The Next Big American Crisis?

[A///]

This Dorito's conspiracy theory is worrying!

My vote:

View attachment 84743

winnnner!

 

[SteveGrabowski]

4) The environment keeps getting worse, global warming the root cause. That's the most likely. We're nearing catastrophic already and it appears to be accelerating faster than anticipated. The question is, can environmental catastrophe be avoided?

Of course, environmental catastrophe spills out and causes several other kinds but it's the decaying environment that's the root cause.

Global warming is definitely the current catastrophe. God I remember last year was the hottest I had experienced in 35 years of living in San Antonio, and it was statistically the hottest summer ever recorded here. July 2022 was so miserable, 30 days of 100+ and the average high for the month was 101.7, a new record in San Antonio by like almost 1 degree. As soon as the summer was over all I could think is well that was shitty, but at least I probably won't see another like it for 4-5 years. Fast forward a year and 22 days into August our average temperature for the month is 103.6, and it only dropped below 104 because today tropical storm Harold blew in and dropped our high to 91. Going right back to 102-105 this week though and there is virtually no chance we won't decimate the Jul 2022 record this month. We will also break the record for most 100+ days in a year in San Antonio either Saturday or Sunday and we're likely to decimate it since early September is forecast to be all 100+ too. We set the all time record for heat index 3 times in a span of four days and one day we had a dewpoint of 78 in the middle the day while it was 105 for a 125 heat index in my neighborhood. Completely unprecedented here. A town 15 miles from me had three straight days of 124 heat index. In our hottest summer ever recorded here last year we set a record with four excessive heat warnings. We have had conservatively 25 this year. Last year we set a record with 4 days of 105+ at the airport where the official temperature is taken (which is also one of the coolest thermometers in the city). This year we have had 16 and will probably get at least another one this weekend. Until Harold came in today the grass on my lawn was so dry it was basically straw on top of dirt. And this is in the shady part of the house where grass can actually grow on its own (usually). I thought last year was a grim summer, and it was, but at least it made a little sense being the third year in a row of La Nina, which brings above average heat and below average rain pretty reliably. But this is an El Nino year and those are generally cooler than average here. Ugh I can't imagine how shitty our summer will be next time we flip back into La Nina. This area has heated so rapidly the last 15 years but these last two have been unreal.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Forgot to mention we basically have had the same heat dome over us from July 8th until yesterday, August 22nd, when it fucked off to the midwest for a day after taking us to a humid 105 on the 21st. Which is the only reason Harold could sneak into the area. But it's coming right back today the 23rd and bringing heat that would usually be peak heat for the year but is just same shit, different day this year.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Don't forget the drug crisis.

Or the robbery crisis, from Kias to drugstores.

Or the gun violence crisis.

Should this be in P&N?

Biggest robbery crisis is wage theft

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Next big? As in, big relative to existing crisis? Definitely environmental. It's the crisis to end all crisis and will be the defining feature of all events for the next 100 years, or until humans stop recording it. Whatever crisis comes after it will pale in comparison and will be easily overcome, relatively speaking.

We'll be warming for a lot more than 100 years as the oceans slowly heat from all the CO2 we have pumped into the atmosphere.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Yeah, well, tsar in the figurative manner. Something to politically solidly signify that we acknowledge that we realize we are facing an existential crisis. What form that takes, I don't know but we need to do something. I don't think we should regress and go authoritarian, no. How do we do this without sacrificing the best thing about the USA, being its democratic underpinnings? I'm not super strong in civics and history. Do we have what it takes to do this with the institutions we have?

Our past, current, and future response to global warming makes Trump's handling of COVID look competent. It's going to keep going until capitalism kills itself. Along with a lot of us.

 

[dank69]

This Dorito's conspiracy theory is worrying!

My vote:

View attachment 84743

Not even close.

 

[nakedfrog]

Yeah, well, tsar in the figurative manner. Something to politically solidly signify that we acknowledge that we realize we are facing an existential crisis. What form that takes, I don't know but we need to do something. I don't think we should regress and go authoritarian, no. How do we do this without sacrificing the best thing about the USA, being its democratic underpinnings? I'm not super strong in civics and history. Do we have what it takes to do this with the institutions we have?

We built the bomb and went to the moon, pretty sure we could make an actual serious effort if it weren't damaging to short-term stock numbers. High net worth is going to be a pretty cold comfort in sixty, eighty years though.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

We'll be warming for a lot more than 100 years as the oceans slowly heat from all the CO2 we have pumped into the atmosphere.

I'm wagering we tech tree ourselves out of it or collapse trying within 100.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

We built the bomb and went to the moon, pretty sure we could make an actual serious effort if it weren't damaging to short-term stock numbers. High net worth is going to be a pretty cold comfort in sixty, eighty years though.

The American space program was basically research for nuclear warfare. And the bomb literally was nuclear warfare. Unless they can weaponize global warming against their enemies the US government isn't going to do shit to address it.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I'm wagering we tech tree ourselves out of it or collapse trying within 100.

Tech tree isn't good for short term profits so it'll be the latter: lots of famine and death is the answer.

 

[nakedfrog]

The American space program was basically research for nuclear warfare. And the bomb literally was nuclear warfare. Unless they can weaponize global warming against their enemies the US government isn't going to do shit to address it.

I was more speaking to the level of resources dedicated to solving a very complicated problem, and the fact that we've demonstrated the capacity for such. Climate change does affect overall US military readiness, a fact that is not lost upon them.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

And the oceans will be warming for hundreds of years just off the CO2 we have already emitted.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I was more speaking to the level of resources dedicated to solving a very complicated problem, and the fact that we've demonstrated the capacity for such. Climate change does affect overall US military readiness, a fact that is not lost upon them.

Meh space race was for building rockets to deliver nuclear weapons to the Soviet Union. The bomb was to scare the shit out of the Soviet Union as a warning to them to stay the fuck out of Japan. Computers as we know them came from the need to calculate ballistic trajectories. All America is good at doing is killing and taking by force. It's what it means to be American. It's why we're among the most violent people on earth. Our population emulates its government, army, police, etc.

 

[Muse]

Our past, current, and future response to global warming makes Trump's handling of COVID look competent. It's going to keep going until capitalism kills itself. Along with a lot of us.

Well, the news last week was a bunch of kids in Montana got a judge to agree with them that the state's turning a blind eye to fossil fuel impact on the environment in their investments, policies, etc. was impermissible.

Montana youths win climate lawsuit against state for promoting fossil fuels​

The group argued the state failed to protect their right to a clean environment.

Montana youths win climate lawsuit against state for promoting fossil fuels

Young people from Montana have won a major climate case, arguing the state failed to protect their right to a clean environment by continuing to use fossil fuels.

abcnews.go.com

 

[nakedfrog]

Well, the news last week was a bunch of kids in Montana got a judge to agree with them that the state's turning a blind eye to fossil fuel impact on the environment in their investments, policies, etc. was impermissible.

Montana youths win climate lawsuit against state for promoting fossil fuels​

The group argued the state failed to protect their right to a clean environment.

Montana youths win climate lawsuit against state for promoting fossil fuels

Young people from Montana have won a major climate case, arguing the state failed to protect their right to a clean environment by continuing to use fossil fuels.

abcnews.go.com

Fuck yeah. Didn't see this until now.

 

[Muse]

We built the bomb and went to the moon, pretty sure we could make an actual serious effort if it weren't damaging to short-term stock numbers. High net worth is going to be a pretty cold comfort in sixty, eighty years though.

I hear that the cost of buying an electric vehicle is now not a penalty compared to buying one that burns gasoline. Hopefully it will soon be a winner. If we can subsidize buying electric enough, it will be ASAP!

World economies will collapse if the environment won't sustain them.

 

[nakedfrog]

I hear that the cost of buying an electric vehicle is now not a penalty compared to buying one that burns gasoline. Hopefully it will soon be a winner. If we can subsidize buying electric enough, it will be ASAP!

World economies will collapse if the environment won't sustain them.

Fast charging for longer trips is becoming more practical too. Not quite as fast as filling a tank with gasoline, but with newer tech 20 minutes can get you another 200+ miles of range, IIRC.

 

[Zor Prime]

Market crash. We still haven't seen a full correction, IMO.

 

[Spydermag68]

New Covid mask madates this fall. Going back into lockdown mode.

 

[nakedfrog]

New Covid mask madates this fall. Going back into lockdown mode.

I dunno if that really qualifies as a "crisis", we should all still know how that works, hasn't been that long. I'm skeptical that it will happen though.

 

[A///]

Not even close.

also not bad. tastes very good if you dip it into sweet chili sauce! I used to like cool ranch back eons ago but can't stand the flavour now.

 

[highland145]

New Covid mask madates this fall. Going back into lockdown mode.

Following the science, knock your selves out Blue.

 

[Muse]

Fast charging for longer trips is becoming more practical too. Not quite as fast as filling a tank with gasoline, but with newer tech 20 minutes can get you another 200+ miles of range, IIRC.

I played a round of golf today and as chance would have it one of the guys I played with is a mechanical engineer. I asked him what work he's doing now and he said he works with a lithium extraction company. He said there's so much lithium on earth there won't be a shortage problem like exists with oil. Largest supply on land currently is Australia. His firm refines ore from Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. They also own some lithium rich property by the Salton Sea in southern California. He said there's an unlimited supply in ocean water.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I played a round of golf today and as chance would have it one of the guys I played with is a mechanical engineer. I asked him what work he's doing now and he said he works with a lithium extraction company. He said there's so much lithium on earth there won't be a shortage problem like exists with oil. Largest supply on land currently is Australia. His firm refines ore from Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. They also own some lithium rich property by the Salton Sea in southern California. However there's an unlimited supply in ocean water.

Total noob on this subject so take it with a grain of salt.
I believe lithium batteries are nearly 100% recyclable as in you can extract the energy storage junk, process it and have nearly the same amount of every storage junk. Costly process at the moment but possible to do on a large scale.
Again I am not super knowledgeable on the subject just something I heard in meetings a long time ago.