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Post by Psamathe on May 5, 2020 14:28:57 GMT
I no way minimising the impact or seriousness of the C-19 pandemic (which has hit me very personally in a way not relevant to the forum) but, humanity will find a treatment and will find a vaccination and economies will recover and things will likely return to something not too dissimilar from life in 2019.
But C-19 is maybe not the biggest issue facing humanity (on a global scale). With C-19 we don't have treatment nor vaccines but in the case of Climate Change we do know what we need to do, we do have the technology and we could act. And most strongly dislike lockdown disruption but I suspect the long term disruption from Climate Change will invoke even bigger problems; when extreme weather floods more cities, when extreme winds cause more damage, when sea-level rise causes costal flooding, environmental damage impacting farming, etc., etc. And when those problems start to impact people badly we can't say "we'll have a fix in 12 months" because by then it's too late.
I suspect once C-19 has settles there will be some outrage at the lack of preparedness of Governments (e.g. inadequate stocks of PPE) and I wonder if that might push politicians to be better prepared for future disasters (e.g. Climate change) and if the public might be more prepared to make small sacrifices towards preventing/minimising future disasters (e.g. wearing a sweater and turning down the heating, larger shop once a week rather than 3 trips each week in the 15mpg gas guzzler).
Will people become more "disaster aware" and be more prepared to act to prepare/minimise/avoid future problems?
Ian
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Post by accipiter on May 5, 2020 21:54:08 GMT
Will people become more "disaster aware" and be more prepared to act to prepare/minimise/avoid future problems? Ian Disaster aware maybe, but as for the rest of your question no I’m afraid it’s not going to happen whilst greed by the present world leaders remain in office, or by most people since greed is the basic human condition. Alan |
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Post by ianr on May 6, 2020 6:18:12 GMT
I think people are aware of the problems waiting ahead of us but I don't see the people as the main problem, who hasn't tried to recycle everything possible cut down on energy use, cut out plastics and all that stuff  It's businesses that need to get their act together and governments that need to ensure they do. But sadly there's too much money to be made and it's difficult to see any change happening there. If not for the power and greed of the oil company's perhaps we'd all be driving around in electric or better still hydrogen fuel cell cars by now ian |
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Post by accipiter on May 6, 2020 22:45:57 GMT
In terms of doing our bit to help save Mother Earth I’ve thinking about buying a BSA gold star motor bike since it’s one thing I’ve always wanted ever since the time my elder brother took me for a ride to the big smoke stopping half way across London Bridge to admire the view; must have been some time back in the very early sixties as far as I can remember. Unfortunately my wife is not too keen on riding pillion and I cannot say I blame her, so we’ve settled on electric bikes which may turn out to be just as expensive, but hey I think it may turn out to be the best possible compromise.
Incidentally, on the question of this smart phone app I cannot see it being an answer to stopping the virus completely since it turns out Dominic Commings is behind the bright idea, of whom David Cameron once described as a career psychopath, which doesn’t seem quite a good idea now does it.
Alan
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Post by Psamathe on May 7, 2020 8:45:45 GMT
Incidentally, on the question of this smart phone app I cannot see it being an answer to stopping the virus completely since it turns out Dominic Commings is behind the bright idea, of whom David Cameron once described as a career psychopath, which doesn’t seem quite a good idea now does it. Alan Being a retired software developer (mobile commercial applications) my natural bias is in favour of "apps" but I'll certainly not be downloading the NHSX app - on privacy (or lack of privacy" issues). The Big Dom (Cummings) has soe sometime been proposing loads of data abut everybody be held and analysed and used by No10 (him) www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/10/no-10-request-user-data-government-website-sparks-alarm. There is absolutely no reason to use a centralised model over a de-centralised system other than for invasion of privacy. NSHX (or Oxford advisers) claims about "analysing spread of the disease" is rubbish as things can be analysed just as easily using a decentralised model (as all reports of symptoms and/or +ve tests are still passed through a server. So it is yet again UK going off in it's own direction, rejecting the systems that much of the rest of the world has adopted (just as we've done with e.g. stopping contact tracing, our non-existent testing regime, etc.) and look where that has got us in the fatality "ratings". And you have to ask why go down a route with major privacy issues which will hinder adoption when the widely recognised route works better and will not hinder adoption? And not all smartphones are created equal. These days people don't feel the need to get the latest smartphone on day 1 when released (always was daft), but are happier to stick with what the've got for far longer. It has been estimated that only 50% of smartphones have the BLE proximity capability needed for bluetooth contact tracing technology yet the system needs a 60% of people running it! ( www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/25/contact-apps-wont-end-lockdown-but-they-might-kill-off-democracy. But it gets worse as some of the most vulnerable (e.g. elderly) are those most likely to have older phones that cannot run such systems. Even the "shoe leather" contact tracing being started is being used as an excuse for further "privitisation". Everybody says it needs to be operated on a localised basis employing people with local knowledge. Yet ur Ministers are setting up a centralised system with one or two big contracts being handed to Serco (remember them!) and G4S ( www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-tests-contact-tracing-serco-g4s-private-firm-a9497371.html) - despite local councils having 5,000 Environmental Health employed who do this because local councils do this to track down other less widespread infections like norovirus, salmonella or legionnaires’ disease ( www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/06/uk-missed-coronavirus-contact-tracing-opportunity-experts-say). I could go on, but if you've read this far ... it's a sunny day ... Ian |
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