Wooster

joined 2 years ago
[–] Wooster@startrek.website 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

An exceptional shortfall in hydropower due to extreme droughts in the US, China, and several other economies resulted in over 40% of the rise in emissions in 2023 as countries turned largely to fossil fuels to plug the gap.

I’m honestly surprised Hydro (or rather lack thereof) accounted for that much of the difference.

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 5 points 1 year ago

The range of both vehicles is comparable, so I’d argue it boils down to which dealer is more convenient to visit for the odd maintenance.

(That aside, I’m personally dubious of opting for a lease, especially if money is tight long term. But I’m the sort of person who’d opt to get every damned mile out of a vehicle I could before begrudgingly admitting it’s time for a replacement.)

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Semi-off topic… but I’m surprised they aren’t making/marketing a Lightning Bug.

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"I think the biggest concerns are that people elsewhere forget about us and they think, 'Oh they're just the conservative state, and they're all country bumpkins. Don't worry it will never happen here.'

"And the next thing you know, it is happening in other states that are ultra-conservative."

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 4 points 1 year ago

On paper, that’s a great idea.

In practice though, you can expect the dealers to markup the difference, so the consumer pays exactly the same.

At least with the tax credit, dealers still have to account for sticker shock.

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

But why not just reverse the polarity of the primary power coupling?

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 4 points 1 year ago

I appreciate this level-headed take from someone knowledgeable on the topic. It's very easy to get riled up over the issue in Gaza, and it's important to discern where certain actions are sanctioned or not.

That said, I suspect there were better ways to deescalate the issue on Girl Scouts' end. Threatening litigation over a contentious humanitarian issue is begging for bad publicity. But, I'm not privy to the exchanges that brought it to that level.

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 10 points 1 year ago

IMO, it’s more a consequence of a black & white morality. Nuance isn’t even a blip on the radar. I guarantee they aren’t considering the ramifications, and wouldn’t understand them if explained.

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 33 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Good point. I admittedly missed that part when I skimmed the article.

I found the Ukraine page on Girl Scouts’s website… it certainly paints a damning picture on Girl Scouts end.

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 42 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I have to admit, my gut reaction was to ponder if this rule would be enforced if it was to raise money for Israeli children instead… but I know diddly squat about Girl Scouts and did about 5 minutes of research.

What I learned was that money raised by Girl Scouts is intended to be spent on local community projects. So helping local kids would be cool, but not foreign. Girl Scouts doesn’t forbid one from aiding foreign needy, but you can’t do that under the Girl Scout banner/as a Girl Scout project.

So, at the moment, I’m inclined to side with Girl Scouts on this issue. But, again, I don’t know squat about how Girl Scouts is run in practice, and if this project is being singled out or not.

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 3 points 1 year ago

You’re not wrong, but I honestly wonder what the baseline of that would be if America didn’t have this issue, and how much worse it is now because of us.

[–] Wooster@startrek.website 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The way it was explained to me, or at least the way that made me really comprehend the underlying why… is that this is a direct and foreseeable consequence of our for-profit medical system and the systemic abuse of trust it’s bloomed.

Say, for instance, you suddenly feel ill.

You have to avoid calling an ambulance because the ride alone with bankrupt you.

So you learn to mistrust emergency responders.

You se the doctor and learn your ailment is uncovered.

So you learn to mistrust medical insurance.

You go to the pharmacy and your medication costs almost as much as your beaten down used car. And to boot, it’s full of ingredients you can’t even spell. Who knows what it does?

So you mistrust medicine.

But hey, there’s this Organic all natural snake oil, it’s only $10. You take this placebo, and hey (by complete coincidence) You feel better, and more importantly, you’re not bankrupt!

So the masses have been taught, at every stage of medical care, that ‘the system’ causes more harm than good. So now you’re subconsciously looking for any reason to reject it.

Enter Trump and the Pandemic.

The man didn’t just light the oil spill that was the American distrust of the medical system, he took an industrial flamethrower to it.

It’s easy, and even justified, to blame Trump for the embarrassing and deadly rejection of modern medicine we’re afflicted with, but it wouldn’t have gained traction in the first place if capitalism hadn’t gotten so beyond out of control.

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