Climate change (because it's still political for some reason)

[Rhinox]

I expect action on climate change on the same timeline I expect action on gun violence. When it finally hits home to enough Americans to sway a vote.
Don't get me wrong, we're getting there. You can rail and throw political bullshit all over, but when your house is under water literally, it's hard to say the Faux News talking heads are right.
Same with gun violence. When enough people knew someone who died to a crazed gunman, then we'll see real change. It'll probably get a jump start when a big name gets a family member or close friend in a casket.

I have no hope for altruistic change anymore.
As the african nation said, we have no responsibility for the world. Same thing Brazil said. We won't be able to stop the slide until money takes a back seat.

 

[Nevermore]

You're still wrong.

When your house is under water or someone you knew was killed by a crazy gunman, a lot of people's reaction would be to turn their anger towards whichever boogeyman Faux News tells them is to blame. Jews, Muslims, liberals, gay people, Greta, George Soros, Bill Gates, Hillary, Obama, the list is endless.

 

[wonko the sane?]

When someone elses house is under water: the problem is far away and not yours to deal with. When YOUR house is under water: the problem is too big for you to deal with. Either way it's always not your problem to solve.

Rhinox, you seriously underestimate the ability of the average human being to justify inaction and lay blame elsewhere.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

The right wing's whole shtick is throwing blame at other people for the problems they cause, then controlling the media/propaganda outlets to make enough stupid people mad to get away with it.

 

[Thylacine 2000]

Climate change has already started getting bad enough to send enough refugees marching into America to keep the far-right in power for the foreseeable future.

And remember - there is a 30-year time lag between greenhouse gas emissions and their actual discernible environmental impact. All of the climate change we have experienced so far was caused by 1992 and earlier. From a climate perspective, the 21st century hasn't happened yet. The rise of China hasn't happened yet.

 

[Pale Rider]

Joe Manchin Agrees To Sweeping Legislation To Raise Taxes On Wealthy, Invest In Climate

The proposed legislation, called the "Inflation Reduction Act,” will raise taxes on the wealthy to fund investments in climate and health care.

www.huffpost.com

 

[Nevermore]

Joe Manchin Agrees To Sweeping Legislation To Raise Taxes On Wealthy, Invest In Climate

The proposed legislation, called the "Inflation Reduction Act,” will raise taxes on the wealthy to fund investments in climate and health care.

www.huffpost.com

I guess water levels around his house are already rising.

 

[Rhinox]

When someone elses house is under water: the problem is far away and not yours to deal with. When YOUR house is under water: the problem is too big for you to deal with. Either way it's always not your problem to solve.

Rhinox, you seriously underestimate the ability of the average human being to justify inaction and lay blame elsewhere.

I'm often accused of having too much faith in humanity. . . . .

Seriously, though. I do get that there are some who are just too ******* stupid to accept reality. But, I do still have a sliver of hope that there are enough people with 2 brain cells to rub together to realize that their house is underwater due to documented reasons.

 

[wonko the sane?]

The people who understand that there are documented (and documentable.) reasons for their house to end up under water are currently out there fighting climate change. The rest won't care what the paper trail says when their house is busy doing it's very best impression of a submarine.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

Most of the people doing the most damage figure they'll just move onto their superyachts when the time comes. Drowning is for the poor.

 

[Ungnome]

I guess water levels around his house are already rising.

His vacation home at least. If the water levels are rising in West Virginia, we've already lost and I'm probably posting this from a raft somewhere in the newly expanded Atlantic Ocean.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Most of the people doing the most damage figure they'll just move onto their superyachts when the time comes. Drowning is for the poor.

You know what the lovely thing about those superyachts are?
The owner makes it work by screaming orders, but the poor actually WORK it. Eat the owner, claim the boat.

 

[Ungnome]

A few Russian oligarchs found that out the hard way.

 

[Pocket]

You know what the lovely thing about those superyachts are?
The owner makes it work by screaming orders, but the poor actually WORK it. Eat the owner, claim the boat.

The same is true of all things, by the way.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

The ultimate truth of all things: Eat the rich.

 

[NovaSaber]

Leaked: US power companies secretly spending millions to protect profits and fight clean energy

One industry consulting firm has influenced politics across Florida, Alabama and at least six other states

www.theguardian.com

The CEO of the biggest power company in the US had a problem. A Democratic state senator was proposing a law that could cut into Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) profits. Landlords would be able to sell cheap rooftop solar power directly to their tenants – bypassing FPL and its monopoly on electricity.

“I want you to make his life a living hell … seriously,” FPL’s CEO Eric Silagy wrote in a 2019 email to two of his vice-presidents about state Senator José Javier Rodríguez, who proposed the legislation.

Within minutes, one of them forwarded the directive to the CEO of Matrix, LLC, a powerful but little-known political consulting firm that has operated behind the scenes in at least eight states.

Rodríguez was ousted from office in the next election. Matrix employees spent heavily on political advertisements for a candidate with the same last name as Rodríguez, who split the vote. That candidate later admitted he was bribed to run.

Hundreds of pages of internal documents – which are only coming to light now because Matrix’s founders are locked in an epic feud – detail the firm’s secret work to help power companies like FPL protect their profits and fight the transition to cleaner forms of energy.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

"Secretly"?

 

[Ungnome]

While it was well known that the race in question had some underhanded tricks used to get voters to vote for the wrong guy, I think it IS new news that a friggin utilities monopoly afraid of the democratization of power generation was the one who initially bankrolled the scheme. Frankly, if we lived in a just society any corporation that pulled something like that would be broken up out of principle.....

 

[Pocket]

Or nationalized. Any civilized country would just nationalize any industry that demonstrates it can't be trusted to serve the public fairly.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

The problem lies in assuming a country is ever civilized.