211–220 of 252 posts
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It's not better than total extinction for those who die in the war. Also, how do you know it is never considered among the solutions?
> It's not better than total extinction for those who die in the war. But it's better totally. > Also, how do you know it is never considered among the solutions? Never seen it discussed.
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Trying to scare people into behavior does not work very well. What works is "magic science." Are these the only two options? What about education, radical changes in awareness (and self-awareness), a move toward genuine sense of responsibility toward others as well as to the commons -- is all of that, off the table? And what if "magic science" fails us this time? Or is that "unthinkable"?
Education takes a generation or two to work even for simple things, and what you're asking for is deep and fundamental. Surely you have noticed by now that a good quarter of the US population views all forms of public education with hostility. Think also how long it has taken for obviously sensible ideas to catch on, and then consider the much greater difficulty of inculcating abstract moral and political concepts. R…
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Elon Musk leads America more than Donald Trump does, trust me. Don't get discouraged because Donny has become President. They hardly do anything interesting.
I meant "led" on every level. Our president is a symptom of a much larger problem of know-nothingism and myopic greed. We're in a social tailspin, with no clear way out. And it's absurd to think that Elon Musk has more power or influence as an industrialist than the POTUS, Trump or not.
Donald will have a much, much smaller impact on the future of the USA than Elon will.
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I would have applauded this...a decade ago. The proposal itself is a fine thing, but heralding it as 'the right strategy for our political moment' (1) is asinine. ~1/3 of the population has bought into the idea that climate change is a hoax, and that Tea Party conservative demographic has essentially wrested control of the Republican party from the well-intentioned paternalists that used to run it. Appeals to rationa…
So what, if not this, is the right strategy for our political moment?
Right wing political strategists have sought an article V convention for years, ostensibly to introduce a balanced budget amendment but in all likelihood with other strategic considerations in mind. The liberal left abhors the idea, both because of (wholly legitimate) suspicion at the origin and motivations of the proponents and (less creditably) because of basic conflict/risk aversion.
The right's national electoral strategy is to maintain power through the 2018 midterms (expanding it in a midterm election is historically rare) and control enough state legislatures by 2020 to trigger the convention, at which point all bets are off. I judge that they have a moderately good chance of succeeding with this strategy, not least because of superior political skills at procedural manipulation, but largely because of a smaller and more homogenous winning coalition.
Democrats and the left in general have been resisting this pull, but have lost the strategic initiative. They should, therefore, reverse course and seek to accelerate the process as rapidly as possible - because once the Convention is underway, procedural norms go out the window and power politics take their place. Employing the right's political momentum against them, within the scope of the existing constitutional framework, is by far the best strategic option. The alternative is at least a decade of political trench warfare, civil unrest, and international and institutional drift which could result in a catastrophic decline.
It's pretty hopeless. I used to think we'd adjust in time, but that was when the decline looked more linear (or at least I thought it looked more linear). Of the many people who I know who are seriously concerned re climate change, I'd say 2 have taken truly meaningful steps . It's not the handful of climate change deniers that's the problem. It's the overwhelming number of people who want to say they're green, but s…
I'd very much like my next employer to be one that is actively working toward climate solutions, and has a large leverage. Any suggestions? Obvious choices would be Tesla (any large automaker with a serious electric program), or a political organization with sane and pragmatic environmental goals.
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Granted some people buy gratuitously large vehicles, but for many there is a practical purpose: moving large amounts of stuff. Whether it's multiple bags of mulch, dorm room furniture, sports equipment, more than 3 kids, or just lots of luggage for a family road trip, there's definitely an advantage to a big car there. Not to mention better performance in snow depending on model. In any case, one we get non-luxury el…
If you need to move more than 3 kids, you need to get a minivan. But most suburban people don't, they get the more gas-guzzling SUVs instead. Minivans can also haul a lot more cargo; SUVs are generally rather poor at that. For most people who rarely move cargo, and don't have so many kids, a much more sensible solution is to get a small/midsize car, and use a utility trailer when you need to move things. My economy c…
Regardless, my point isn't that SUVs are the perfect solution, just that they have their uses. Could those uses be accomplished by something slightly more efficient? Maybe, but that doesn't make buying the SUV borderline criminal like some here seem to believe.
Case in point, if 10 years from now we have electric SUVs that are completely powered by solar/wind/clean energy, why do you care if it's slightly less efficient? Talk about splitting hairs...
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Granted some people buy gratuitously large vehicles, but for many there is a practical purpose: moving large amounts of stuff. Whether it's multiple bags of mulch, dorm room furniture, sports equipment, more than 3 kids, or just lots of luggage for a family road trip, there's definitely an advantage to a big car there. Not to mention better performance in snow depending on model. In any case, one we get non-luxury el…
>multiple bags of mulch, dorm room furniture, sports equipment, more than 3 kids, or just lots of luggage for a family road trip How are these practical purposes? The mulch can stay on the lawn or you could compost it at home; moving dorm room furniture twice a year for 2-4 years does not justify a large vehicle; sports equipment sounds like an attempt to justify a few trips each year into the mountains for a trip to…
These types of things things might be occasional, maybe every few weeks at most, but to me that justifies buying the larger vehicle. It may not be the ideal solution, but that's hardly a reason not to use it.
As for not having kids... yeah no. I don't understand how anyone who wants kids can even entertain that thought. Like telling me I should just chop off an arm so my body can conserve resources.
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If you Google search on the El Salvador claim there seems to be a lot of other articles backing it up, like this one: http://www.theage.com.au/good-weekend/climate-change-and-kid...
Nope, not a shred of evidence there, either. Just conjecture.
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I meant "led" on every level. Our president is a symptom of a much larger problem of know-nothingism and myopic greed. We're in a social tailspin, with no clear way out. And it's absurd to think that Elon Musk has more power or influence as an industrialist than the POTUS, Trump or not.
We're in a social tailspin because no one is willing to step up and make solutions for our enormous problems. Elon Musk is coming up with solutions, and if you exist in the sphere around him, the social tailspin is much, much less, because there is a purpose to life and a reason to commit yourself to your work. Donald will have a much, much smaller impact on the future of the USA than Elon will.
That's the worst-case scenario, and every official source indicates that it's Trump's prerogative alone to decide whether to unleash a nuclear assault. So unless Elon Musk has the ability to shutdown a nuclear war, your assertion is based on blind faith, and not on a rational evaluation of the situation.
But even that's beside the point. We need a society that's oriented around bold ideas to set us on a sustainable track. In your language, far more Musks in business and government. One of them is not going to do the trick.
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>multiple bags of mulch, dorm room furniture, sports equipment, more than 3 kids, or just lots of luggage for a family road trip How are these practical purposes? The mulch can stay on the lawn or you could compost it at home; moving dorm room furniture twice a year for 2-4 years does not justify a large vehicle; sports equipment sounds like an attempt to justify a few trips each year into the mountains for a trip to…
You have to transport the mulch from the store somehow. If you've got a dozen bags, it adds up. Doing summer and winter sessions I moved in and out of dorms at least 4 times a year. My family also took 5+ hour multi-week road trips to see distant relatives when I was a kid. You'd be surprised how much luggage that can entail. These types of things things might be occasional, maybe every few weeks at most, but to me t…
See I thought you meant yard waste from your own yard to a landfill. Arguing that you need a SUV for a purchase of mulch from a store still can't be justified. Rent a vehicle for like $20 for the day. You cannot not live long enough to beat an entry level sedan and a yearly one day rental compared to even an entry level SUV, much less a full-size SUV. Heck get two entry level sedans for the price of one entry level SUV, now you can haul 8 people and your mulch, while using less gas than the full-size SUV and being able to improve your routing.
>Doing summer and winter sessions I moved in and out of dorms at least 4 times a year.
"Hey when I do this really odd exception it throws a wrench in normal plans." I really don't know what entails needing a SUV to move in and out 4 times a year. Renting a Uhaul will be cheaper than the yearly insurance premium difference between a small vehicle and a large SUV. Or if you could stand to be away from a lot of it when staying at what I assume is your parent's fully furnished house when you aren't in school you could rent a storage unit instead of dragging all your knick-knacks across the country.
>My family also took 5+ hour multi-week road trips to see distant relatives when I was a kid. You'd be surprised how much luggage that can entail.
My family did that same and we'd just attach the cargo box to the top of the vehicle and make my sister not pack 2 giant suitcases. The occasional need for lots of cargo capacity doesn't necessitate always having the capacity.
>As for not having kids... yeah no.
What about less kids? What about not having them all at the same time, i.e. you can have a little car because the kids are separated by 15+ years?
>Like telling me I should just chop off an arm so my body can conserve resources.
Well why did you grow that extra arm? Child bearing is relatively optional.