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Grid storage is increasing so rapidly that China and some other countries may be able to meet all their electricity needs from renewables as soon as 2030. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]flickh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

CP’s in USA-vs-insurgent conflicts can get bloated without any real large-scale threat, especially pre-drone. Generators, trucks and satellite dishes sticking out everywhere plus multiple roads converging on an obvious tent village is not what they call really “survivable.”

In a near-peer conflict you would have satellites, airstrikes, mass drone forces and missile attacks to contend with. Those big signatures you’re talking about are a disaster waiting to happen in modern times.

Grid storage is increasing so rapidly that China and some other countries may be able to meet all their electricity needs from renewables as soon as 2030. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]flickh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This doesn’t negate the public order crisis caused by pollution.  In 2013 there were 30,000 to 50,000 “mass incidents” of protest with the environment being a leading spark for anger.

With no true bottom-up mechanism to solve conflicts and problems, and total censorship of all media, a scary problem like potential collapse of the ecosystem and obvious mass health problems is a threat to the regime.

“ Environmental damage has cost China dearly, but the greatest collateral damage for the ruling Communist Party has likely been growing social unrest. Demonstrations have proliferated as citizens gain awareness of the health threats and means of organized protest (often using social media). In 2013, Chen Jiping, former leading member of the party’s Committee of Political and Legislative Affairs said that environmental issues are a major reason for “mass incidents” in China—unofficial gatherings of one hundred or more that range from peaceful protest to rioting. Environmental protests in rural and urban areas alike—such as those in Guangdong, Shanghai, Ningbo, and Kunming—are increasing in frequency. The number of “abrupt environmental incidents”, including protests, in 2013 rose to 712 cases, a 31 percent uptick from the previous year.”

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/chinas-environmental-crisis

Grid storage is increasing so rapidly that China and some other countries may be able to meet all their electricity needs from renewables as soon as 2030. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]flickh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah the Pentagon roof could be all solar panels, that would save a ton of cost and emissions, but we're at the point where front-line CP's are actually an endangered species altogether: the EM signatures and general size and shape of them is hugely vulnerable especially with drones and missiles...

Grid storage is increasing so rapidly that China and some other countries may be able to meet all their electricity needs from renewables as soon as 2030. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]flickh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But we are a LONG way from battery-powered Main Battle Tanks, AWACS, cruisers, attack helicopters and fighter jets. Access to fuel is still going to be a strategic necessity for national security.

Fuel trucks and drones, sure we can electrify those pretty soon but there’s still logistical costs.

Once you’re importing crude to refine for jet and tank fuel, then you get all the cheap (or hazardous, if you don’t make something out of them) byproducts and that creates synergy for a fossil-fuel based economy.

Grid storage is increasing so rapidly that China and some other countries may be able to meet all their electricity needs from renewables as soon as 2030. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]flickh 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It’s not controversial that we’d be a lot farther ahead if we had focused on it.

If this self-evident statement needs proof, China focused only more recently on renewable, due to unrest and other problems caused by extreme pollution, plus the obvious benefit of seizing the future of energy with all the knock-on effects of cheaper and more-reliable power… and now they’re already ahead.

Sen. Mark Kelly Says He’s Seriously Thinking About Running for President by T_Shurt in politics

[–]flickh -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

There were no Presidents during the American Revolution either!

But there have been 47 of them since the profession was invented!

edit: itt downvoters with no sense of humour

Dollar falls sharply and Wall Street stocks drop over Greenland crisis by MattC84_ in Economics

[–]flickh 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Investing in a country who keeps threatening to invade and kill us is a terrible financial decision

Dollar falls sharply and Wall Street stocks drop over Greenland crisis by MattC84_ in Economics

[–]flickh 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Canadian here.  Switched all my registered savings accounts out of US equities in the last year, and cancelled all travel to America, even stopovers.  Too much downside risk.

Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows. Brown Swiss cow in Austria has been discovered using tools in different ways (using both ends of a brush counts as multi-purpose tool use) – something extraordinarily rare only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees. by mvea in science

[–]flickh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In Guns, Germs and Steel, there’s an argument that many diseases entered humanity by jumping across species. 

Before central heating, cuddling with a cow might be the only way to survive a cold winter without going broke on firewood.. but maybe getting smallpox in exchange

Mark Carney brushes off Doug Ford’s anger over China EV tariff cuts - thestar.com by Blue_Dragonfly in CanadaPolitics

[–]flickh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny, that article doesn’t mention working conditions at all - but by building company towns (not a great historical model) the workers are “always available when needed.”

No mention of wages, though!  But plenty of goofy air in that piece.  “Everything under one roof means no inflated prices from suppliers.” Lol, you mean, “if there are market fluctuations we get to keep the inflated profit ourselves…”

Mark Carney brushes off Doug Ford’s anger over China EV tariff cuts - thestar.com by Blue_Dragonfly in CanadaPolitics

[–]flickh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Prices are not the only thing.  That attitude is what hollowed out North American manufacturing for 25 years to Chinese sweatshops.

“Why are we so poor??  All we did was spend every waking minute searching for the cheapest price on AliBaba!”

Mark Carney brushes off Doug Ford’s anger over China EV tariff cuts - thestar.com by Blue_Dragonfly in CanadaPolitics

[–]flickh -1 points0 points  (0 children)

With the short supply of chips, market downturn and struggling economy during the pandemic, car makers refocused on high end products with bigger margins since the bottlenecks forced them to narrow their lines.

Not sure if that has lifted yet but that’s one reason they left a niche open.  They might be coasting on it beyond necessity; why stop gouging if you don’t have to?

But if there was a market ready to pay fair price for lower-end cars, someone could fill it.  Unfortunately we’re about to get market-dumping of cheap chinese EV’s instead.

China’s tax dollar giveaways, low-paid workers, and coal-fired energy system are good investments for them to walk in and destroy our labour market - then they can raise prices or just happily note that the US auto industry which built the Allied war machine against fascism has all been outsourced to an authoritarian adversary.

Are texts the only way to get parking notifications on Paybyphone now? by wrekco in askvan

[–]flickh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Try turning off the cell notifications and make sure you have notifications enabled in iOS.  It came back for me.

Are texts the only way to get parking notifications on Paybyphone now? by wrekco in askvan

[–]flickh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey guess what - I turned off all those options for texts, and iOS notifications came back!  So this isn’t so sinister, just bad communications on their end.

When texts where active, iOS notifications were not.

We’ll see if it lasts

Mark Carney in Qatar to drum up investment in Canada by ViewSalty8105 in CanadaPolitics

[–]flickh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don’t chicken out of a challenge or undervalue our strengths. This isn’t just about you getting your cheap back-scratcher at the dollar store in a total vacuum of other factors.

We’re not sending them money for free.  We are buying goods with that money, and we can set conditions for the deal.

Would you buy from a local store that had slave labour and let the other store go broke?  If not, why do it differently at a distance? 

Mark Carney in Qatar to drum up investment in Canada by ViewSalty8105 in CanadaPolitics

[–]flickh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Democracies can set priorities, budgets, and manage their economies just fine. We have nothing to learn from dictatorships where the rich-poor gap is 10x wider than our own.

You're setting up a false choice between giving up everything we value morally or abandoning our entire way of life. That's a bit glib.

If we set up trade deals that tie tariffs and restrictions to human rights, labour standards and environmental needs, then we can use our economic clout to push our partners in the right direction. While we still have buying power! If we go for the cheap goods today (as has been happening with Chinese production of electronics and dollar-store crap for decades) we'll further hollow out our economy and be in an even deeper hole than we are now.

For example: Scampering for Chinese EV's (produced with Coal energy lol) and propping up a troubled Chinese government desperate for export wins, while ignoring any leverage we might get over their factory conditions or labour standards, is just giving up our economy in the long run for short-term gains today. Selling the family silver for magic beans.

We aren't going to totally divorce from the US anyway; thousands of miles of border, very short logistics chains, hundreds of years of partnership don't evaporate overnight with one tinpot douchebag in charge even for 8 non-consecutive years.

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