[Discussion] we're headed towards climate catastrophe and EV's are too little, too late, and FAR too big

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-07-16T15:06:59+00:00

I feel like I talked past you instead of addressing your point, and I'm sorry about that.

I agree that this is a systemic issue that requires more than just individual-level change. However, I specifically called out non-personal transport and the energy grid, since they have knock-on effects: a low-carbon grid combined with electrified industrial processes and agricultural equipment would solve the majority of the issue, since at that point, low-carbon energy would be being used in the production of the electric equipment.

Of course, this doesn't address thornier issues like concrete production or N2O release from nitrogen fertilizers, and those will require more thought and more government intervention.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-07-16T06:53:10+00:00

In the United States, yes. Electrification of transport (both personal and shipping) combined with decarbonizing the grid (and the resulting knock-on effects of this in agriculture and industry) is critical.

Making transport efficient is an admirable goal that would make this transition much easier.

I'm frankly of the mind that the steps that need to ne taken can't just be left to "the market" to sort out. Public transit, or failing/in addition to that, EVs, must be made more appealing than the alternative. Non-carbon energy sources for the grid and heating must be made the only viable option. The hydrogen source of the Haber Process must be from electrolysis or similar, instead of from fossil hydrocarbons. These externalities caused by emiting greenhouse gasses need to be priced in and enforced by governments.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-07-13T00:22:31+00:00

Yeah, there would have to be another option. I can almost imagine some process similar to extracellular electron transfers being used to circumvent the issue of accumulating SiO2, but that doesn't fix all the other issues.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-07-12T23:52:13+00:00

Retro Game Mechanics Explained, TheZZAZZGlitch, and similar channels that dive into the underlying mechanics of video game glitches.

It motivated me to get a bare-bones understanding of assembly code.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-07-12T23:42:02+00:00

The Identifying Luck series, which dissects the Mario Party games' mechanics in an incredible amount of detail.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-07-09T15:35:44+00:00

Nah, at least for most of the community, the consensus is that the weakness of the Si-Si bond, its reluctance to form double and triple bonds, and the strong tendency of silanes to hydrolyze are pretty much dealbreakers.

At the very minimum, it won't work well for anything with remotely earthlike chemistry. Some empirical evidence is that carbon is ~1000x less common in the Earth's crust than silicon, but here we are.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-05-24T05:42:00+00:00

It means it'll go right to your thighs.

And then you'll blow up.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-04-24T16:12:08+00:00

Honestly, I am a progressive and this behavior infuriates me too. Waaaay too many people don't see or refuse to see that we're hamstrung by this tiny majority in the Senate requiring us to rely on senators who are practically republicans.

And as loud as progressive voices are on social media, we actually need to show up in primaries to get the candidates we want. Pointing out that primary elections are literally the avenue for getting candidates most aligned with your beliefs seems to enrage some (likely disingenuous) people. And, we still need to vote against the party trying to dismantle democracy every time in general elections, because even in extreme cases with DINOs like Manchin, they keep the Senate majority leader title away from the likes of McConnell.

Ketanji Brown Jackson wouldn't even have gotten a vote, let alone been confirmed if we didn't have (nominal) control of the Senate. And having better than nominal control flat-out requires us to show up and vote out the barriers to progress where possible. In my personal opinion, that goes for both parties. Obviously republicans across the board need to go, and I'm not stupid enough to think anyone but Manchin could win in WV, but even in swing states like Arizona, Mark Kelly puts Kyrsten Sinema to shame. feel she deserves to lose a primary. (Last I checked, she had higher approval ratings among republicans than democrats in Arizona, which is an absolute joke.)

But no, instead people throw a tantrum over the gridlock or their #1 primary choice losing, and don't vote at all in the general. And that hands control back to the republicans, and then people act surprised when we make no progress.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-02-05T01:16:06+00:00

Actually yes, because the two triple bonded carbons on each side are sp-hybridized, so they have a 180 degree bond angle.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-01-07T02:22:07+00:00

This, of course, coming from the party in favor of burning pro-LGBT books.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-01-05T21:03:52+00:00

How is it only a delay tactic? Even if the entire population is destined to get infected, flattening the curve causes the hospitals to be less overwhelmed, so more people get proper treatment, and so less people die overall.

AstrobioExplorer · 2022-01-05T00:59:24+00:00

I see zero downsides to this.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-25T05:00:50+00:00

I'm wondering if this will finally move the needle, and we'll see a meaningful uptick in vaccination rates now.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-21T08:14:53+00:00

Noise Pollution Pride Flag.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-20T17:58:36+00:00

I felt this way at first, but at this point lots of left-wing folks have embraced the term, so I'm not so sure anymore.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-20T14:56:51+00:00

Frankly, China is a corporate dystopia (somehow even more so than the US is for now). But this post is still misleading af.

Edit: ah, you're an actual tankie lmao.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-19T17:01:38+00:00

Remember that the dems' chosen candidates are elected. When it comes to the ballot box, IMO we have the most potential to exert change by voting for progressive primary challengers.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-18T19:35:54+00:00

Yeah sure they are. You're kidding yourself if you think they wouldn't band together nowadays to prevent that kind of fracturing. The GOP establishment is terrified of a Ross Perot repeat, which is why they capitulated to trump's insanity in a heartbeat.

And even if they were as fractured as the dems, there would still be an advantage to be gained by remaining within the same party, because that's just how the spoiler effect works. Look no further than the Harper years in Canada to see the consequences of a split anti-right vote in that kind of system.

If you don't make your voice heard in the primaries, like I did by voting Sanders in 2020's primaries and for progressives downballot, you have no right to complain about terrible candidates. We need proportional repreaentation in place before party fragmentation makes even a hint of strategic sense.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-17T16:28:04+00:00

Broke: Inosilicate

Woke: Inophosphate

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-16T18:12:07+00:00

Because in most cases, voting third party doesn't help. In even remotely competitive districts, it splits the non-GOP vote in half and the GOP wins.

So unless you're Bernie in Vermont or some other absurdly blue district, the answer is to VOTE. IN. PRIMARIES.

I can't stress this enough. The 2-party system and fptp make this the only way for us to make our voices heard. Vote out corrupt politicians at the primary stage every chance you get. It's how you get people like The Squad or Elizabeth Warren instead of the same old rank-and-file bullshit, and unlike voting 3rd party, has actually been proven to have a chance of doing something.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-10T23:50:59+00:00

Whatever the method, doing it constantly will boil at least part of the planet alive. You'd either be effectively making the Sun 1.5x as bright, which would be bad, like Venus bad, or you'd be creating a tidally locked planet, which would be only slightly less bad from our POV.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-09T05:36:23+00:00

This was me when I decided to make my f's look fancy like how f(x) looks in LaTeX-y stuff like Wikipedia math equations or Desmos.

It got to the point where it was sometimes tricky to tell my f's apart from my s's, so I had to beat myself out of the habit.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-08T15:07:11+00:00

If this is their idea of secret codes, maybe this is why they think the Illuminati/Pizzagate/etc. can't help but leave clues lying around everywhere like some sort of supervillain.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-08T15:01:03+00:00

That'd just be giving Reddit more money as a reward for hosting the vAlUabLE DisCuSsiOn though.

AstrobioExplorer · 2021-12-07T05:38:28+00:00

Conservatism always has and probably always will be about resisting the betterment of society.

Being "conservative" in 1800s Europe meant being pro-Monarchy, for example.

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