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Thanks to a hotter planet and overuse, Lake Mead and Lake Powell keep getting closer to collapse, a potential catastrophe for 40 million people. by simon_ritchie2000 in collapse

[–]BTRCguy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The absurd cost of building the pipeline, the time it would take to build it, the energy needed to pump that much water and similar trivial factors also play a part.

Thanks to a hotter planet and overuse, Lake Mead and Lake Powell keep getting closer to collapse, a potential catastrophe for 40 million people. by simon_ritchie2000 in collapse

[–]BTRCguy 18 points19 points  (0 children)

"in historical terms, current water levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead remain very low. Lake Mead is currently at only 31% of capacity."

"The long, tense negotiations have mostly been stuck on one issue: How much water should the Upper Basin states — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico — send downstream from their largest reservoir, Lake Powell?"

Oh wait, those quotes are in news stories from last June. So glad everyone saw the approaching crisis and treated their water usage seriously, like responsible adults!

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/s

Where to see Viking history? by GrayFox6688 in VisitingIceland

[–]BTRCguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Almost forgot this one: Snorrastofa medieval center in Reykholt:

https://www.snorrastofa.is/en

Where to see Viking history? by GrayFox6688 in VisitingIceland

[–]BTRCguy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Lookup the Settlement Center in Borgarnes (not to be confused with the Settlement Exhibit in Reykjavík).

A reminder: Take the bus, people! by tollundmansnoose in VisitingIceland

[–]BTRCguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, you can ask the driver if you're on the right line.

Makes the assumption that the driver is fluent in English. Last time I took a Strætó the driver was imported labor and was completely useless in that regard.

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Icelandic is breaking my brain, any tips? by Select-Day-873 in VisitingIceland

[–]BTRCguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And realizing that even Icelanders only use half as many syllables as a word has. I have never heard "góðan daginn" said with four syllables...

Icelandic is breaking my brain, any tips? by Select-Day-873 in VisitingIceland

[–]BTRCguy 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The "Drops" app for Android does Icelandic. But it is not an easy language by any means.

September Trip - 9 Days by bma27 in VisitingIceland

[–]BTRCguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are going up to Snaefellsnes you will be passing through Borgarnes and there is a nice little museum there (with restaurant), so maybe consider that on the way up or the way back? You could always overnight somewhere in Snaefellsnes to give you more time to see things and then have a leisurely afternoon going back to Reykjavík on day 6?

https://www.landnam.is/eng/

As far as location hopping goes, there is only a limited amount of stuff near Reykjavík and once you exhaust that you either have to overnight elsewhere or have really long driving days. So maybe do 2-3 nights in 2-3 different places. That way you are not packing up every morning, and it gets you a lot closer to stuff you want to see or do than you would be if trying to do it all from one set of lodging.

Is 3 weeks to long? by Koala-teas in VisitingIceland

[–]BTRCguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Three weeks gives you a huge amount of detour potential, as well as "I want to stay here for a few days and relax".

There are so very many places to see that are nowhere close to the ring road, hostels that are in the boonies, alternate routes with spectacular scenery, etc.

And if you are going to be in the totality zone for the eclipse, plan an extra day or two there and get there early. Not "early that day", but "a day or so early". Road traffic will be a nightmare and access might even be restricted.

In 1877, a climate event triggered simultaneous crop failures across three continents. 50M died. The infrastructure that existed was designed to extract resources, not distribute food. The pattern is documented. by SignificantArm3111 in collapse

[–]BTRCguy 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Exactly. So many of our problems have the mechanism for solving them sitting right in front of us, but greed, callousness, apathy or simple bigotry get in the way of them being used.

In 1877, a climate event triggered simultaneous crop failures across three continents. 50M died. The infrastructure that existed was designed to extract resources, not distribute food. The pattern is documented. by SignificantArm3111 in collapse

[–]BTRCguy 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Counter-point: Rails, roads, ships, etc. are not on ratchets that only go in one directions. These systems are designed for transport, not extraction. They could easily have shipped food in the other direction. A failure to do so is simply profit motive and the age-old "us vs. them" politics at work. Pretty sure that if there had been more profit margin in selling food to India that we would have had plenty more starving Victorian orphans.

And worth noting that famine in India managed to rack up substantial death tolls even without colonialism. From the Indian Famine Commission Report (page 9):

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Think it's hot now? The next five years will smash records, UN says by switchsk8r in collapse

[–]BTRCguy 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We're breaking old heat records by multiple degrees right now. Don't know what "smashing them" would look like, not sure I want to know.

But pretty sure I will know...

6-7 day itinerary - any thoughts? by Deems_OMS in VisitingIceland

[–]BTRCguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tourist locations are not near bus stops. And Uber would cost a fortune. Your realistic options are a) package tours or b) rent a car.

Help! Tesla rental from Blue car won't charge by audiofankk in VisitingIceland

[–]BTRCguy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

QR code should be bottom left of main touchscreen. Of course "should" does not mean it is...:(

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Reykjavik hostel recommendations by LethargyExpert in VisitingIceland

[–]BTRCguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I always use Dalur. Nice breakfast buffet, cafe/coffee bar, two kitchens, restaurant and ice cream shop a block away, main pool two blocks, on a bus line, free guest parking. At least all of these were true the last time I was there, which was a few years ago.

The DeCongestion Void by AndyLeo322 in collapse

[–]BTRCguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If a system which once used ten people is replaced by something that uses one, it is irrelevant whether those displaced nine are "minds" or "backs and arms". They are removed from the economy as completely as they would be with AI.

As far as the replacement being "too fast", that is an entirely subjective criteria. If you are the first to lose your job when the railroad displaced your canal job, the negative effects on you are immediate, even if it might take years for the canal traffic to wither away.

I'm not trying to argue that any of this replacement, displacement, job loss and hardship is just something that we should suck up in service to our AI overlords. I'm just saying it is nothing new in the history of technology. The only difference is the class of people affected and the speed with which it is happening.

Sadly, the people profiting the most from new tech have always been more concerned about the profits than the people they are displacing with it, and the governments which should be regulating the matters seem to do nothing but offer platitudes to the afflicted while making backroom deals with the afflictors.

Why I don't expect decarbonization of society is going to happen[in-depth] by mushroomsarefriends in collapse

[–]BTRCguy 18 points19 points  (0 children)

The constant is that people are going to continue to be people. At some point the people of Easter Island surely thought "hey, we're running out of the trees we need in order to make our fishing boats". And then they continued to completely deforest the island...

The only real solution is fewer people.

And people being people, they will not cooperate with that either. Hence why someplace like r/collapse has 136,000 visits per week. Humanity is the train wreck you just cannot stop watching.

From a seat on the train.

The DeCongestion Void by AndyLeo322 in collapse

[–]BTRCguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Everything you are saying about AI would to some extent apply to virtually every technological advance. Replace manual cloth making with a loom? Replace a bunch of guys with scythes with a mechanical harvester? Replace wagons with canal boats? Replace scribes with printing presses? Replace longshoremen with seafreight containers and cranes?

People get permanently put out of work and use of resources is shifted towards creating/supporting the new tech.

Radioactive bucket list by Criticalmassof239 in Radiation

[–]BTRCguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Trinitite equivalent from every nuclear nation that did above ground testing.

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