American Politics Thread: The Hunt for Blue November

[nik-]

If Covid never existed it might be a closer race is a pretty significant understatement imo. I think if 2020 ended the same way 2019 did, Trump had a very good chance of winning again. People in political discussions tend to overestimate the level of engagement of the general population and I just think that for most people, before Covid, their lives hadn't changed that much in an immediately perceptible way. Less people would have voted for him, but it might not have been enough of a change to overcome the shenanigans Republicans have been pulling with the voting process. He very well could have won a second term.

[opendoor]

It depends how much weight you give to polls. Trump's current approval rating is higher than it has been for most of his term and his highest ratings have come during COVID. And most of the Democratic frontrunners were way ahead of Trump in head to head polls early in the year. Whether that would've held without COVID, who knows. But he's been pretty unpopular for a while.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Azure

Do the vast majority of people want fossil fuels phased out?

Maybe we should ask the vast majority of Californians what they think about their 'green' state right now?

The argument is laughable at best right now, and I'm about as pro solar/wind/nuclear/EV/battery storage as anyone on here.

You mean the state that Biden will win by 30 points?

The vast majority of people want fossil fuels phased out...you can debate if that is wise but that is not what I'm talking about. Any reliable poll will tell you where the general public stands on the issue. 70+% in favor of phasing out fossil fuels.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

https://twitter.com/user/status/1319681169315811329

I can't help but wonder what deals are being made with other countries to declare support for Israel. Trump really wants that Peace Prize, but the details are really lacking.

Don't get me wrong, I fundamentally support Israel, so if anything good comes out of the Trump presidency, I hope this is it. I just have trouble believing that all these countries are normalizing relations with Israel just because Trump asked them to.

It wasn't huge news, but fairly recently Trump had the president of Serbia at the Whitehouse and worked out some kind of new deal to move forward on the Kosovo issue. Serbia agreed to start a path for normalizing relations with the breakaway region and as part of the deal, also moved their embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. This was something that put the country more at odds with the EU, which believes that the two-state solution cannot occur if Jerusalem becomes the recognized capital. It derails Serbia's aspirations to join the EU and makes them more isolated. Essentially, it works to Russia's advantage which views Serbia as a conduit for promoting their foreign policy in Europe. What Serbia gets out of the deal has not been released publicly. Their president was never really onboard with joining the EU, but other political factions were. By accepting the Jerusalem poison-pill into the agreement, it's pretty good insurance they can't join the EU. Russia is the main country that benefits from that. It was something that so obviously plays into Russia's foreign policy, but barely got noticed in North America.

I guess the point is, what looks like something peaceful and stabilizing on the surface, can have unforeseen consequences if we don't have all the information.

As a side note, Putin was also just nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

[Azure]

Would the vast majority of people want fossil fuels phased out if it means every aspect of their life would cost more?

Transportation, heating, food, etc?

Probably not.

California is a great example of a state with perhaps good intentions, but poor management. Blaming their entire situation on climate change and ICE vehicles just shows your usual lack of understanding as to what is going on.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Azure

Would the vast majority of people want fossil fuels phased out if it means every aspect of their life would cost more?

Transportation, heating, food, etc?

Probably not.

California is a great example of a state with perhaps good intentions, but poor management. Blaming their entire situation on climate change and ICE vehicles just shows your usual lack of understanding as to what is going on.

I'd gladly trade the lower upfront costs to prevent the effects of climate change than the higher costs we'll pay for continuing to kick the can down the road.

[stazzy33]

Originally Posted by Azure

The argument is laughable at best right now, and I'm about as pro solar/wind/nuclear/EV/battery storage as anyone on here.

This sounds so familiar, like some said something similar on TV recently, but I can't quite put my finger on it...

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Azure

Would the vast majority of people want fossil fuels phased out if it means every aspect of their life would cost more?

Transportation, heating, food, etc?

Probably not.

California is a great example of a state with perhaps good intentions, but poor management. Blaming their entire situation on climate change and ICE vehicles just shows your usual lack of understanding as to what is going on.

Again you are totally missing the point...we are talking about the election. The vast majority of people want fossil fuels phased out/

This is not a debate over if that is wise or not...Biden said something that most agree with, those who don't aren't voting dem anyway. When he gets 5M more votes in 10 days we can re-visit

[Johnny Makarov]

So with Moscow Mitch looking like this before the election, will the on the fence voters just choose the healthy candidate? McGrath looks to have a bit of a lead right now.

NSFW!

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Azure

Would the vast majority of people want fossil fuels phased out if it means every aspect of their life would cost more?

Transportation, heating, food, etc?

Probably not.

California is a great example of a state with perhaps good intentions, but poor management. Blaming their entire situation on climate change and ICE vehicles just shows your usual lack of understanding as to what is going on.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I'd gladly trade the lower upfront costs to prevent the effects of climate change than the higher costs we'll pay for continuing to kick the can down the road.

Me too.

But the solution to the problem at hand isn't binary.

We can find ways to work with fossil fuels while still reducing emissions.

As an example, natural gas extracted from Canada and shipped to China to replace coal would result in more than a 40% decrease in emissions.

Shipping LNG at design capacity from Kitimat to displace coal-generated electricity in China would reduce global GHG emissions by 60 to 90 million tonnes annually.

In the short term that would be a great solution.

Overall, Canadian LNG releases 25% less emissions compared to Chinese/India sourced LNG.

Another great solution in the short term.

Unfortunately I don't think options like these are being looked at seriously enough. Canada has the resources and capability of producing the greenest LNG in the world, and worldwide consumption of our LNG would seriously reduce emissions.

[peter12]

Phasing out fossil fuels can't just come with expectations that nothing will change in our lives as we deal with the encroaching global crisis of climate change. Yes, electric vehicles and renewables may have some marginal effect on helping us maintain our current way of life, but we will really have to fundamentally rethink how we live, build, and work in our cities.

We need to have serious conversations about densifying not only our urban cores, but our suburbs, and how to implement public, mass-transit solutions into each and every neighbourhood. The day of long drives alone to our giant house in the suburb are not sustainable as we move into an increasingly uncertain future.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

So with Moscow Mitch looking like this before the election, will the on the fence voters just choose the healthy candidate? McGrath looks to have a bit of a lead right now.

Where are you seeing this? The recent 538 polls have McConnell up by 10.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by peter12

We need to have serious conversations about densifying not only our urban cores, but our suburbs, and how to implement public, mass-transit solutions into each and every neighbourhood. The day of long drives alone to our giant house in the suburb are not sustainable as we move into an increasingly uncertain future.

We need to have serious conversations about working remotely, too. COVID has demonstrated that people are perfectly capable working from home. There is obviously a fine line to consider as more people working from home tends to mean less people pouring money into downtown businesses, but maybe that leads to reduced property taxes and rent, resulting in a revitalization of independent bars and restaurants. Most likely a pipedream but who knows.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by rubecube

We need to have serious conversations about working remotely, too. COVID has demonstrated that people are perfectly capable working from home. There is obviously a fine line to consider as more people working from home tends to mean less people pouring money into downtown businesses, but maybe that leads to reduced property taxes and rent, resulting in a revitalization of independent bars and restaurants. Most likely a pipedream but who knows.

I don't really agree. The working remotely thing will never work for anyone by the most marginally social types. There is a huge benefit to working in a large team. There is a huge human benefit to living in a well-integrated, dense, and flourishing community.

We need to make it easier for people to live close to their place of work.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by rubecube

We need to have serious conversations about working remotely, too. COVID has demonstrated that people are perfectly capable working from home. There is obviously a fine line to consider as more people working from home tends to mean less people pouring money into downtown businesses, but maybe that leads to reduced property taxes and rent, resulting in a revitalization of independent bars and restaurants. Most likely a pipedream but who knows.

The company I work for has already been discussing whether the overhead of an office is necessary once the COVID thing runs its course. They are talking about sharing space with another company had having maybe one or two days in the office for collaborative purposes.

I personally miss the office though. I think I have gained about 15-20 lbs since I started working from home.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by peter12

Phasing out fossil fuels can't just come with expectations that nothing will change in our lives as we deal with the encroaching global crisis of climate change. Yes, electric vehicles and renewables may have some marginal effect on helping us maintain our current way of life, but we will really have to fundamentally rethink how we live, build, and work in our cities.

We need to have serious conversations about densifying not only our urban cores, but our suburbs, and how to implement public, mass-transit solutions into each and every neighbourhood. The day of long drives alone to our giant house in the suburb are not sustainable as we move into an increasingly uncertain future.

Everything needs to change about sustainability, and I agree, cars are just one part of this. Cities particularly need to focus on making better use of existing and vertical space, providing non-personal vehicle transportation options, improving waste and recycling management, planning and allowing sustainable architecture and developments, and providing far better support for mental health and vulnerable people.

And this isn't just for better cities, it's for maintaining a more sustainable tax base and rate of taxes. Technology, densification, and liberal approaches to private sector market responses all play into this.

The current state of the world - on the precipice of AI and IoT technology, changing work and lifestyle cultures, and being at the mercy of a global pandemic - would suggest that we have a golden opportunity to do a "course correction" on conventional urban behavior. The challenge will be getting motivated people to lead the way, letting them lead, and getting a critical mass of buy-in from the general populous.

Maybe I'm a pragmatist, but I tend to think most reasonable people would see that things need to change.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by rubecube

We need to have serious conversations about working remotely, too. COVID has demonstrated that people are perfectly capable working from home. There is obviously a fine line to consider as more people working from home tends to mean less people pouring money into downtown businesses, but maybe that leads to reduced property taxes and rent, resulting in a revitalization of independent bars and restaurants. Most likely a pipedream but who knows.

Maybe I'm just getting bitter and jaded with age, but it seems like any societal shift that improves quality of life for the lower and middle classes at the expense of wealthy business owners is becoming more and more difficult to implement on a large scale. That's capitalism for you, I guess.

Less commute time means less profit for the auto and O&G sectors, probably fewer people going out after work for dinner a beer, etc etc. The people who makes the rules lose out, so it's not likely to happen, even if the facts demonstrate it would benefit everyone else.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Not a fan of working from home permanently. I like and need the social aspect of work.

It’s also a total disaster for new hires and trainees, makes forming bonds so much tougher, can heighten the “cliques” in the office and magnifies the need to be connected with your superiors outside of work to get promoted.

I’ve seen discussions many times about introverts being at a disadvantage. WFH will make that far worse. You can go days without interacting with another human.

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

You can go days without interacting with another human.

Stop I can only get so erect.

Edit: the real concern for me with WFH is when companies normalize salaries. Why pay me Denver rates when they can pay someone from Kentucky less to do the same job?