May 14
Cascadian commented on Welcome News for People Who Like Foods That Taste Good.
Cascadian commented on Welcome News for People Who Like Foods That Taste Good.
A different recent study seemed to implicate salt in certain auto-immune diseases (such as psoriasis), so even if the link with heart disease seems overblown, that doesn't mean that everyone is in the clear.
May 13
Cascadian commented on Gay Marriage Comes to Minnesota.
Cascadian commented on Gay Marriage Comes to Minnesota.
Next up: Illinois. Which would put 20% of the population in a marriage equality state. (Right now it's a bit more than one out of six.)
Then that's probably it for a while. Who knows which way the Supreme Court goes, but if they don't rule in favor of nationwide marriage equality, they could still rule for California. (That plus IL would put 1/3 of Americans in an equality state.)
After that, there's nothing on the horizon until possibly New Jersey and Oregon in 2014, and Nevada in 2016. But a lot of states are good candidates: Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and New Mexico are in the next tier.
Hopefully the high court makes this all moot.
Then that's probably it for a while. Who knows which way the Supreme Court goes, but if they don't rule in favor of nationwide marriage equality, they could still rule for California. (That plus IL would put 1/3 of Americans in an equality state.)
After that, there's nothing on the horizon until possibly New Jersey and Oregon in 2014, and Nevada in 2016. But a lot of states are good candidates: Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and New Mexico are in the next tier.
Hopefully the high court makes this all moot.
May 13
Cascadian commented on Cultured Meat.
Cascadian commented on Cultured Meat.
People are irrational about food, so this might not catch on even if they get it close enough to (or better than) what people expect from traditional meat. But if it does catch on, the survival of many of our current food species might be in question. Cows have evolved (and been bred) to be food, and exist in the millions because people eat them. If no one is eating them, they might become quite rare, except for people willing to pay more for the artisan experience. It would be ironic if fake meat led to the extinction of cows.
May 10
Cascadian commented on Another Day, Another Child Shooting Another Child in the Face.
Cascadian commented on Another Day, Another Child Shooting Another Child in the Face.
@16, the peak year for gun violence was 1993, the same year background checks were initiated, after which millions of sales to criminals and other dangerous people were prevented. So, I take it that you would like to extend this record by tightening background checks further, right?
May 10
Cascadian commented on Tesla the Beautiful.
Cascadian commented on Tesla the Beautiful.
Also, reading the comments on the Consumer Reports review (that rated the Model S the best car they've ever rated, 99/100), someone did the math and at European gas prices ($10/gallon equivalent) the Model S already pays for itself completely, all $90k and not just the marginal cost difference, in fuel savings over ten years. It's also likely to need less maintenance. So if this car doesn't have any longer-term quality issues, and if they can get the marketing right and ramp up production, Tesla could make huge inroads in Europe. Their stock price rise is justified, for now.
What's really holding things back in this country is the huge subsidies for cheap gasoline and oil. If we stopped subsidizing oil production, and actually implemented a carbon tax or cap and trade system, we'd be in much better shape to take advantage of technological changes in electrical cars and alternative energy.
What's really holding things back in this country is the huge subsidies for cheap gasoline and oil. If we stopped subsidizing oil production, and actually implemented a carbon tax or cap and trade system, we'd be in much better shape to take advantage of technological changes in electrical cars and alternative energy.
May 10
Cascadian commented on Tesla the Beautiful.
Cascadian commented on Tesla the Beautiful.
Fnarf, it's good to be skeptical but you're overdoing it. Nationally, it's not just coal but natural gas and oil that produce electricity, along with a small percentage of renewables. To compare vs. a car you can't just take the worst form of energy, you need to take the average mix, and then realize that electricity produces more power for the same amount of emissions than burning gasoline directly. When you do the math, electrical cars are better for emissions (in most areas and overall nationally) than internal combustion alternatives.
And then you have to consider that our mix of energy production is changing. Solar, particularly rooftop solar, is getting price competitive very quickly. Wind power is also spreading quickly. It is likely that our future mix of energy will be increasingly from wind and solar, making the emissions comparison even more favorable for electrical cars, and eventually making them the cheaper type of car.
And yeah, the metals used in batteries are relatively rare, and often toxic, but there's enough to provide electrical cars for the foreseeable future, and they're less toxic than the byproducts of petroleum and coal.
I'd prefer that we redevelop away from the need to drive everywhere, so that people could trade in their current cars for nothing rather than an electric version. But electrical cars are an environmental improvement and should be welcomed. If Tesla succeeds, the same car that is $90k now will be $20k a decade from now, with ever-cheaper electricity generation from renewables, and the market will explode.
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And then you have to consider that our mix of energy production is changing. Solar, particularly rooftop solar, is getting price competitive very quickly. Wind power is also spreading quickly. It is likely that our future mix of energy will be increasingly from wind and solar, making the emissions comparison even more favorable for electrical cars, and eventually making them the cheaper type of car.
And yeah, the metals used in batteries are relatively rare, and often toxic, but there's enough to provide electrical cars for the foreseeable future, and they're less toxic than the byproducts of petroleum and coal.
I'd prefer that we redevelop away from the need to drive everywhere, so that people could trade in their current cars for nothing rather than an electric version. But electrical cars are an environmental improvement and should be welcomed. If Tesla succeeds, the same car that is $90k now will be $20k a decade from now, with ever-cheaper electricity generation from renewables, and the market will explode.
May 1
Cascadian commented on May Day Reading.
Cascadian commented on May Day Reading.
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/20… for a good antidote to that Friedman column, complete with the information (that I did not know) that he married a woman who by 2007 was worth over a billion dollars in inherited real estate trust fund money.
According to Wikipedia, in the 2008 crash the company that is the source of his wealth lost most of its value and went bankrupt in 2009, leaving his family with a mere $25 million. Poor, poor, millionaire Thomas Friedman. It's no wonder everything he writes is written from the perspective of someone who never has to encounter the reality that most people live in.
According to Wikipedia, in the 2008 crash the company that is the source of his wealth lost most of its value and went bankrupt in 2009, leaving his family with a mere $25 million. Poor, poor, millionaire Thomas Friedman. It's no wonder everything he writes is written from the perspective of someone who never has to encounter the reality that most people live in.
Apr 25
Cascadian commented on Subarea Equity: A Stupid Policy Is a Stupid Policy Is a Stupid Policy.
Cascadian commented on Subarea Equity: A Stupid Policy Is a Stupid Policy Is a Stupid Policy.
The way to allow the city to have a higher investment in transit that is propotional to its level of density and importance to the region is for the state to lift the cap on how much Seattle can finance additional projects above and beyond sub-area equity. Sub-area equity is the political tool that keeps the suburbs on board without making the system entirely suburban. We should keep it, and then have the state give Seattle and other local jurisdictions the ability to supplement regional projects with local projects funded with local money.
If Ed Murray wants to outmaneuver McGinn on transportation, he should be advocating for local funding for additional local projects, planned within the regional context. McGinn is moving in that direction but too slowly. Murray could beat him to it, neutralize one of McGinn's few advantages, and run away with the race. But instead he's playing to relatively conservative, car-centric Old Seattleites.
If Ed Murray wants to outmaneuver McGinn on transportation, he should be advocating for local funding for additional local projects, planned within the regional context. McGinn is moving in that direction but too slowly. Murray could beat him to it, neutralize one of McGinn's few advantages, and run away with the race. But instead he's playing to relatively conservative, car-centric Old Seattleites.
Apr 25
Cascadian commented on One Out of Two Bushes Think Jeb Bush Should Run for President.
Cascadian commented on One Out of Two Bushes Think Jeb Bush Should Run for President.
Babs was always the most sane one. My guess is the fuckup genes all come down the other side of the family tree.
Apr 23
Cascadian commented on The Future Children of Mars.
Cascadian commented on The Future Children of Mars.
@15, the pilgrims (not actually pilgrims, or even technically Puritans) weren't in wilderness. They were in land that was simultaneously occupied by people whose ancestors had lived there continuously for thousands of years, or in some cases in recently emptied land (as a result of massive death from disease) that had been previously occupied for thousands of years.
Those settlers would have died without the help of the native population and their farming and harvesting techniques, not to mention an environment that naturally supported life. Settling Mars will be nothing like that. If the settlers can't do it on their own they will die. I still think they should try, and I'll celebrate their successes and mourn their failures if they try it while I'm alive, but no one should think that this is parallel in any way to any prior episode of human settlement on Earth.
Those settlers would have died without the help of the native population and their farming and harvesting techniques, not to mention an environment that naturally supported life. Settling Mars will be nothing like that. If the settlers can't do it on their own they will die. I still think they should try, and I'll celebrate their successes and mourn their failures if they try it while I'm alive, but no one should think that this is parallel in any way to any prior episode of human settlement on Earth.
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