Hi. Hello. Happy 2023. Happy New Year.
I haven't uploaded a proper video to this channel since last July.
Wait, when did I last upload a video to this channel.
youtube.com/zentouro. Oooh since April.
And since then I've just zipped past that 20,000 subscriber mark. So.
Hi, everyone.
I had intended to make a Q&A then, but now it's now.
So I will A some Qs, starting with:
how do you stay motivated through the degree
specifically in mandatory subjects that literally do nothing for it
and act just like a screening device to take people out?
First off, I don't know if I've said this on here yet,
but I'm working toward a Ph.D.
I started in 2020, yikes, and I've passed my quals now
and I'm working on a dissertation proposal and trying to publish some papers.
That's my main excuse for not uploading very much.
But if I'm being honest with myself, I've never been particularly good at that
anyway.
But back to the question, what me doing this
PhD means is that now that I've passed my quals, I'm just done with classes,
like forever, forever. I'm never taking a test again.
I have taken a lot of classes, though, at this point,
and I think that those screening classes are complete BS
And if your professor and degree is going to treat you
like you don't matter, then I don't think you should devote
any extra time or motivation to that class then you absolutely have to.
Do the bare minimum, get the grade you need to progress and move on.
I structured my academic journey to avoid as many of those classes as possible,
and the ones I did have to take I took as like summer courses
so they were shorter and often easier.
And while you're putting the minimum into the screening classes,
take the rest of your time and energy and apply that to classes
you're actually interested in or hobbies that bring you joy.
Thoughts on the newly established Loss and Damage Fund at COP 27.
Some activist groups argue it's a good first step.
While some of my professors say
that the finer details haven't been worked out
and have been
pushed into the next few years leading to further inaction and delays.
Basically just that. I think it's a good first step.
Getting these ideas actually codified on the international scale is huge,
but without any structure and real commitments,
we're not going to see much money going where it needs to for a while.
That's kind of international policy in a nutshell.
What's the best breakfast food?
Hands down, it's blueberries, specifically lowbush blueberries,
the tiny little ones that are packed with flavor and joy and are like
nature's candy, not the definitively less good highbush blueberries.
How much should someone get into the science and which one
to grasp the basics about climate change and be able to call B.S.
on greenwashing?
Any book recommendations?
Similarly, we've got
What are your best recommendations for books on climate change?
I'm still new to the topic and I'd love to learn more.
To grasp the basics, you don't need much.
If you took an introductory science
class in high school or college, you probably already know more than enough
the basics behind the greenhouse effect are simple enough
that NASA has tons of programing aimed at elementary schoolers.
Frankly, a grasp of policy, psychology, and economics
might be more useful for understanding the actual crises in the climate crisis.
And I don't think you really know that much science at all, to spot greenwashing.
Since it's often just PR,
if you spend 30 seconds searching the internet
after you hear a corporation make a claim,
you can probably find some intrepid reporter who has called them out.
And if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
All right. On to book recommendations.
Let's see.
I got a bunch of books, a bunch of books behind me.
Okay.
This stack is obviously giant, so I'm just going to rush through them.
They're in no particular order. They're in fact, the order.
I pulled them off my bookshelf when I saw them with my eyeballs.
We've got Naomi Klein's.
This Changes Everythin:. Capitalism vs the Climate, A Civil Action.
I read this in high school.
It's one of those books that kind of sticks with you.
And if you want to kind of get into a legal thriller
about environmental impacts, this is the one for you.
Classic: Sand County Almanac.
It's old.
I'm sure Leopold could probably be cancelled for something,
but the way that he thinks about nature is really beautiful to read.
If you've been on the Internet
doing climate things, you've probably seen All We Can Save.
It's a book of essays. Many of them are very good.
Full disclosure my advisor Kate Marvel has an essay in here,
and I think that one in particular is very good.
Cradle to Cradle.
This is all about how do we measure and change
how we make things and use things and keep them from polluting.
Orogeny, this is a book of poems.
Gorgeous, beautiful, makes me think about the earth
deeply.
There's a rock pun in there, I'm sure.
Anyway, I will start my day with one of these often emergent strategy
by adrienne maree brown, kind of a modern day classic.
Very good about how we think about actions in society and community.
Don't Trust, Don't Fear, Don't Beg,
about a bunch of Greenpeace activists who get stuck in a prison.
YouTuber book Simon Clark has a book about the atmosphere called Firmament.
I have not quite finished it yet, but so far it's been great
and you should try to do a Field Guide to Climate Anxiety.
Sarah Jaquette Ray is an incredibly good writer,
has a lot of very interesting thoughts.
It's super short.
You can read it today and it is very helpful
for dealing with emotions around climate change.
Bottom of the pile: Disasterology by Dr. Samantha Montano.
She's been on this YouTube channel. She's great.
The book is also great.
It's both a, you know, incredible literature
review on how we know what we know about disasters,
as well as a personal story of Sam's experience
learning about and becoming a disasterologist.
Is that enough books? hope so.
Moving on, Did you see Avatar?
The only avatar we acknowledge in this household is Korra.
What would happen if the AMOC really collapsed?
Have you watched the Day After Tomorrow?
Because it's kind of like that.
I mean, it's probably not like a huge, rapidly moving
wave of ice, but like it get really cold up here.
And I also, I asked my friend who researchs paleo stuff and she agreed.
Quick definion, AMOC stands for Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.
It's a bunch of ocean currents that are moving water around in the Atlantic.
That's all you need to know for this.
And total AMOC collapse isn't something that's going to happen tomorrow, if ever.
In the biz, it's referred to as a high impact, low likelihood scenario.
But if you're genuinely interested in the research into AMOC, Carbon Brief
and The New York Times both have some good explainers
and also links some peer reviewed literature downstairs.
What's the thing you're looking forward to most in 2023?
And it doesn't have to be climate related.
I may be going out myself as a little bit of a jock,
but I'm running the New York City Marathon this year
and I am really freaking excited about it.
I have a lot of hopes and dreams
about how fast I'm going to go, which I'm going to keep to myself,
but I can't wait.
Have you had a climate intervention of any kind with your friends or family?
How did that go?
Do you still have non climate friends and family?
How does it feel?
I'm pretty fortunate
that the vast majority of my friends and family are pretty on board
with enacting climate action in their lives.
So no, I've never staged a climate intervention personally.
I'm definitely around people who are not in as deep as me,
but my experience is generally the opposite.
So people are coming to me for information
on how to talk to their friends and family,
or how they can be more involved and conscious in the climate movement.
I also, and I'm treading way outside of my actual knowledge base here, but
I don't think climate is worth having an intervention over on its own.
I mean, maybe if your parents work for Exxon, that's a bigger conversation.
But at least in the US, climate is so wrapped up into politics
that I think the dinner table conversations
need to be tackled differently and really personally.
If it's your family, you probably know at least somewhat
why they think what they think, and you can better get at the root
of any misunderstanding or actual malice behind their beliefs better than some
rando on the internet can.
That being said, Professor Katherine Hayhoe has a lot of good
writing out there, explaining how to use what you have in common with someone,
whether that is faith or location or some other deeply held belief
to have an actual conversation about climate.
Obviously, I don't know your situation or anyone's, but it's okay to walk away.
Family can be really important, but it isn't the only community structure.
What Pokémon do you most identify with?
Probably Growlithe.
I don't think I'm quite punk enough to actually be a Growlithe,
but I so, so desperately want to be.
I also got a lot of questions about this.
What do you think of climate action
that lands its supporters in police or jail cells?
Is that just the cost of saving the world?
And similarly, is eco sabotage.
Fossil fuel infrastructure the only viable path to success?
Or read music or philosophy.
He is at least implied
that the environmental movement should adopt eco sabotage.
Historically speaking, I'm pretty pro climate action that breaks laws.
There are at least three videos on this channel showing my friends
and other activists getting arrested,
getting arrested and breaking unjust laws or lying in front of construction
equipment are all important tools that people have been using
for a very long time for all kinds of activism.
It is very effective at getting local crises on a national
and international stage, as well as calling attention to, y’know,
the global climate crisis.
But it definitely isn't the only way to push for climate action.
I've said this a lot,
but the 2014 People's Climate March had a slogan: To Change Everything We Need
Everyone, and that means everyone doing the kind of action they are best at.
So if that's throwing soup at a painting or being an activist investor
or electrifying your own home or getting your school to compose
or running for office, there definitely isn't just one way.
How does biodiversity loss fit in with climate change concerns?
They're definitely interrelated.
Some of the same things that are causing climate change are making biodiversity
loss worse and vice versa,
And some of the same solutions could be used effectively to combat both.
Reducing the need for roads.
Cutting through ecosystems would stop habitat fragmentation
and with less space for cars, we'd be burning less fuel, things like that.
And in both cases, climate change and biodiversity loss.
We're losing a lot.
There's an inherent value in biodiversity
no matter what way you choose to measure it.
Just like there's a value in having a stable, consistent climate.
All that being said, on this channel, and in my own research, I'm more focused
on human impact and biodiversity loss obviously has a human impact,
but it's a bit outside of my area of expertise,
so I'm going to leave some links for you downstairs too.
Have you ever lived in another country or would you want to?
I lived in China for nearly a year.
In the early 2010s I did a lot of biking, made some good friends, played Frisbee.
Ate a lot of good food, but I don't really like flying.
So living in another country would be really hard on my family
and most of my friends here in the US.
Plus where I live now, basically everyone comes to visit me
so I can lazily hang out in my apartment and see all of my friends.
What is your favorite and least favorite video you've made?
I'm going to limit this to just my channel because I've made lots of videos
for other people that I both love and also hate.
But I'm not going to talk about those
because I want to have good working relationships.
I've been making stuff on here since 2007, so I've definitely grown in my opinions
and knowledge.
So the early videos I made about things like the Tesla Powerwall and plastic water
bottles are definitely some of my least favorite.
I also have loads of cringy stuff that I have long since deleted
from when I was in high school and early college.
Favorite video is a little bit harder.
I'm easily swayed by numbers,
so the recent IPCC videos feel pretty good,
but I like the videos most that I've done with friends and family.
So the composite video I made ages ago with Taylor from itsradishtime
or when I talked national parks, despite all of their flaws, with my dad.
What piece of data gives you hope for the future?
What data should we be worried about that isn't getting attention?
I don't know if there's any data specifically that gives me hope.
Lots of people have made stuff with that kind of framing, Hank Green and
David Roberts both have stuff like that that you can check out.
I guess if anything, maybe the number of coal plants the U.S.
shut down or the number of cities banning gas in new construction.
Those are the data points that get me kind of jazzed up.
Maybe also, the millennials are getting less conservative as they age.
That's pretty neat.
Is it still possible to stay below two degrees of warming?
Physically and technically, yes.
It totally is. Will we?
I wish I knew.
Our current trajectory
has us overshooting two degrees, but less than we would have a decade ago.
I don't have a time machine.
No one does that I know of, So no one can really say we will or won't.
But it's certainly still possible to stay below two degrees of warming.
What is the best energy to replace fossil fuel in planes other than biofuel?
I don't really know a lot about aviation, so I'm going to just be a train stan
and say improving electric rail should and could replace the majority of short
and long haul flights.
Okay, cool.
I think that’s
all of the questions.
So, uh, hey, thanks for hanging out with me.
I hope you have a great day.
If you want to watch more of my stuff, there’s some links.
so you can find links to all of those downstairs. Yeah, Bye!