Hank Green on the importance of individual action, not because it helps directly (which it does), but because it helps remind our brains of the problems which need to be solved....
I agree that it’s a distraction, just like the “100 companies” is a distraction. I can’t stand the systemic/individual comparisons because people don’t even know the difference. For example, I can get a 30% tax credit for solar/storage, $2k on a heat pump, $12,500 off an EV in Colorado, and more coming soon for low/moderate income folks via the IRA in the US. When people go to buy this stuff, is it an individual action or the result of these policies? Does it even matter outside the context of this weird debate where the two things are falsely thought of as mutually exclusive? We can all walk and chew gum at the same time. Do what you can, vote, talk, etc. and don’t get caught up criticizing beneficial things others are doing because they aren’t exactly what you would do in their shoes. Building a culture around solving the issue takes many forms.
A federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday blocked a new Biden administration rule that would prohibit credit card companies from charging customers late fees higher than $8....
Being a Bernie voter isn’t an insult and that was certainly not my intent, I voted for him too in the primaries. But being a Bernie voter/progressive and then completely ignoring his advice to vote for the actual Dem candidate (Hillary/Biden) becuase you have a super secret strategy that involves effectively not voting, is what I would describe as a gibberish strategy. Pretty sure he understands the stakes and strategies much better than you. The game I’m referring to is our highly imperfect first past the post system, and you’re not playing it.
The part I don’t understand is why you some folks feel their vote is so sacred that they can’t compromise for someone like Biden given the stakes. It’s just a vote, I give them out like candy to whoever is better. It’s super simple, it’s not a marriage vow and it doesn’t define you as a human. Real, actual harm will come to our allies with Trump and your thinking implies they’re an acceptable sacrifice. Women are literally dying because Trump appointed 3 dog shit SCOTUS justices. Bernie doesn’t agree with your strategy, AOC doesn’t, but you seem to think you know something special that progressive leadership doesn’t.
I’m not trying to convince you, I’m offering a counterpoint to the other 3 people that might read this and otherwise think your strategy goes without question. I just don’t understand how you can support a bunch of progressives that largely, if not exclusively, vote for Biden/Hillary as needed, seemingly agreeing with them in everything except this critical point where they make obviously correct choices to vote for least harm. Why wouldn’t you just listen to their reasoning? What makes you think you’re right on this?
The reason things get shittier is because shitty people like Bush and Trump get elected. The way to defeat them is to actually defeat them, not let them win and hope for a progressive uprising. I don’t see how moving backwards helps you move forwards, that’s all.
Why is the price you put on a full water glass dependent on whether you got an expensive steak vs a cheaper pasta dish though? This is why percentages are so dumb.
This feels like semantics. There is “bad”, and there is an option that is “better”. I don’t know why folks feel like they need to use “bad” and “worse”, other than to build pessimism. The things people are upset about can’t easily fixed by presidents anyway - we need a large base of like minded representatives to do things like housing policy and universal healthcare and education reform and climate change. It’s a lot easier to break things than to improve peoples lives, which is why it’s critical not to elect people intent on breaking things.
The holy grail is the mid drive assist with integrated sealed transmission, coupled with belt drive. There’s one company doing this now and hopefully it takes off. Throttle people can fight me (but also no reason that couldn’t be integrated since the chainring is now decoupled from the cranks).
It’s s tough problem since a large part of the market is internet sales from random brands that are using non standard parts in many cases. Quality is sus, electronics are not UL listed, they are largely viewed as disposable , etc. Also separately I think many local bike shops have been bought by manufacturers and only service their stuff. These ebike brands need to get serious about standardizing component and building relationships with bike shops, but that costs money.
It’s not hard to find examples of products where prices have gone down. Prices for literally all electronic goods have been decreasing for a long time, for example.
I’m not sure how you’ve decided to arbitrarily normalize “performance” but normal people are experiencing price drops in many categories. Here’s a bunch of other stuff that has dropped in price. Lots of things have been commoditized and benefited from economies of scale, leading to lower prices over time.
I’ll note that 2.5°C of warming by 2100 is a significant improvement over the trajectory we were on a decade ago, even if still far from where we need to be
Height absolutely matters because frontal area, along with Cd, affects drag directly. Drag is the primary force that needs to be overcome at higher speeds per the road load equation. Your opinion has nothing to do with it, it’s all just basic physics. You’re right though that fuel economy has been mostly increasing for decades, but that is in spite of vehicle largess, not because size is irrelevant. Imagine how much better off we’d be if folks didn’t commute in trucks for no reason at all. And a big yes to transit, biking, and human centered development.
Wat? The law of conservation of energy tends to disagree. Commuters are generally starting and ending at the same elevation so there’s no trick. We’re not going to convince anyone to carry heavy loads on bikes by saying “pedal more downhill to smooth out the power requirements if you hate grinding it out on uphills”, the answer is just ebikes.
I appreciate your lived experience, but at the same time the rest of us will seek answers in basic physics concepts, none of which help explain such phenomenon. Is it possible you just got stronger or subconsciously tried harder because you wanted the heavy bike to be faster? Did you add weight but also make sure your bike was well tuned? Tire pressure and a greased chain go a long way. I certainly agree that the weight weenies can go way overboard though.
It’s in the job description for president, so yeah in theory. We just all know, based on years of actions and rhetoric, that Trump has no intention of representing anyone other than himself. He doesn’t even care about his own supporters. Don’t let that cloud what the job is supposed to entail though.
The problem with using democratic institutions to enact policies that “force people to adapt and be unpopular” is that some large chunk of voters are ill-informed, selfish or at the margins already and do not want to/cannot make any sacrifices. Regulations have to walk a fine line to actually solve problems and not be seen as too disruptive because then you start losing elections and backsliding further.
This is ultimately why the whole “don’t blame the individual” trope doesn’t make sense to me - if individuals can’t stomach any sacrifice at a personal level, can they be trusted to stomach some amount of unknown sacrifice at the polls? Change has to come from the individual and it needs to be a wholesale cultural shift. We can’t shift the culture telling people they don’t need to do anything except for vote. To be clear I absolutely agree with you on the level of disruption required stop warming and save ecosystems, and I fully support it.
The real issue is one of attribution. “Traced to” isn’t the same as “responsible for”. I have a hard time blaming Saudi Aramco for massive volume of oil consumption in the US. Yes the oil companies are eco terrorists too but the binary take is absurd.
Are we just going to ignore the millions of acres of vast grasslands that supported like 50 million buffalo in the US 200 year ago? Healthy grassland ecosystems and ruminants are a thing.
[vlogbrothers 2021] Wrong on the Internet - The importance of individual action (www.youtube.com)
Hank Green on the importance of individual action, not because it helps directly (which it does), but because it helps remind our brains of the problems which need to be solved....
The misleading, wasteful way we measure gas mileage, explained (www.vox.com)
How cities can build a future with fewer gas pipelines (www.utilitydive.com)
This Scientist Has an Antidote to Our Climate Delusions (www.nytimes.com)
Judge blocks Biden administration rule capping credit card late fees at $8 (www.cnn.com)
A federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday blocked a new Biden administration rule that would prohibit credit card companies from charging customers late fees higher than $8....
Hearing is be-leafing: Students invent quieter leaf blower (hub.jhu.edu)
California says restaurants must bake all of their add-on fees into menu prices (www.wshu.org)
Need this nationwide. I hate having fees added on to the price of what I’m ordering.
Donald Trump says he'll revoke Joe Biden's protections for trans people 'on day one' (www.advocate.com)
'Pretty remarkable': UBC study finds e-bike rebates led to decreased car use (bc.ctvnews.ca)
CNN's Burnett asks Biden how he is going to turn the economy around. He said he already has. (www.cnn.com)
Planet is headed for at least 2.5C of heating with disastrous results for humanity, poll of hundreds of scientists finds | Planet is headed for at least 2.5C of heating with disastrous results (www.theguardian.com)
I’ll note that 2.5°C of warming by 2100 is a significant improvement over the trajectory we were on a decade ago, even if still far from where we need to be
How to opt out of the privacy nightmare that comes with new Hondas (sherwood.news)
U.S. put a hold on an ammunition shipment to Israel (www.axios.com)
The Biden administration last week put a hold on a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition to Israel, two Israeli officials told Axios....
Will Shoppers Ever Care About the Destruction of the Planet? Tactics to convince people to buy less aren’t working. A quirky new documentary by Patagonia takes a different approach. (www.nytimes.com)
Why do people still eat beef when we know it's terrible for Earth?
Water Heaters Use Lots of Energy. The D.O.E. Wants to Change That. The Biden administration is tightening efficiency rules for water heaters, stoves and other appliances (www.nytimes.com)
Washington Post coverage for comparison