aerosol injection wouldn't necessarily reach the level of global dimming that we experienced (and thus survived) in the 1970s and 1980s. A lot of the research into SAI is into where and at what altitude to deploy them precisely to get maximum cooling benefit with minimum side effects, including effects on crops and photovoltaics.

    Second, while the most understood particle for SAI is sulfur (similar to volcanic eruptions and diesel emissions) there's another branch of research into finding alternative substances that have the same benefits (cheap, easy to scatter, block solar radiation) with fewer of the negative effects. One substance of promise is calcium carbonate, which would sidestep a lot of the pollution concerns.

    Plus all of these effects would be much less in a scenario where SAI is being responsibly used to cool things slightly (i.e. keep us under 1.5 or 2C for some decades) rather than being overused (to totally undo all warming indefinitely).

    Ultimately it's a question of drawbacks. We've missed our shot to avoid 2C+ of warming through emissions cuts alone, so we're stuck choosing our least bad options. A world with changed rainfall patterns and a bit of global dimming may be preferable to societal and ecological collapse of runaway warming.

    Plus the technology is already out there - many countries could deploy it at some scale within a few years - so research is necessary now before some desperate country in a rapidly warming region throws caution to the wind in the 2030s or 2040s. Essentially 'don't do it' isn't an option. There are already some idiotic and dangerous tech startups threatening escalating deployment without oversight.

    5 votes
  2. Comment on A start-up aiming to make geothermal energy mainstream goes public in ~enviro

    fuzzy
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    It's a blanket term for any technique to block some amount of sunlight (and thus heat) from getting to the earth. The most researched and plausible form of it is Stratospheric Aerosol Injection...

    It's a blanket term for any technique to block some amount of sunlight (and thus heat) from getting to the earth. The most researched and plausible form of it is Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI), which scatters particulates in the stratosphere - as many sources, from volcanic eruptions to ship emissions, already do. Volcanic aerosols have cooled us at many points over the millennia and pollution aerosols have been artificially cooling us for over a century (they peaked in the 80s). The acceleration of warming in the past decade, especially in the oceans, is suspected to be in part due to updated emissions limits on ships. Fewer aerosols = more heat getting through.

    The blanket opposition of climate scientists and environmental groups to any research into it has softened a ton over the past decade. A number of environmental groups are now supporting research (though not deployment - which is a very good thing at this stage) and prominent climate scientist James Hansen joined that chorus last year.

    Basically it's one of the only plausible, deployable-at-scale geoengineering solutions to cool the planet. It wouldn't fix climate change but would buy time and delay tipping points while we decarbonize. We know it works, we know we could do it, but we don't yet have a full understanding of how it would affect things like rainfall patterns. Scientists are coming around because we're quickly entering a world where the risks of not doing it are greater than the risks of doing it.

    Plus, as Hansen has explained, 'we shouldn't do any geoengineering' doesn't really add up when that's what we've been doing for almost 200 years. That's what climate change is!

    Here are some good starting points to learn more:

    https://cicoes.uw.edu/2023/03/01/efforts-to-block-sunlight-get-boost-from-prominent-scientists/
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_dimming
    https://www.edf.org/studying-impacts-solar-radiation-modification
    https://srm360.org/article/stratospheric-aerosol-injection/

    I've long considered making a more comprehensive topic on Tildes about this stuff. Maybe some day.

    5 votes
  3. Comment on A start-up aiming to make geothermal energy mainstream goes public in ~enviro

    fuzzy
    Link
    The potential of geothermal energy is one of the handful of things that makes me a bit ‘climate hopeful.’ Some of the others: the rapid expansion of solar energy, battery improvements on the...

    The potential of geothermal energy is one of the handful of things that makes me a bit ‘climate hopeful.’

    Some of the others: the rapid expansion of solar energy, battery improvements on the horizon, and the increasing acceptance of the need for solar radiation modification.

    2 votes
  4. Comment on ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ stunning with $233m+ WW opening, $77m US in ~movies

    fuzzy
    Link
    From the reviews I've seen this one seems to be a cut above a lot of the other years-later sequels to popular movies we've been getting recently. Apparently it's not just a total retread.

    From the reviews I've seen this one seems to be a cut above a lot of the other years-later sequels to popular movies we've been getting recently. Apparently it's not just a total retread.

    5 votes
  5. Comment on Street Fighter | Official trailer in ~movies

    fuzzy
    Link
    This comes across to me as a very well edited trailer for a bad movie. Like Suicide Squad a few years back.

    This comes across to me as a very well edited trailer for a bad movie. Like Suicide Squad a few years back.

    3 votes
  6. Comment on Why cheap waste management is key to stopping plastic pollution in ~enviro

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    This is a tremendously thorough and insightful post - thank you for that. I want to raise one red flag, though. I’m not familiar with the other two groups you linked related to waste management...

    This is a tremendously thorough and insightful post - thank you for that.

    I want to raise one red flag, though. I’m not familiar with the other two groups you linked related to waste management work but everyone should be aware that Alliance to End Plastic Waste is an industry front group. If you go to their funding page you’ll see petro, chemical, and plastics companies including TotalEnergies and Dow.

    “But what’s the harm if they’re funding municipal waste improvements?” - they donate an extremely small portion of their profits to this group, among others, so they can point to it as their concern for problems of plastic pollution and use it to fight against any other form of regulation or pollution policy, like lifecycle regulations.

    Most recently these companies + petrostates defeated a UN treaty to put limits on unnecessary plastics (especially packaging). A majority of participating countries, including a ton of the poorest and most polluted countries in the world, supported the measures, but these companies and their allied petrostates stalled and muddied the waters by claiming it’s SOLELY a waste management issue for which they share no responsibility and succeeded in derailing the process.

    Waste management is extremely important, as you outline here. But it isn’t mutually exclusive with limiting unnecessary plastics and both measures are badly necessary.

    4 votes
  7. Comment on Leaked email suggests Ring plans to expand ‘search party’ surveillance beyond dogs in ~tech

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    I had no idea this existed, I'll look into it. Thank you!

    I had no idea this existed, I'll look into it. Thank you!

    2 votes
  8. Comment on Leaked email suggests Ring plans to expand ‘search party’ surveillance beyond dogs in ~tech

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    Unfortunately my stoop is narrow such that there isn't anywhere to put a big enough box that wouldn't end up blocking the ability to open the front door. (Yes, we sometimes get partially blocked...

    Unfortunately my stoop is narrow such that there isn't anywhere to put a big enough box that wouldn't end up blocking the ability to open the front door.

    (Yes, we sometimes get partially blocked in by delivered packages as well).

    2 votes
  9. Comment on Leaked email suggests Ring plans to expand ‘search party’ surveillance beyond dogs in ~tech

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    I’m currently caught between this rock and hard place. Our doorbell isn’t audible from from the whole home and our HOA forbids an awning over our stoop - so after a couple of packages we weren’t...

    I’m currently caught between this rock and hard place.

    Our doorbell isn’t audible from from the whole home and our HOA forbids an awning over our stoop - so after a couple of packages we weren’t aware of got soaked by rain we set up a nest doorbell. As a result any time someone rings the doorbell or a package is delivered our phones buzz.

    Now 5 years later we’re not comfortable with having a cloud connected doorbell camera any more but I have no idea what to do instead.

    I’m not aware of any local-only camera or solution that’s set-it-and-forget it. And increasing the volume of the chime itself will make it audible everywhere but ear-damaging in the front room where we sometimes hang out.

    If anyone has any thoughts or ideas please do let me know…

    3 votes
  10. Comment on Humble Choice - October 2025 in ~games

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    Caravan SandWitch got review bombed because the developer said something anti-Charlie Kirk after he was killed, I believe (I have not looked up the post myself).

    Caravan SandWitch got review bombed because the developer said something anti-Charlie Kirk after he was killed, I believe (I have not looked up the post myself).

    2 votes
  11. Comment on Song That Plays When Somebody Verses Sans (UNDERTALE 10th Anniversary Song) (2025) in ~music

    fuzzy
    Link
    Whoa! This is both a fantastic arrangement and an exceptionally well made video. It's familiar and honors Megalovania while still very much being its own thing - a tough balance to strike with a...

    Whoa! This is both a fantastic arrangement and an exceptionally well made video. It's familiar and honors Megalovania while still very much being its own thing - a tough balance to strike with a musical arrangement of a beloved tune.

    4 votes
  12. Comment on What's a setting that you'd recommend? in ~tech

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    In ad-supported apps it may blank out the ads, because it prevents them from loading, but the ad 'screen' may still be there. It does not block YouTube ads. DNS ad-blocking like this essentially...

    In ad-supported apps it may blank out the ads, because it prevents them from loading, but the ad 'screen' may still be there.

    It does not block YouTube ads. DNS ad-blocking like this essentially blocks per-domain and YouTube is clever enough to serve ads from the same place that serves the videos.

  13. Comment on Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted by a federal grand jury, an extraordinary escalation in US President Donald Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies in ~society

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    That's why Trump and his goons are starting with people like Comey and Bolton. We normalize this then they move on to other targets.

    That's why Trump and his goons are starting with people like Comey and Bolton. We normalize this then they move on to other targets.

    25 votes
  14. Comment on ANBERNIC RG Slide | Announcement in ~games

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    Hear hear. I love these devices but have limited myself to buying them second hand because I feel too icky supporting their disposable nature directly. I still feel guilty buying second hand! But...

    Hear hear. I love these devices but have limited myself to buying them second hand because I feel too icky supporting their disposable nature directly. I still feel guilty buying second hand! But I can’t deny that these little devices have made me love video games again…

    I’m glad to hear that the Steam Deck is repairable. I’d love to get one some day … when they bring down the size/weight and improve the battery life a bit.

    1 vote
  15. Comment on Firefox now supports native vertical tabs in 136.0 release in ~tech

    fuzzy
    Link
    I understand the logic behind vertical tabs, given that websites generally don’t use the full width of a browser window. I can’t get over how asymmetrical vertical tabs make my browser, though....

    I understand the logic behind vertical tabs, given that websites generally don’t use the full width of a browser window.

    I can’t get over how asymmetrical vertical tabs make my browser, though. I’ve toggled them off and on a few times, and I see the functionality advantage, but it just looks off

    Anyone else encounter this particular neurosis?

    20 votes
  16. Comment on AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT reviews and launch in ~games

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    Attaches to your motherboard…how? I’ve been using a jack-style one for the past few years and it’s been solid. Though obviously it wouldn’t be ideal if I regularly transported or otherwise jostled...

    Attaches to your motherboard…how?

    I’ve been using a jack-style one for the past few years and it’s been solid. Though obviously it wouldn’t be ideal if I regularly transported or otherwise jostled my computer.

    1 vote
  17. Comment on AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT reviews and launch in ~games

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    In the future consider buying a GPU arm or bracket to help carry some of the weight. Someone I know built a PC and was having random crashing issues … until he braced his GPU. No more sag, no more...

    In the future consider buying a GPU arm or bracket to help carry some of the weight. Someone I know built a PC and was having random crashing issues … until he braced his GPU. No more sag, no more crashes.

    4 votes
  18. Comment on Rewilding - the rogue conservation efforts to reintroduce fauna to Europe in ~enviro

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    Is Mossy Earth legit? Apparently they’re not a charity, they’re a for-profit business, and I find little independent coverage of them online.

    Is Mossy Earth legit? Apparently they’re not a charity, they’re a for-profit business, and I find little independent coverage of them online.

    1 vote
  19. Comment on Any Tildeans who have lived in China or Russia and the West? What were the differences in the daily lives of average people? in ~life

    fuzzy
    Link Parent
    That's the entirety of their point. The US has a lot of problems, but the level of repression in the US and China is not really comparable. My family fled a repressive country to come to the US...

    The World Press Freedom Index shows that while the USA is better than say China/Russia

    That's the entirety of their point. The US has a lot of problems, but the level of repression in the US and China is not really comparable.

    My family fled a repressive country to come to the US and I find it frustrating when people on the internet who are (rightfully) criticizing the US try to flatten both the issues in the US and the issues in much more repressive regimes into being the same. They're not. Not yet, at least.

    13 votes
  20. Comment on Paypal opted you into sharing data without your knowledge in ~tech

    fuzzy
    Link
    Here's a link straight to the setting Thank you for the heads up - I just toggled it off. Those bastards.
    • Exemplary

    Here's a link straight to the setting

    Thank you for the heads up - I just toggled it off. Those bastards.

    62 votes