Skip Navigation

Posts
31
Comments
1,265
Joined
2 yr. ago

  • Thank you for the math lesson. Let me introduce you to context.

    I’m sure the vast majority of Americans have been well aware of global warming and the ozone for the past 30+ years.

    This sentence is saying that the vast majority of Americans have been well aware of global warming and the ozone for at least the past thirty years. It's suggested here that for at least thirty years, if not longer - if not for sixty years, most Americans have been well aware of climate change. I have the confidence to say that being that I'm in my mid-forties and have been well aware of climate change since I was in elementary school. Being that the generations born before and after me make up the vast majority of the population, I feel that it's safe to say that for at least thirty years, the vast majority of Americans have been well aware of climate change. Meanwhile, a portion of the country has been aware even longer (nearly sixty years) and perhaps an even smaller portion of the country has been area for less than thirty years.

  • The Greenhouse Effect | G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero | S01 | E14 | Full Episode

    Cobra steals an experimental nitrogen rocket fuel. But before the Joes can capture the Crimson Guard in possession of the fuel, he hides it in a greenhouse, where the volatile mixture mutates everything into gigantic man-killing plants.

    Super Friends 1973 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Friends_(1973_TV_series)

    S01E04 "The Weather Maker"

    Batman and the Junior Super Friends head to the World Weather Center after Colonel Wilcox informs Batman to find out what is causing the wild weather changes and stop it. They find out a tall, bald, thin man with glasses named Dr. Thinkquick, who is from a continent called Glacia up near the North Pole, is shifting the Gulf Stream with a jet nozzle from his tugboat at sea, as well as a remote control device to warm the climate at his dreadfully cold country, without taking into consideration to what will happen to Florida and the rest of the world.

    S02E07 "Too Hot to Handle"

    With temperatures rising all over the Earth, Colonel Wilcox informs the Super Friends that the rise in temperature is more than a mere heat wave. The top scientists have been working around the clock and found out the Earth is drifting from its own orbit to the Sun. Superman goes to India and seeks the help of fellow Justice League of America member, the Flash, who was saving the Taj Mahal from an earthquake. The Flash uses his super speed to put the Earth back into its own orbit by reversing the magnetic poles of the Earth. The Junior Super Friends notice a strange man who is dressed in heavy winter clothes. They chase after the strangely dressed man and follow him to his hideout inside an active volcano on a Pacific island called Malibah. They learn that the man's name is Kolbar and he comes from the planet Solar Terrarium, where he and his people needed a constant temperature of 140 degrees to live comfortably. Kolbar was trying to find another planet for his people to live on when their planet cooled off to a bone-chilling 85 degrees because of pollution. Superman, Aquaman, the Flash, and the junior members journey to Solar Terrarium to clean up the planet. Afterwards, the planet's leader apologizes for their mistake and promises to use their resources more wisely.

  • Waller County does not tolerate domestic violence. Heinous crimes like this one will not go unanswered, we will seek justice for the victims of domestic violence and send a message to the perpetrators that here, we fight for our victims,” [Waller County District Attorney] Whitmore said in a statement.

    [Sheriff] Guidry said in his press conference that deputies had been called to the couple's residence for reports of domestic violence on more than one occasion before Diaz's death.

    Seems to me like the county isn’t on the same page with how they deal with domestic violence. I’d say a beheading is far worse than a gun shot but if this were a gun crime, I feel like there’d be more outrage with lack of gun restrictions. Maybe if states took domestic violence more seriously we could avoid some instances of murder regardless of the weapon.

  • That’s the longest sentence I have ever encountered.

    I was taught all about global warming in the 80s and 90s in elementary and middle school. It was all over cartoons and magazine and newspapers. Definitely not forgotten. It was nearly top of mind.

  • I guess "lost history" means things Gen Z didn't grow up with? I'm sure the vast majority of Americans have been well aware of global warming and the ozone for the past 30+ years. Oh... yeah. I just looked at the author's photo and she appears to be in her mid-early twenties.

    What actually happened was the shift of manufacturing towards countries with worse environmental standards than the US put into place in the 1970s. The standards implemented by the Clean Air Act simply made it more expensive for producers to do things in this country than in others. And as technology has progressed, and the human population exploded, our need to mine and transport and process raw and refined materials has increased - despite the efforts of "first world" countries to reduce their carbon foot print.

    Nothing was forgotten. Congress and corporations just kicked the can into someone else's yard.

    This is a good article but the premise is misleading.

  • Prioritizing my ToDo list over socializing or relaxing.

  • I've had similar conversations in the past. I think there's some nuance to it and everyone has their own prerogatives.

    I suppose a truly selfless act is one where you don't expect anything in return. There's little guarantee you'll get anything from being a parent other than maybe pride. You're investing in a future that may not exist. You're dumping everything you have and even what you don't have (ie, second mortgage for college tuition) into something you can only hope will generate a small amount of future benefit for yourself. Mostly, it's hoping that you've done the best you possibly can to make someone else's life the best it possibly can be.

    Not having children means every investment or action I take has little impact on anyone but myself. If I fuck up, if I go to jail, if I can't pay my bills, if I'm barely able to care for myself (let alone another person), it's all about me. Conversely, if I want the lottery, if I take up new hobbies and interests, if I choose to live a lavish or minimalist life is all about me. I have no one to worry about – therefore it's, by definition, a selfish life.

    For my entire life, I have the choice to be selfish or selfless. I can choose to spend a year living in isolation or working for a food bank or busting my ass for my employer or traveling the world. Not having a child means I have no restrictions to making these choices at any given moment. Every benefit or detriment or opportunity or restriction that exists in my world is based on my own previous actions and choices. I have no one to consider going forward. I have no one to blame but myself.

  • Right. But also... As the population shrinks (in addition to AI / robotization), we're on track for a global economic catastrophe.

    When businesses can no longer grow, due to people not having enough money and there being fewer consumers, the stock markets will (slowly) crash. As that happens, corporations will scramble to keep afloat. As major employers struggle to employ workers, the unemployment rate rises. Combined: this means less tax revenue, less social services, less economic prosperity. People complain about inflation but deflation is far worse when the population is already in a decline. Governments will scramble to inject free money into the economy. Bonds could become worthless.

    The global economy that's been growing for the past fifty years may crumble in the next fifty years. People may need to rebuild smaller local economies.

    It's actually very interesting. As the population has grown and technology has put the entire planet in the palm of our hands, we as a civilization have grown more apart from each other - instead choosing to reside in the bubbles of our choosing. If the population declines and larger economies struggle, perhaps we'll need to go back to a time with mom and pop shops and learn to be more neighborly.

    In the near term, I think the economic impact would be far greater than ecological impact. Though I think the ecological impact certainly may have a more long term role to play in humanity's story.

    But, I'm not an expert in either of these things. I welcome any source materials studying the matter. I would imagine that some one / group has compiled a formula to define the perfect equilibrium for the planet - combining population growth, employment rates, productivity rates, energy consumption, depletion of natural resources, etc. I'd venture to guess we passed that point around 2010.

  • Sure - you do you. I respect the choices and priorities you and your wife share. I didn't say I'm making "the right" choice and others are wrong.

    In the long run, I'm envious of the relationships parents build with their children. There's nothing more rewarding.

    I'm the kid who ate the marshmallow when left alone. You're probably the one who waited five minutes for two.

  • “They just want to pursue pleasure and drinking all night and going to Beyoncé concerts. It’s this pursuit of self-pleasure in replace of fulfillment and having a family.”

    I'm not gonna argue with this.

    For reference, I turned twenty in 1997. Initially it was about money. But then it became apparent, as so many of my friends were having kids, that not having kids was much more fun and liberating. Yes, I am selfish.

    I would imagine that my combination of experiences (financial struggles > self-realization) isn't as unique today as it was twenty years ago.

    Moreover, I think it's worth discussing the ramifications of over/under population. Until we find a magical self-sustaining power source for the planet, and maybe not even then, too many people on this globe will cause it to reject us. On the other hand, a shrinking population means pending economic disaster. These next generations are going to have to choose between a livable planet or economic security. Err, I mean our global corporate overlords are going to give us no choice but to make the planet less livable.

  • Do you have a particular moment in mind?

  • This was also my take-away from a similar article I read earlier. Why not simple ask, "such as?" or, "yes, please remind the voters what you've done for Black Americans."?

    From 2020 - https://www.vox.com/21524499/what-trump-has-done-for-black-people
    •Trump passed a significant criminal justice reform measure, but his administration has worked to undo it
    • Black employment gains before the pandemic were real — but not the result of Trump’s presidential term
    • Trump’s claims on poverty don’t tell the full story of racial disparity
    • The mechanism for funding HBCUs has very little to do with Trump

    Trump does indeed deserve some credit with criminal justice reform. It's arguably the only good thing he did in four years. It's certainly nothing to give any credence to "best since Lincoln".

    https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/18/18140973/state-of-the-union-trump-first-step-act-criminal-justice-reform

    The First Step Act, which passed with overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats, takes modest steps to alter the federal criminal justice system and ease very punitive prison sentences at the federal level. It affects only the federal system — which, with about 181,000 imprisoned people, holds a small but significant fraction of the US jail and prison population of 2.1 million.
    Essentially, the law allows thousands of people to earn an earlier release from prison and could cut many more prison sentences in the future.

  • When was it that "attack" when from assumed to be physical to "clashed with" someone?

  • Make them use Microsoft products.

  • Careful of what you wish for. I look forward to a future court case that establishes once and for all the definition of a person. Although, with the current Supreme Court, I do admit some hesitation.

    I mean, if you want to establish rights for a fetus, what do you do when that fetus belongs to a “Mexican”? What do you do if a pregnant American moves to another country without the permission of the fetus? Not to say these are legit examples, but the courts will fill with bizarre cases like this.

    More interestingly, what do you do when science stands up in court and establishes a fact that opposes your belief? Your beliefs have gotten you this far. It’s very plausible that you will lose some of the ground you’ve gained.

  • Gotcha. I’m not living in the same reality as you. That seems to be a reasonable explanation for politics today. Unfortunately, our different realities impose consequences on one another.

  • Yes. I quoted that interview somewhere here to make my point.