There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada • Hacker News Board

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#421

Post by cookingrobot » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 5:18 AM UTC

ianai wrote: post #398

macromagnon wrote: post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Transportation accounts for 14% of total greenhouse gas emissions [1] and that includes rail/air/marine travel so it doesn't seem to be as simple as getting people out of their cars. [1] https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emiss...

Probably a better metric for us average people is to ask what produces most of our personal emissions. Yes, won’t correct the problem. But will give people a sense of agency instead of yet another way to feel helpless. It’s going to take an “all of the above, all hands on deck” response.

But you have to focus your efforts to get the biggest results. In this case I suspect only government can solve the problem (because someone’s going to have to change or end entire industries). So the best use of our energy might trying to be get an effective government in place.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#422

Post by UnFleshedOne » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 5:23 AM UTC

Kluny wrote: post #372

stanmancan wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn’t say almost everyone; majority of people are fine but there’s definitely many people who have to deal with flooding and water damage.

Itt: People telling about how the flooding has directly and severely impacted their lives, and commenters who got lucky explaining how it's actually not a big deal.

Don't let empathy blind you from an accurate assessment though.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#423

Post by bobthepanda » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 5:24 AM UTC

version_five wrote: post #266

Scoundreller wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Competitors” sharing networks is such a Canadian tradition. Just like 2 of our 3 big cellular companies (Bell and Telus) sharing a single network.

I'm guessing its your point, but to spell it out, canada has oligopolies or monopolies, it doesnt have competitors at least in telecom and banking. From what I understand (like the recent Kansas? railway acquisition) CN and CP may actually be more in competition than some other industries. There is some complexity because part of the tradeoff for being granted oligo/monopoly status is the requirement to allow others…

Some sectors tend to get regulated as utilities rather than businesses, because they tend not to lend themselves to competition.

Railways are a classic example; two railways rarely directly compete with each other (since even if they connect the two same points they probably do so via wildly different routes) and some level of coordination is needed to avoid scheduling conflicts on competing trains.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#424

Post by bobthepanda » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 5:29 AM UTC

JCharante wrote: post #368

porkloin wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a very rural area of the US, so I probably have an over-representative sample, but mostly folks I know who own one (myself included) view it at as an essential piece of backcountry safety equipment. If you spend 1 or 2 weekends per month in areas without cell signal (even recreationally, as is my case), it quickly becomes worthwhile even just as a means of emergency communication for people to contact _you_…

I heard that cell phone services near NYC were down during 9/11. If a similar event that disrupted regional cell phone towers were to happen again, a garmin inreach would allow me to stay connected right? Since it's not dependent on the infrastructure near the user (and this is assuming a regional event where cell phone services are not overloaded / down in a different country, so that you can reach the 2nd party)

Assuming such a network stays available for non-emergency use, maybe.

9/11 also ended up jamming 911 and emergency responders' networks (their radios were not designed to have thousands of firefighters and police officers and ambulances concentrated in one mass event) so if something were available I'd assume they would commandeer it.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#425

Post by wheelinsupial » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 5:43 AM UTC

jrace wrote: post #400

I live inthe interior, about 5hrs from Vancouver, and we are only cut off from Vancouver and Calgary...but our grocery stores are now out\very low on vegetable and dairy. I suspect some panic buying, but very sobering to see how fragile our food delivery system is.

Well, according to a press conference with the mayor of Abbotsford on Nov 16th at 9 pm pst [1], 50% of poultry, dairy, and eggs consumed in BC come from the Sumas Prairie region. This is an area that has just been ordered to evacuate and further flooding poses significant risk to life.

Looks like the supply of the food is going to be pretty harmed if the flooding continues.

[1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FM1xwaqtnpg&feature=youtu.be

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#426

Post by standeven » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 5:49 AM UTC

There are many smaller communities that are cut off due to floods and mudslides too. For example, I live in Chilliwack, about 90km East of Vancouver, and we’re completely cut off from anywhere else - the three highways entering the city are all closed. All rail lines are damaged or flooded.

Hope, a bit further to the East, is another community that is completely cut off. It’s full of stranded travellers right now.

Once people realized we were cut off, the hoarding mentality took hold; most gas stations are out of gas and grocery stores are emptying. Hopefully the supply chain bounces back quickly.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#427

Post by iainctduncan » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 5:54 AM UTC

To folks saying "Vancouver will be fine, everything comes in on boats", here is an info sheet from the city of Vancouver detailing exactly where the food comes from. As you can see, meat, grain, and dairy will be heavily affected if trucks can't get from the Fraser Valley on east into town.

http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/regional-planning/Pla...

Aaaand it sounds like we're going into a provincial state of emergency tomorrow.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#428

Post by iainctduncan » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 5:57 AM UTC

tjr225 wrote: post #396

iainctduncan wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look, it's not "roads blocked". We're not talking "move the dirt and it'll be ok". The roads are GONE. Bridges and huge sections of the most important highways are now rubble floating down rivers with nothing there anymore . This is in some of the most difficult terrain to rebuild in that you could have. People who know what they are talking about are saying we are short highways through the winter. Here's some chopp…

> City folks who think this was just some rain are nothing but evidence of how disconnected city people can become from the infrastructure on which they depend. This is a really funny angle. I would think the city people are keen on how internationally connected they are as a coastal port city. Vancouver also has international access to the US. Vancouver can get goods from Seattle, Portland, SF, LA, San Diego, Alaska…

here you go, the food breakdown. Grain, meat, dairy all come into Van mostly from the east.

http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/regional-planning/Pla...

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#429

Post by zshrdlu » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 6:02 AM UTC

genewitch wrote: post #411

megablast wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep driving your car, pretending you’re not destroying the planet.

Yes it's my car that I drive like 2000 miles a year, and not coal plants in third world countries, hexafluorine or whatever magical greenhouse gas we develop and use for 25 years before realizing our children will suffer. No, it's my relatively new and aggressively emission controlled cars.

Interesting impression you have there - third world countries have actually contributed very little greenhouse gas historically and in the present-day age too.

Re: There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada

#430

Post by sethherr » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 6:14 AM UTC

zshrdlu wrote: post #429

genewitch wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it's my car that I drive like 2000 miles a year, and not coal plants in third world countries, hexafluorine or whatever magical greenhouse gas we develop and use for 25 years before realizing our children will suffer. No, it's my relatively new and aggressively emission controlled cars.

Interesting impression you have there - third world countries have actually contributed very little greenhouse gas historically and in the present-day age too.

The vast majority of this problem lies on the United States’ shoulders. We’ve contributed an outsize share to global warming. Your standard of life requires having benefited from creating global warming. Blaming developing countries for their current emissions is cowardly.