Green New Deal

[mspohr]

I think we need to t

We'll need to reach some sort of equilibrium before we ever stop consuming greater resources, and we're a long way from that.

I think we need to look at renewable energy as a way to reuse resources. We could get to the point where we can look at trash dumps as mines. We can apply energy to transform trash into new stuff without exploiting natural resources.
Walkaway by Cory Doctorow explores this idea.

 

[nwdiver]

Unlimited abundance does not exist as long as we are stuck on one planet.

That's a bit of a red herring. Sure... our resources are technically not infinite but they're effectively infinite if we stop behaving like complete morons. It's sick. I'll never forget one solar lead I visited. This family was paying ~$600/mo in electricity. They had a window AC unit in ~every window including the one that was inside a garage that had been added. Anyone know how AC works? Yeah.... they opened the garage door that was attached to the house and it was probably ~130F in there..... We could have taken their $600/mo bill to ~$0 for ~$30k but why pay $30k once when you can pay $600 every month? Am I right? Sometimes I think the average IQ is closer to 70 than 100........

~1500sq foot home using 6000kWh/mo. I have a friend with a 6000 sq ft house that on average produced 1MWh more than it uses.... If we could upgrade our behavior to mildly idiotic from maliciously moronic that would solve ~90% of the problem....

Then people don't listen. I explained why discharging hot air from a window AC into an enclosed space is not a good idea because physics (I was nice about it) and they're just like....

*sigh*

 

[TheTalkingMule]

Sustainable abundance is definitely going to be sufficient. Once populations are wealthy, they barely even reproduce. Might be tough for the first 60 or 80 years, but by the time 2100 comes around I think we'll be stable, sustainable, and generally happy.

 

[ggies07]

Sustainable abundance is definitely going to be sufficient. Once populations are wealthy, they barely even reproduce. Might be tough for the first 60 or 80 years, but by the time 2100 comes around I think we'll be stable, sustainable, and generally happy.

So we and are children get to be the lucky bastards to live through this transitional hell eh? haha. I'll be dead somewhere around 2070...just missed the mark and if my daughter makes it she will be 90 by that year. I don't mind setting this place up for a better future though....

 

[jerry33]

That's a bit of a red herring. Sure... our resources are technically not infinite but they're effectively infinite if we stop behaving like complete morons.

Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. It's never happened in the past and I don't expect it to happen in the future.

 

[JRP3]

Sure... our resources are technically not infinite but they're effectively infinite if we stop behaving like complete morons.

Um, have you looked around?

 

[mspohr]

Um, have you looked around?

Yes, it is discouraging but the willfully ignorant are a minority and hopefully will be out of power soon.

 

[nwdiver]

Um, have you looked around?

Yep... that's my point. We don't have a deficit of resources... we have a deficit of intelligent behavior.

 

[JRP3]

we have a deficit of intelligent behavior.

And my point is I don't see that changing. Ever. Well, maybe with Neural Link.

 

[nwdiver]

And my point is I don't see that changing. Ever.

Probably... but that doesn't change the reality that we have effectively infinite resources

Indoor smoking has mostly disappeared so there is hope. Intelligent behavior just needs to be mandated instead of simply encouraged.

 

[JRP3]

Intelligent behavior just needs to be mandated instead of simply encouraged.

"This is Murica, you can't take away muh freedumbs"

 

[mspohr]

Match Covid-19 economic stimulus with climate fight ambition, urge MPs

Match Covid-19 economic stimulus with climate fight ambition, urge MPs

MPs have joined growing calls from business leaders and environmentalists for the government to use its post-coronavirus economic recovery plan to accelerate investments aimed at tackling the climate crisis.

Dunne added: “Many of the actions we need to make our net-zero ambition a reality can be used to revive our economy, creating green jobs and generating long term cost savings. It would be a historic mistake to miss this opportunity.”

 

[mspohr]

We Are Mayors of 11 U.S. Cities Advocating for Guaranteed Income

Economic insecurity isn’t new and poverty itself is violent. We need a policy solution that is as bold as it is innovative and as simple as it is ambitious. We must fight every day for a more just economy, because what happens to one of us happens indirectly to all of us and we are in this fight together. That’s why, as mayors of 11 American cities with a collective population of about 7 million, we are launching Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. This coalition will invest in additional guaranteed-income pilots and advocate for state and federal cash-based policies.

 

[MXLRplus]

If money cures violence explain what is happening in Mexico.

I would vote for 1/2 your income to given to people who won't work on-the-book. You're welcome.

 

[mspohr]

If money cures violence explain what is happening in Mexico.

You can't figure it out?
Mexico. Poor. High inequality. Violent.

 

[MXLRplus]

Can't you? Grenades and German automatic battle rifles were just used in an assassination attempt in Mexico City 4 days ago. Again. They have military grade C4 and RPG's.

Grenades and main battle rifles are not cheap in Mexico. And I doubt the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is suffering from poverty. They have branched out into prostitution, human smuggling, murder for hire, and kidnapping to help bolster sagging drug sales.

I was raised poor and ate USDA food. I mowed yards and threw papers to help my parents pay the rent. Yet I have not felt the need to assault or murder anyone. Rich people kill and steal and rape just like poor people do. It's a character issue, not a monetary one. In fact, in poor neighborhoods people tend to look out more for each other than in rich ones. I've spent a lot of time in both.

I trust a poor person more than somebody who wants to steal from their neighbors like AOC.

 

[mspohr]

A 10% cut to the US military budget would help support struggling Americans

A 10% cut to the US military budget would help support struggling Americans | Bernie Sanders

In that regard, I have been disturbed that for too long, Democrats and Republicans have joined together in passing outrageously high military budgets while ignoring the needs of the poorest people in our society. If we are serious about altering our national priorities, then there is no better place to begin with than taking a hard look at the bloated $740bn military budget that is coming up for a vote in the Senate this week.

Incredibly, after adjusting for inflation, we are now spending more on the military than we did during the height of the Cold War or during the wars in Vietnam and Korea.

 

[mspohr]

I was raised poor and ate USDA food. I mowed yards and threw papers to help my parents pay the rent. Yet I have not felt the need to assault or murder anyone. Rich people kill and steal and rape just like poor people do. It's a character issue, not a monetary one. In fact, in poor neighborhoods people tend to look out more for each other than in rich ones. I've spent a lot of time in both.

So why don't you trust poor people with a little extra money to help them get by?

I was raised poor and ate USDA food. I mowed yards and threw papers to help my parents pay the rent. Yet I have not felt the need to assault or murder anyone. Rich people kill and steal and rape just like poor people do. It's a character issue, not a monetary one. In fact, in poor neighborhoods people tend to look out more for each other than in rich ones. I've spent a lot of time in both.

 

[MXLRplus]

A 10% cut to the US military budget would help support struggling Americans

A 10% cut to the US military budget would help support struggling Americans | Bernie Sanders

In that regard, I have been disturbed that for too long, Democrats and Republicans have joined together in passing outrageously high military budgets while ignoring the needs of the poorest people in our society. If we are serious about altering our national priorities, then there is no better place to begin with than taking a hard look at the bloated $740bn military budget that is coming up for a vote in the Senate this week.

Incredibly, after adjusting for inflation, we are now spending more on the military than we did during the height of the Cold War or during the wars in Vietnam and Korea.

United States - ratio of military expenditure to gross domestic product (GDP) 2008-2018 | Statista

In 1967 we spent a modern record of 9.06% of our GDP on defense. That's 3 times what we spend today.
U.S. Military Spending/Defense Budget 1960-2020

Incredibly, after adjusting for spin, no liberal has ever said anything truthful since the Russian Revolution.

 

[MXLRplus]

Note that my total tax liability exceeds 50% of my income, so the 3% of GDP that is used for defense doesn't seem like a lot.