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Elephants and Jackasses...

Discussion in 'Permanent Threads' started by Nettdata, Oct 14, 2016.

  1. Aetius

    Aetius
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    The biggest downside of the Paris Accords is that they're not nearly strong enough.
     
  2. Aetius

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    If you aren't following this Dean Browning story, it has reached levels of absurdity that are notable even for 2020.
     
  3. Nettdata

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    Mr. Toast

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    It’s about getting an international forum working together. It’s a solid start, not a desired outcome.
     
  4. Aetius

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    Which is why I'm in favor of rejoining, but a lot of people seem to think that we join the accords and then we're done, when the reality is the whole fucking planet needs to do way more.
     
  5. dixiebandit69

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    It was going to give huge breaks to China and India, while the US would pay out the ass.
     
  6. SouthernIdiot

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    Maybe he feels like a black gay guy, hater.
     
  7. Crown Royal

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    Just call me Topher

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    Maybe he thought he was fucking around on a burner account spreading disinformation like they all do.
     
  8. NatCH

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    Everybody knows, you can’t just say it. You gotta BE it, too. Can’t just pull a half-Dolezal. Commit and go full Shaun King.
     
  9. walt

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    Not really. And this is something I have to remind my more conservative friends and family of. When Obama was elected the right went full tilt hysterical about how our rights were gonna be taken away. Eight years later, life didn’t really seem that different. I expect life will continue much the same as it has the past four years. Only with less ignorance, at least from the White House.

    We’re gonna wake up the same as always, and live our lives the same as always. For the average John Q. Public, life generally goes on no matter who is in “power”.
     
  10. SouthernIdiot

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    Now now, he's a Christian and lying make baby Jesus cry, so that can't be it.
     
  11. downndirty

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    Here's the thing: we are in trillions of debt, and economically we are painted into a corner.

    What's our next economic driver? The thing that got us out of the 2008 recession was the "cloud" boom. To a lesser extent, the dot com boom stabilized and helped us out of the 9/11 recession. I've heard all manner of technology from biotech to fusion is going to be the next economic growth driver, but we're in a pickle here because there are several industries (tourism, entertainment, travel) that are going to be severely crippled to the point of possibly never fully recovering (ie, when's the next time 400 people are going to sit in the same movie theatre chairs again?) and this next big engine can't rely on them. For the first time in almost 50 years, IT won't be the next big growth driver.

    My bet is sustainability. Biden saw how well Tesla did as a product of the post-2008 stimulus, he's seeing the infrastructure issues, and he's seeing the Green New Deal being taken seriously by the GOP's oil donors. We have a few distinct advantages in becoming leaders in energy, pollution mitigation/remediation, and the development of those "virtuous cycles" of consumption/production that no other economy does. Also, a big facet of this is decentralizing production of some of these key goods: solar panels mean energy independence. Water collection, filtration and cycling systems mean you don't have to build and maintain miles of pipe. Food production means improving a lot of our public health issues with outbreaks of e.coli and salmonella, not to mention avoiding the stupendous amount of waste we generate under our current system of consumption.

    He's also seeing a lot of resistance to a nationwide agenda and when it comes to energy, a fucking nightmare of opposition. So, the solution is decentralization. Coal isn't coming back, but solar can experience a boom. We've passed peak oil, but peak hydro/wind/geothermal is barely getting started, and it's inherently a local, tailored and small-scale set of solutions. Hell, the best performing stock in my portfolio was a green energy index.

    Finally, a lot of the "green" movement has been incredibly poorly marketed. I told my parents to get solar when Duke Energy sank billions into a hole in the ground that ratepayers have to cover: it's got nothing to do with hippies or the environment, it's fuck paying some company for a colossal fuck-up we didn't agree to. It pivots the "conservative" element back in on itself: fuck PG&E for the fires they started. Fuck these farmers who require billions in subsidies every year. It's literally how you can go off the grid, and be completely independent of The Man and isn't that what all those conservatives who missed the point of Brokeback Mountain really want to do?

    The Paris Accord ensures 2 critical things:
    1) a marketplace for the solutions we develop, and preferred seller status.
    2) we avoid being held accountable for being the globe's worst polluters for 90+ years. I am here to tell you the governments of Central America would happily sue the US for damages resulting from global warming if they could. The Paris Accords ensure we avoid a worse deal later down the line.
     
  12. Aetius

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    This is what kills me. During the debates I was practically screaming at my TV the answer I thought Biden should have given. It's not a hard sell, you just say "No matter what the US does, in 50 years the world will run on renewable energy. So the question we as Americans have to ask ourselves is: in 50 years do we want to be the country selling renewable energy technology, or do we want to be the country buying it and paying whatever price foreign countries demand?"
     
  13. dixiebandit69

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    EXACTLY.
    And if you believe ANY of the Chinese government's promises, you're a fucking retard, and you deserve whatever you get.
     
  14. SouthernIdiot

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  15. NatCH

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  16. SouthernIdiot

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    Who knows if they quit on their own or were pressured. They're being replaced by Trump loyalists either way.
     
  17. Revengeofthenerds

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    ER Frequent Flyer Platinum Member

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  18. SouthernIdiot

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    Oh I'm sure he has someone telling him what to do if it's true. The man is a moron.
     
  19. walt

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    And a weakling at heart. He'll talk tough, get his base all fired up, and then slither away. Probably poison the water as he does.

    How anyone can't see he is acting like a third world dictator is beyond me. Yet so many still support him. I don't get it.
     
  20. Hoosiermess

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    I'm not really concerned, Biden likely won't have the senate so the Democratic party will be a bit limited in what they can do. I'm more curious how long he is president.

    He seems a bit weak and I'm sure he'll have a quick hook if his mental state declines at all and I'm not sure what a Harris presidency would look like or even how that transition would work, VP pick and all of that.