andrewrgross

joined 2 years ago
[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 1 points 1 day ago

Alright, I just wasted a bunch of time I should've been working looking into this, and here is the HSRA's most recent report on the subject: https://hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Sustainability-Report-2024-FINAL-A11Y-20240916.pdf

From the relevant section, pg 58:

With high-speed rail, the annual GHG emissions reductions are projected to be 0.6 to 3 million MTCO2e. based on 2024 Business Plan ridership models. This reduction is equivalent to the annual carbon emissions associated with the energy use of between 77,000 and 372,000 homes – more than the housing stock of San Jose. The cumulative reductions in well-to-wheels emissions over the first 50 years of operations are projected to be between 29 million and 142 million MTCO2e.

I wish they'd provided a percent reduction in vehicle emissions, but according to another source (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ghg-inventory-data), in 2023, transportation emissions in California were 137 million metric tons of CO2. The average of the range comes out to around 1.3% of that range.

That's interesting. I wonder what fraction of transit emissions are from passenger travel across the state, vs commercial hauling and inner city traffic. I still think this is an obviously necessary step, but I'm curious what other actions are needed to take care of the other 99% of transit emissions. Perhaps urban public transit and bike infrastructure.

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

First: fuck this bullshit. This is such a common problem with market-based solutions. I'm a big proponent of them, but you really need to keep politicians from doing this. The goal is phasing out fossil fuels. The money absolutely should be going to projects that fulfill that goal. This is not a piggy bank.

Second:

"While supporters ballyhoo the bullet train as something that would have a major impact on emissions by reducing auto traffic, the High Speed Rail Authority’s own projections indicate that, were it to be fully completed, it would reduce automobile emissions by scarcely 1%. Meanwhile construction actually increases emissions."

This doesn't quite pass the sniff test. You're telling me that if you built a zero-emissions mode of high speed transit along one of the most trafficked routes in the state that there would be no change in emissions? Are the ridership projections zero? Did the model say that for every driver who choses to take the train instead of driving, a new driver will take their place? Is this factoring in the effect on airline emissions from people who train instead of fly? This just sounds like that monologue from Landman where Billy Bob Thorton's character confidently declares a bunch of facts about climate reduction that the writer thought sounded good.

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 44 points 3 days ago (4 children)

That was a great ep and this is a great meme

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 7 points 3 days ago

Holy shit, really?

That is Sony levels of stupid.

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

View from the Top.

I saw it when I was in my twenties with a friend because we (two mostly straight guys) thought we were going to see the latest silly Mike Myers movie. And then it turned out that he was barely in it! They just took all his scenes and put them in the trailer! The actual movie was a very dull romcom staring Gwyneth Paltrow and some guy who I don't remember being in the trailer at all.

When it ended, we walked out of the theater and just said to each other 'What the hell was that?'.

Also, I think Shallow Hal kind of falls in this too. I don't recall the trailer being great, but it had to be good enough that it got me to see that terrible movie.

Also, I don't know if this qualifies, but I remember that The Cable Guy staring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick was the first time I saw a movie and realized that a trailer can be misleading. They deliberately promoted it like The Mask and Ace Ventura. I think I was like 12 when I saw it, and it creeped me way the fuck out.

It wouldn't surprise me if it's actually a better movie than people remember, but the misleading promotion was a great way to ensure the movie didn't find its audience.

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 5 points 3 days ago

Wanna join my D&D group?

My timezone is west coast.

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Please desist

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net -1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Ulgh.

Blocked

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 13 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

I'll be real: if our goal is to make prison a place of rehabilitation, I don't see why we would restrict access to meal prep stuff. Cooking is obviously good for inmates.

And while we're at it, marijuana and tobacco should be available too, without having to pay exorbitant commissary fees.

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (14 children)

I feel like a lot of people are missing the obvious conclusion that everyone involved here is awful.

Maduro? Brutal dictator. His domestic opposition? Violent fascists. His international opposition? Absolute war criminals.

It's really sad. My primary opinion is that the US needs to leave Venezuela the fuck alone. If you want democracy in Venezuela, you can't get it through sanctioning the population into starvation if they don't vote the way Chevron tells them to. Did Maduro steal an election? Yes! But his opposition at home and abroad isn't mad that it wasn't fair: they're mad because they think it's bullshit for him to steal it after they stole it first!

Get the fuck out and let them actually decide what they want. The US is the clearly the greatest villain in a story with no obvious good guys.

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 1 points 1 week ago

That's fine, but I want my shy players doing more accents, so no one teases anyone about all our awful accents.

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 9 points 1 week ago

It would explain a lot

 

I can't believe that after nearly two decades of absolute anti-vax hysteria her son appears to be fine.

I'm not challenging his diagnosis, but... his condition doesn't really match her rhetoric.

 

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate who has been in immigration detention in Louisiana for more than a month, was barred from attending the birth of his firstborn child Monday, after immigration officials denied him permission to attend the birth in person, according to emails reviewed by CNN.

On Sunday morning, attorneys for Khalil wrote to Melissa Harper, director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in New Orleans, requesting that Khalil be released from detention for two weeks so he could travel to New York and be with his wife when she delivered their son.

Khalil’s case has sparked a firestorm of controversy since he was arrested outside his Columbia University residence where he was living with his then-pregnant wife, a US citizen. ...

I just read this and thought... Jesus Christ, that's fucking ice cold.

I feel like they could've agreed to a 48 hour suspension in his detention just to be at the hospital and then carted him back to a remote swamp prison and still retained 99% of their Nazi cred. Hell, letting him hug his child and then disappearing him again is still ruthless as fuck. But no. That was still too much kindness for these sadists. Okay, noted.

 
 
 

A poll on Mastodon: what's the overlap between fans of Star Trek and fans of the sci fi genre of solarpunk?

 

Tbf sometimes I see really bad lefty memes on here, so when I saw a good I felt like I had to provide a demonstration.

(It's gotta fit the format, people.)

 

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/16130943

My mom was complaining that the city has limits on how many leaves that they'll pick up, and she's got bags and bags of leaves stuffed into black garbage bags. This seems like a problem that should have some kind of backyard solution.

I've done a cursory search, and see that leaves are very compostable. They can also apparently be turned into "mold", though I don't fully understand what this means.

But I also see that there is a lot of variety in compost bins, and they're quite expensive. So I'm wondering: what's the best strategy for making leaves go away? She's not specifically interested in the product of the leaves, she just wants to find somewhere to put them after she rakes them up. Any ideas?

 

Springfield, Ohio became suddenly famous nationally when Trump claimed that an influx of Haitian migrants were devouring residents' pets. I went looking to see what the town is experiencing from the perspective of local news, and it looks surprising nuanced.

It appears that the town saw a rapid influx of migrants fleeing violence in Haiti. The town has since experienced a strain in its ability to function in notable ways because of the population shock. The issues include a sudden reduction in the housing supply and an increase in traffic and inexperienced drivers. One particularly bad traffic accident killed a child during a school bus crash.

The city government has seemed to largely avoid blaming new arrivals themselves. However they've expressed a sense of betrayal towards Biden and the federal government for granting thousands of people entry into the country without appearing to recognize any responsibility for helping them resettle or aiding their destination cities in accommodating them. Additionally, they've begun investigating local businesses which they suspect used the expansion of visas for Haitians seeking asylum as an opportunity to seek out low-cost workers while concealing their role in creating a population shock for which the city was unprepared.

I must say that I think the city government makes a reasonable point: those of use who want to offer foreign visitors safety and dignity in American must also demand that our government takes responsibility for helping them relocate to a town in which is expecting their arrival and has been aided in making that arrival successful.

 
 
 

I work for a large biotech manufacturer doing field work. I -- and thousands of other field engineers -- are assigned company cars, which are all ICEs.

I have pointed out in the past that this is a mistake: we should at the very least, allow the engineers the choice to select an electric car from the options provided.

The fleet management team tested this out, but ultimately passed up on the option, because they wanted to shift towards reimbursing drivers instead of managing the fleet. They argued that this met everyone's needs, including allowing employees to drive electric if they want to buy one.

I think this is a big mistake: most people still find the transition complicated when shopping personally, but fleet program can manage a large number of vehicles purchasing, insurance, and maintenance much better, and is better equipped to help people get home chargers if they want. They literally piloted this exact program, and then chose not to expand it.

I want to contact relevant parties and try to assertively communicate that in this moment, we should all be in a war footing. This is an absolute crisis, and the company is clearly looking at simple options to do its part and leaving them unused because it's not aligned with their preferred proposal.

Can anyone help me collect up the shortest, most direct sources to share a five minute slide deck that says, "WAKE THE F*** UP! ROLL OUT THE PLAN YOU ALREADY SET UP AND TESTED, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY, PEOPLE!"

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