George Carlin on The Environment
candidskeptic0 HN recommenders · 2018–2019
1M views · comedy · evergreen · Uploaded 2009-04-22
An 8-minute clip of George Carlin's 1992 stand-up bit on the environment, arguing the planet will be fine and it is people who are in trouble. It leans on the contrast between Earth's 4.5 billion years and humanity's 200,000.
Commenters cite it as shorthand for the view that the Earth will outlast us, usually as a quip rather than a recommendation.
36:47Harder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need
suckerpinch
52:11Václav Smil at Driva Climate Investment Meeting 2019
Nysnø Klimainvesteringer
9:04Jackie Chan - How to Do Action Comedy
Every Frame a Painting
22:20How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change | Allan Savory
TED
15:50Can YOU Fix Climate Change?
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
15:29Life in Syntropy
Agenda Gotsch
23:11Eating less Meat won't save the Planet. Here's Why
Joseph Everett - WIL
1:39:57Michael Moore Presents: Planet of the Humans | A Film by Jeff Gibbs | Full Documentary
Michael Moore
3 comments from Hacker News
Posting from a throwaway because politics. Wouldn't there also be more different fish now especially in places that used to be covered by ice? Sure, some species might die off but you might get more new species as well. Some new fish perhaps that is good at living in lower oxygen concentration. Also, the fish that lived in the tropics can move to subtropics and so on. I see it as more of a change that's not really bad or good. As Joe Carlin once said, the Earth will be fine. Here is the clip: [VIDEO]
George Carlin had some great quotes indeed (this specific one comes from his take on the environment [1]). [1] [VIDEO]
I know someone who has gone fully off the grid via sailboat and is currently on his way around the world. He converted his sailboat to a hybrid setup (electric engines powered by the same batteries that power his stovetop, refrigerator, etc.). His power sources keeping those batteries charged are solar (1200W) and sail regeneration [0]. He has an 18kw diesel generator as a safety measure. His story is particularly interesting to me because he doesn't give a shit about climate change. His views are best described by George Carlin [1]. And yet, he has the lowest carbon lifestyle of anybody I know. In the 15,000 nautical miles he's sailed, he has burned a grand total of 5 gallons of diesel. And that was only because he stayed for a few weeks in Palau without sailing around, and there was a stint of a few days where there was little solar energy due to storms. He now thinks his decision to buy a diesel backup generator was just a waste of money. If you ask him why he did it, these are his answers: It's cheaper, it's quieter, it's less smelly, and it's more reliable. Not a single mention of carbon emissions or resource depletion or pollution. At this point, I feel like the only reason fossil fuels are used anymore in new projects is inertia. The costs and performance of renewables+batteries has come so far in the last 5-10 years, and I think we're finally at the point where the intrinsic costs will guarantee adoption. [0] [LINK] [1] [VIDEO]