It’s the End of California as We Know It • Hacker News Board

Re: It’s the End of California as We Know It

#41

Post by defterGoose » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:39 AM UTC

RickJWagner wrote: post #13

tehlike wrote: post #11

Sometimes i wonder... Washington doesnt have the income tax, but it feels much better there. Am i imagining this?

I was thinking along the same lines. I live in a state with less government (and less proportional revenue), we don't have the kinds of problems California does.

At least on the fire front, Washington doesn't have the desert-forest interface or lack of rain that CA does. On most other fronts we have the same problems as other states, writ large. Hard to compare given how diverse (demographically, geographically, etc.) we are.

Re: It’s the End of California as We Know It

#42

Post by sysbin » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:39 AM UTC

headcanon wrote: post #22

davidscolgan wrote: post #5

I'm a freelance web developer from rural Indiana and want to move somewhere in the US I can at least possibly stay for a decade or more. Does anyone recommend a city/state that will survive the climate apocalypse, that is well managed, and/or that is doing everything the author of this article is saying California isn't doing? I've had a hard time figuring out where to live since I don't have to be anywhere in partic…

Sure, Detroit! Michigan is relatively insulated from climate change, is on the up economically speaking, reasonable property values, and a decent tech scene. Access to concerts and a thriving art scene. Plus you'd be close to home. The worst thing we have is the winters.

lmfao Michigan is pretty bottom of the list when it comes to the states of the USA.

Re: It’s the End of California as We Know It

#43

Post by plcancel » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:41 AM UTC

dunstad wrote: post #14

antidaily wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you just bored with rural Indiana? Can’t imagine the climate apocalypse will do as much damage to the midwest.

We may not end up underwater, but ecosystem collapse leading to famine, and increased pressure on all sorts of support systems due to the need to direct aid to people from coastal areas, are both going to affect people everywhere.

Famine? Switching to freelance farming in rural Indiana could be your meal ticket!

Re: It’s the End of California as We Know It

#44

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:45 AM UTC

opportune wrote: post #21

Part of the issue is definitely that California is the biggest, most influential, and one of the wealthiest states. The federal government is less incentivized to help us out in some ways, because theoretically, we can afford it. But in aggregate, this is really what the people of California wanted. Suburbanization is popular at the voting booth, as are low property taxes. Californians wanted to freeze time in the 80…

[deleted]

Re: It’s the End of California as We Know It

#45

Post by cagenut » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:45 AM UTC

baggy_trough wrote: post #24

dunstad wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We may not end up underwater, but ecosystem collapse leading to famine, and increased pressure on all sorts of support systems due to the need to direct aid to people from coastal areas, are both going to affect people everywhere.

Do you honestly believe that famine is going to affect the middle of the United States in, say, the next 100 years?

In a 2C world its very unlikely, in a 4C world its highly likely. So the question is, and always has been, where will we stop? The BAU trendline is ~4.5C by 2100. At which point everything from philidelphia to oakland will be desert.

Re: It’s the End of California as We Know It

#46

Post by mitfahrener » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:47 AM UTC

paulbaumgart wrote: post #9

davidscolgan wrote: post #5

I'm a freelance web developer from rural Indiana and want to move somewhere in the US I can at least possibly stay for a decade or more. Does anyone recommend a city/state that will survive the climate apocalypse, that is well managed, and/or that is doing everything the author of this article is saying California isn't doing? I've had a hard time figuring out where to live since I don't have to be anywhere in partic…

Storrs, CT, according to Slate: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2005/09/where-to-hide-fr...

Lol. Lived there during middle/high school when my dad worked at UCONN. A good place to grow up for sure. Winter was cold though!

Re: It’s the End of California as We Know It

#47

Post by galangalalgol » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:48 AM UTC

davidscolgan wrote: post #5

I'm a freelance web developer from rural Indiana and want to move somewhere in the US I can at least possibly stay for a decade or more. Does anyone recommend a city/state that will survive the climate apocalypse, that is well managed, and/or that is doing everything the author of this article is saying California isn't doing? I've had a hard time figuring out where to live since I don't have to be anywhere in partic…

Western idaho is projected to become a perfect oceanic climate over the next 20 years. Its near large growing regions which will get longer seasons.

Re: It’s the End of California as We Know It

#48

Post by Karrot_Kream » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:48 AM UTC

gduffy wrote: post #32

jdhn wrote: post #8

To paraphrase James Carville, "It's the people, stupid". It seems like there's a lot of Californians who talk about sustainability, but then turn right around and vote in people who continue to promote suburban sprawl, single family houses, zoning that doesn't promote density, and lack of investment in public transportation.

No offense, but your thinking here is actually a bigger part of the problem. There is nothing fundamentally unsustainable about suburbs, single family homes, low density, or cars. 50% of the USA is totally uninhabited, and it is possible today to build a totally off-grid and sustainable single family home / suburb in the majority of it. You can even capture carbon in concrete. Don't prescribe solutions just because y…

> P.S. most of the $2 trillion real estate market in the Bay Area where I have lived for 12 years exists precisely because our politicians DON'T promote further development, sustainable or otherwise. Most of what's here is decaying, old, unsustainable, whether it is high or low density, and nobody can afford to improve it because all the tradespeople got priced out and left years ago.

While I think the rest of your response is orthogonal (albeit valid), I think this is the heart of the matter relevant to the article. Californian infrastructure is aging and politicians have only made it more difficult over time to build new anything, whether that's power, water, internet, transport, or housing infrastructure. I just wish I knew what the solution was.

Re: It’s the End of California as We Know It

#49

Post by roenxi » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:49 AM UTC

Ididntdothis wrote: post #6

Somehow I feel this is not only a California problem but the whole US. The country seems to be incapable of or unwilling to address fundamental problems. Instead you are getting endless political fights while infrastructure is falling apart. The contrasts in Silicon Valley and LA are extreme. You have some of the richest people in the world living in beautiful mansions with cities around them full of homeless people,…

What fundamental problems? Compared to the majority of human civilisations and most of human history the US is a utopia. It isn't perfect, but the people claiming they are 'trying to to fix fundamental problems' are potentially more of a threat than the problems themselves.

But predicting the end of times is fun and I'll throw in a take. The US as a nation is fabulously wealthy. That obscures the importance of wealth creation and people are distracted from it as a goal. The US political and social narrative is clearly shifting to focus more on wealth/power distribution than wealth creation. There are good reasons for that but it is a lot less fun that the 60s/70s/80s/90s where ultra-rapid wealth creation was the order of the day.

If big policies are adopted or persisted in that destroy wealth, and I cite things like the endless wars & associated loss of liberties or the response to to '08 financial crisis, then the situation will deteriorate.

Re: It’s the End of California as We Know It

#50

Post by Ididntdothis » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:49 AM UTC

taiwanboy wrote: post #39

Ididntdothis wrote: post #6

Somehow I feel this is not only a California problem but the whole US. The country seems to be incapable of or unwilling to address fundamental problems. Instead you are getting endless political fights while infrastructure is falling apart. The contrasts in Silicon Valley and LA are extreme. You have some of the richest people in the world living in beautiful mansions with cities around them full of homeless people,…

I just mentioned in another thread that The most fundamental issue US needs to solve for inequality in the US is....whether US can continue to allow corporations to reap the benefits of a strong democracy coupled with the most vibrant economy, while at the same time, bankrupt the communities by continuing to ship jobs overseas and avoid paying any sort of taxes back to the communities where they make a profit. There…

I don’t think there are actually two parties but more like two factions of the same party. One is a little more right leaning maybe but neither is willing or has the courage to address inequality.