World is so stupid.

[Moses]

So many candidates to Darvin's prize.

10586

10587

https://www.ipsos.com/en/global-attitudes-covid-19-vaccine-december-2020

[latintopxxx]

i realised that ages ago...like from the age of 7...some days I feel like the only bulb in the chandelier...

[goji]

Even Mr Putin has apparently not taken the "safe" Russian vaccine ?

Generally world leaders are taking vaccines as soon as their age group is eligible. Therefore demonstrating confidence in the product.

[StevieWonders]

Even Mr Putin has apparently not taken the "safe" Russian vaccine ?

Generally world leaders are taking vaccines as soon as their age group is eligible. Therefore demonstrating confidence in the product.Putin has already said he’ll be vaccinated with Sputnik V when it’s certified as safe for his age group. The Russian and Chinese vaccines have not been certified as stringently tested in the way the Western vaccines have (WHO statement, see latest Economist)

[Brad the Impala]

Looks like the French and the Russians are the most sceptical about the vaccine, but then scepticism is a core belief in France. Russia seem to be significantly the most sceptical about the effectiveness of their own vaccine.

[arsenal]

A new strain has been discovered in Brazil. Apparently, unlike the UK variant this one is good at football and samba dancing.

[Nirish guy]

And Boris said tonight when asked in an interview about the British Government response something like “yes we’re aware of it and taking measures to stop in coming from Brazil” ( assuming he meant testing before travel etc) - only a few hours later the Govt to announce “hmm yeah we’re not going to insist on testing if landing from anywhere to the UK “just yet” - maybe next week ( as we we’re not quite ready yet). So yep, no worries Boris has it all in hand as usual it seems .... :-(

[arsenal]

It has struck me that this might be the world's first truly global event in that it is affecting the planet's entire population.

[a447]

It has struck me that this might be the world's first truly global event in that it is affecting the planet's entire population.

Climate change came first.

[arsenal]

No such thing a447. Boss of Bosses (4 days more) Don Trumpioni says so.

[arsenal]

And climate change hasn't affected that many people yet. Certainly not me, how did it affect you? Apart from it's harder to go hunting polar bears but other than that.

[a447]

how did it affect you? Apart from it's harder to go hunting polar bears but other than that.

Many climate change scientists believe that global warming is the cause of Australia's bush fires. We've always had them but the severity and frequency is off the scale. Last year's fires were the worst in living memory.

A town called York, not far from Perth is presently being threatened by fires. And last week there were fires burning in suburbs just north of where I live and in a couple of suburbs south of the city. They seem to be getting closer every year.

As a child in Perth I don't remember this ever happening. Nor did we have such hot days; temperatures of 40 degrees or more are now common in Perth. Climate change has affected me in the sense that my electricity bills have gone through the roof!

Growing up in Japan we often had snow around Christmas and New Year. These days I expect not to see snow. Also winter seems warmer - often I can walk around Tokyo during the day without wearing a coat or a sweater. I never experienced that as a child. But I guess that's one thing that has been affected in a good way.

Still, I miss the snow - at least as a tourist. Ski resorts are reporting less and less snow every year.

[francois]

Many climate change scientists believe that global warming is the cause of Australia's bush fires. We've always had them but the severity and frequency is off the scale. Last year's fires were the worst in living memory.

A town called York, not far from Perth is presently being threatened by fires. And last week there were fires burning in suburbs just north of where I live and in a couple of suburbs south of the city. They seem to be getting closer every year.

As a child in Perth I don't remember this ever happening. Nor did we have such hot days; temperatures of 40 degrees or more are now common in Perth. Climate change has affected me in the sense that my electricity bills have gone through the roof!

Growing up in Japan we often had snow around Christmas and New Year. These days I expect not to see snow. Also winter seems warmer - often I can walk around Tokyo during the day without wearing a coat or a sweater. I never experienced that as a child. But I guess that's one thing that has been affected in a good way. Still, I miss the snow - at least as a tourist.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/12/18/japan-snow-stranded-motorists/

Reports I have
read say that there has been heavy snowfall in Japan this past month or so.

[arsenal]

OK. But climate change is not one single event. It's an era lasting a century or more. No one single event has impacted upon the whole human population like this disease has.

[StevieWonders]

You don’t count the period 1942-1945?

[dinagam]

You don’t count the period 1942-1945?


Indeed forty millions Russians were sacrificed defending the motherland from the schemes of Churchill and the allied forces.

[goji]

Two topics emerging here:

Covid19. It's not so much covid-19 That's affecting the world, but the government response to it. Then, due to recency bias, we forget "Spanish" Flu (origins in US?) Which killed about 50 million, or the plagues in the middle ages which wiped out a third of the population. Covid kills less than 1% of infected people and in many cases, it's killing people just a few weeks early. Whilst that's bad, it's not as bad as killing teenagers like Spanish Flu.

Global Warming: Expect this to be non-linear. For example, snow in Greenland etc reflects heat. When that's gone, warming may accelerate. Also, don't expect gradual falls in crop yields which can be mitigated by better methods. When we suddenly get crop failures in one or two regions, that will be problematic.

[a447]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/12/18/japan-snow-stranded-motorists/

Reports I have
read say that there has been heavy snowfall in Japan this past month or so.

Yes, but the trend is toward less snow, warmer days, more destructive cyclones etc.

[christianpfc]

It has struck me that this might be the world's first truly global event in that it is affecting the planet's entire population.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krakatoa#1883_eruption
Not as direct as Covid, but changes could be felt all over the world.

"entire population" there are tribes in the Amazonas that have no connection to our society and their life is the same as before Covid (but with sophisticated measuring devices would have noticed the Krakatoa explosion).

[dinagam]

It looks like we just need another mega volcanic eruption to counter the Global Warming threat and to keep it at bay for a couple of years longer.

[latintopxxx]

...problem is the cleverer we get ...the more we think... the more we worry ... the stupider we get...