dubbed · HackerTrans

Why not bury waste biomass in abandoned coal mine tunnels? Return the carbon to where it came from in the first place. Instead of composting on the surface (which releases CO2), all that industrial agricultural waste - chaff, sawdust, corn stalks,potato peels, used cooking oil, etc - as well as PLASTICS - could all just be buried in existing tunnels, kilometers under the surface, or pumped down into fracking /oil wells along with or instead of the water. In a few decades (centuries?), the stuff will decompose anaerobically, and we'll have fresh "fossil" fuels to start the cycle over again if we like. In the meantime, we remove billions of tons of carbon from the surface. Anyone see any obvious problems with this approach?

dubbed

5 年前discuss

There are certainly some treatments that work - setting a broken bone for example - but there are many that don't work. The problem is that the truths are mixed with the untruths, and unfortunately the treatments that don't work tend to be the expensive and, by definition, the risky ones.

It comes down to overreach by the "experts". This is also not a novel concept - Socrates' famous saying "I know that I know nothing" actually refers to how most "experts" DON'T know what they don't know, and thus overreach their authority. By recognizing what he doesn't know, Socrates thus establishes his intellectual superiority. Interesting story that I don't feel like writing out in full right now, but highly relevant.

dubbed

5 年前discuss

Did a doctor ever give you a guarantee that their treatment would heal you? Contrast with almost any other industry... the baker telling you "this piece of bread might cure your hunger, but there is a 10% risk that it will kill you instead". Clinical trials are in many cases smoke and mirrors - very elaborate and inscrutable, but provide no guarantees in the end. When it comes down to results of medical treatments, your mileage will vary and you take the responsibility upon yourself.

dubbed

5 年前discuss

our ancestors saw patterns in the stars; we see patterns in molecules and such. Only the tools of observation have changed, our minds stayed the same.

dubbed

5 年前discuss

we live in a world of cults, but somehow think we're more enlightened than our ancestors.

dubbed

5 年前discuss

Medicine is the only industry that can sell flawed products, offer no guarantees, and charge arbitrary prices for services without any consequence. Anyone else see parallels to organized religions of old? They even operate in the same space... curing the sick, promising long life, dictating the right way to live, holding the key to life and death. They have ordained priests that hold exclusive rights to practice the rituals. There is even a tithe in the form of medical insurance... I speak heresy, I know. I will repent before I am burned at the stake.

dubbed

5 年前discuss

Smoking cigarettes is harmless.... nobody gets sick after smoking for a year

thalidomide is harmless... "On October 1, 1957, the company launched thalidomide and began marketing it under the trade name Contergan. It was proclaimed a "wonder drug" for insomnia, coughs, colds and headaches... In late 1959, it was noticed that peripheral neuritis developed in patients who took the drug over a period of time, and it was only after this point that thalidomide ceased to be provided over the counter. ...Despite the side effects, thalidomide was sold in pharmacies in Canada until 1962." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide]

the industry doesn't turn on a dime due to adverse effects when there is money to be made

dubbed

5 年前discuss

I propose that impostor syndrome sometimes has more to do with the system rather than the individual. A well-meaning and bright individual working within a fraudulent system will catch glimpses of the fraud: "things my superiors tell me don't quite make sense" - and blame themselves: "I guess I'm just not smart enough"

comments