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Comment What mask? I live in New Zealand. (Score 1) 303

At the moment, I have a far greater chance of being struck by lightning than catching COVID 19. It would have probably been *easier* to achieve the same result in the States if the government had the political will to do it. I doubt Biden & the Democrats would do enough, but I'm certain they would have done far more than Trump & Co.

Comment Re:Projections. (Score 1) 310

I have wondered what could have been achieved if the money for the space program had simply been spent on a benefits for humanity program. When I do, I remember Kurt Vonnegut's favorite insult: "go take a flying fuck at the moon", and reflect that, in a way, we have.

Submission + - Doctors and others reject UK 'Let's protect the children' moral panic (independent.co.uk)

Bruce66423 writes: The NSPCC, a large child protection charity in the UK, recently produced a report with the headline claim that 10% of 12-13 year olds reported themselves to be addicted to pornography. This prompted a Conservative Party pledge to block internet access to such material. This article is a letter challenging the moral panic and its scientific basis, going as far as to suggest that greater porn use is correlated with reduced sexual violence!

Comment I expect I'm still missing something basic (Score 1) 696

But I have to wonder if climate science is too. I wonder what effect pure heat has on temperature :D. Anthropogenic heat generation has probably increased along similar, or perhaps even greater lines to that of carbon dioxide.

Using figures pulled from wikipedia, average global temperature is 14C, current is 14.4, so from what I've found today, temperature is 5.6% above normal, and has increased 11.2% since 1880. Atmospheric carbon dioxide has gone from 280ppm to 400, so 0.012% increase...

The greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide is far from linear too. The more there is, the less you get.

Please only reply if you can shed some light on my observations. I've already tried to work it out for myself, and no, I don't want to trust the "scientific consensus".

Comment Re: Yawn (Score 1) 367

You're right about the decimal point. I've actually googled a "ppm to percent conversion calculator" today.

I expect I'm still missing something basic, but using figures pulled from wikipedia, average global temperature is 14C, current is 14.4, so from what I've found today, temperature is 5.6% above normal, and has increased 11.2% since 1880. Atmospheric carbon dioxide has gone from 280ppm to 400, so 0.012%.

Comment Re:Is it lazy to be prudent? (Score 1) 189

Did you find you hit a plateau? I lost 30 lbs over 3 months then stopped. For the past 3, I haven't moved up or down. I've started doing bodyweight strength exercises to supplement the walking I do, and I guess I should look at reducing carbs even more. A rough estimate of what I eat at the moment would be 30-80g a day. What amazed me about low carb was the effect it had on my blood pressure and cholesterol. In 3 months, both went from extremely high to the high side of average or slightly above.

Comment Majority != consensus. (Score 1) 339

I don't see a consensus. It's easy to find highly qualified people who disagree with the majority.
From: On the dangerous(?) naivete of uncritical acceptance of scientific consensus

"How do we non-experts decide when to take the pronouncements of the scientific consensus with a grain of salt? The reader may well find the following rules of thumb quite helpful. Be skeptical of scientific research, even that which supports, and is favored by apologists for, the scientific consensus, whenever:
1. the people paying for the research have a vested interest in the results.
2. vast concentrations of wealth and power hang in the balance on the results.
3. a prominent scientist's professional reputation and career is on the line.
4. the dominant paradigm is threatened."

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