David Middleton’s “Scale and Context” Guest
I just noticed this in 2019 Time magazine cover in a LinkedIn post this morning. CTM brought it back in 2019 when he repost By Michael Bastasch Daily caller The article highlights the fact that Tuvalu has actually grown in area over the past 50 years, while it is believed to be inundated by catastrophic sea level rise.
The head of the United Nations poses for TIME Covering the Pacific Island Nation that ‘sinks’ the Pacific Island Nation is actually growing in size
MICHAEL BASTASCH ONLY
HOUSE OF CONTRIBUTIONS
June 13, 2019The latest TIME magazine cover features the head of the United Nations António Guterres standing underwater off the island nation of Tuvalu, which the press calls “one of the most vulnerable countries in the world” due to Global warming.
The photo, taken during Guterres’ four-country tour of the Pacific nations in May, is intended to illustrate one point – that the island nations are sinking amid rising sea levels due to global warming.
TIME titled that’s Thursday’s cover story, “Our Sinking Planet.” There’s just one problem: Scientific studies show that the islands of Tavalu, actually most of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, have actually grown as sea levels rise.
[…]
Mr. Bastasch thoroughly demolished Time climate pornographic magazine, but he never applies scale and context to the magazine cover. The Daily caller The article included a modified version of the cover, showing Mr. Guterres in near shoulder-deep water.
The actual cover only shows Mr. Guterres in knee-deep water. Either way, the implication seems to be that sea levels are rising faster than Mr. Guterres can move inland, but there’s no context yet… How much sea level has risen while he’s gone. Guterres stood there and how long did it take? As a geologist, I just need to apply scale and context to the photo… Whenever a geologist takes a picture of a person, it’s just based on the scale.
Assuming that Time the cover of the magazine implies that Mr. Guterres stood above sea level before ExxonMobil caused the sea level to rise so quickly and now he is on his knees in catastrophic sea level rise, we can count him standing there how long.
We need to know two things:
- Mr. Guterres height
- Depth of water at his location
Follow this source, his height is 170 cm (~5’7″). Use this short actor chart are from Quorawe can estimate that the water depth is ~1’6″ (~46 cm)… Mr. Guterres falls right between Iron Man (5’8″) and Jack Black (5’6″).
So now we know that sea level must have risen about 46 centimeters (460 mm) when Mr. Guterres stood there.
Unfortunately, Tuvalu There are no very good tide gauge records.
Fortunately, NOAA lists a tidal gauging station about 4 miles southwest of UN Headquarters at Battery, with a long-term continuous record. Since Mr. Guterres is likely to spend more time in New York City than in Tuvalu, we’ll go with The Battery.
The sea level at The Battery has been steadily rising at a terrifying rate of 2.89 mm/year since at least 1856.
At this rate, it would take just over 158 years for sea levels to rise from the soles of Mr Guterres’ shoes to his knees.
- 457.2 mm 2.89 mm / year = 158.20 years
What Mr. Guterres’ loitering to take this photo will cost US taxpayers? The salary of the Secretary-General of the United Nations is $227,253 per year. Amazingly, the Secretary-General has not received a raise since 1997. American taxpayers have 22% in the United Nations bill.
- 227,253 USD / year x 158.2 years = 35,951,582 USD
- $35,951,582 x 22% = $7,909,348
Compared to the return we normally get from the UN “investment”, spending about $8 million to move the Secretary-General to Tuvalu, seems like a bargain.
What does Mr. Guterres say about climate change?
“We seem to be stuck in a world where fossil fuel producers and financiers are throaty. For decades, many in the fossil fuel industry have invested heavily in pseudoscience and public relations – with false narratives aimed at minimizing their responsibility for climate change and undermining ambitious climate policies. They exploited exactly the same scandalous tactics as Big Tobacco decades ago. Like tobacco interests, fossil fuel interests and their financial accomplices must not shirk responsibility. Arguments for setting aside climate action to address domestic problems have also become hollow. Had we invested earlier and massively in renewable energy, we wouldn’t have found ourselves again at the mercy of the volatile fossil fuel market. So make sure that the war in Ukraine is not used to increase that dependence. The most pressing domestic issues right now – like inflation and gas prices – are climate and fossil fuel issues.”
What a pile of slate!
Fossil fuels and cigarettes have one thing in common: Both are completely harmless until you put them in your mouth and light them on fire. [Note to OCD commenters: Google “sarcasm” before making a dumb comment.]
Had we invested earlier and massively in renewable energy, we would not again find ourselves at the mercy of the volatile fossil fuel market.
Massive investment in changing the laws of physics would be as pointless as standing in knee-deep water for 158 years and scowling at ExxonMobil.
We have never converted from one form of energy to another; we just stack new sources on top of old ones and use them more efficiently, with less impact on the environment. We burn almost as much biomass now as when we started burning coal; we no longer rely on whale oil as a major component of that biomass.
Mr. Guterres… Here’s a chart of average global life expectancy overlaid on per capita energy consumption, mainly fossil fuel-derived energy, since 1800:
From 1800 to 1900, per capita energy consumption, mainly from biomass, remained relatively flat; as well as the average lifespan. Between 1900 and 1978, per capita energy consumption nearly tripled with rapid growth in fossil fuel (coal, oil and gas) production. This is accompanied by a doubling of the average lifespan. Although I cannot say that fossil fuels increase life, I can say with certainty that anything that increases longevity would not exist or happen without fossil fuels, especially oil. mine.
Our modern society would not exist without fossil fuels and it would collapse in a split second if fossil fuels were not available and/or could not be afforded.
Mr. Guterres… Here is the Data that is laughing at you:
What the hell is António Guterres?
Apparently he was a Marxist politician who had never held a real job in his entire life.
He attended Camões Lyceum (now Camões . High School), where he graduated in 1965, winning the National Lyceums Award (Premio Nacional dos Liceus) as the best student in the country. He studied physics and electrical engineering at Instituto Superior Tecnico – Technical University of Lisbon in Lisbon. He graduated in 1971 and began his academic career as an assistant professor systems theory and telecommunications signalbefore leaving academic life to start a political career.[6]
[…]
Guterres’ political career began in 1974, when he became a member of the Socialist Party. Soon after, he gave up his academic life and became a full-time politician. During the following period Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974 has ended Caetano’s DictatorshipGuterres joins the leadership of the Socialist Party…
For many years, Mr. Guterres was active in the Socialist International, a global organization of social democratic political parties. He was vice president of the group from 1992 to 1999, co-chair of the Africa Commission and then the Development Committee. He served as President from 1999 until mid-2005. In addition, he founded the Portuguese Refugee Council as well as the Portuguese Consumer Association DECO, and served as president of the Centro de Acção. Social Universitário, an association that carries out social development projects in poor neighborhoods of Lisbon, in the early 1970s.
Mr. Guterres and the editors of Time The magazine together won the Billy Madison lifetime achievement award.
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