dagblog - Comments for "Life can be very simple... "

Super comment compai

David Seaton — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 12:43:07 +0000

In reply to I think you are correct that

Super comment compai

Who is advocating piping the

we are stardust — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:56:52 +0000

Who is advocating piping the Great Lakes and/or Canadian water to the American Southwest?

I live in the American Southwest, and while sorting out the 'true meaning' of the historical Interstate Water Compact is an extremely thorny issue, I haven't heard of this notion..

I think you are correct that

miguelitoh2o — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:25:13 +0000

In reply to Life can be very simple...

I think you are correct that it all comes down to population control/reduction. Without that, we're always going to have stressed resources, a labor glut, and depressed wages, (worldwide). It's no surprise that the rise of a middle class/labor/guilds was subsequent to the black death wiping out as much as a third of Europe's population. This in turn seems to hinge on education, something missing from religious fundamentalist ideology regardless of the religion in question. Not sure how we accomplish that worldwide. Perhaps the internet might play a role here, but of course that would require an investment in something other than armaments, and risk polarizing someone's "base".

The problems with

Austin Train — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:15:28 +0000

In reply to Life can be very simple...

The problems with water:

First, potability. The Pacific Ocean is incredibly large, though I would not advise drinking it unless death is a desirable outcome.

Second, distribution. There is going to be a massive wildcard in play quite soon - the climate change we are seeing is causing change in rainfall patterns and glacial meltoff. Peolpe have always lived near water and now the water may no longer be where some very large numbers of people have lived for generations.

Third, pollution. Of the relatively small percentage of fresh (non-saline) water in the world, much of it is not clean enough to use for cooking or drinking.

All is not lost, though. As to the Pacific (or Atlantic, or Indian - or Arctic, for that matter!) Ocean, desalination, while not cost-effective today, may be - if there is the will to work on creating scalable technologies. These technologies will not remain where they are today - no technology ever does.

Solar stills might be a workable option in most places other than the polar regions. They will be expensive to build, yet with few moving parts and a solar energy source, operating expenses can be loewr than most other alternatives over time.

And it's not like water is giong anywhere. For these purposes, Earth is functionally a closed system. Cleaning it and keeping it clean is the next issue. We can - and have to - do better than we have.

As for distribution, I have no answer for the people in the Indus or Ganges watersheds, who stand to lose their water sources soon enough.

I do have an answer for those who would take Great Lakes or Canadian water and try to pipeline it to the otherwise-uninhabitable areas of the American Southwest.

No. You knew you were building in a desert. Time for you to learn from your mistakes at your own expense.

David, I'm not sure your

DF — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:54:42 +0000

In reply to Life can be very simple...

David, I'm not sure your vision is any more plausible than Kunstler's. Wealth doesn't just exist in a vacuum. You seem to recognize sustainability issues in the current regime, but how would the world you describe sustain itself? Unless the super-wealthy have found some other planet to inhabit, they will be subject to the same environmental changes as everyone else.

Similarly, none of the impoverished regions you mention exist in a vacuum. Being a billionaire would mean very little in a world without water. The key here is understanding marginal utility.

The map demonstrates stress

Richard Day — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 20:59:37 +0000

In reply to Life can be very simple...

The map demonstrates stress even where I reside?

We are the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes for chrissakes!!!

And to the east there are the single greatest reservoirs of fresh water in the world.

I have to reexamine all this.

I think you put your finger

David Seaton — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:16:58 +0000

In reply to AIUI, automatic weapons have

I think you put your finger on it, a semi-automatic assault rifle can be converted to full rock and roll by any gunsmith in a short time. That is what the cartels are buying. We are playing Pakistan to Mexico's Afghanistan.

AIUI, automatic weapons have

Donal — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:48:17 +0000

In reply to In an earlier post I made

AIUI, automatic weapons have been outlawed domestically in the US since 1986, but some semi-auto rifles can be converted to automatic. I wonder though if US mfrs are selling automatic, hence military grade, weapons to the cartels?

In an earlier post I made

David Seaton — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:36:44 +0000

In reply to I know the Clinton Global

In an earlier post I made clear that Gates, Soros and Buffet have a more realistic and responsible idea of wealth than your general run of billionaires do, I think the Koch brothers are much more typical of the breed than they are.

Also, if and when they have the people behind them, politicians can make a difference, a huge difference. FDR springs instantly to mind, but there have been many others. Hammering home the idea, day after day and year after year, that the government is the problem and not in any way the solution has been one of the major tasks of the Friedmanite, Thatcherite, Reaganite, right. Which as you can see better than many, has been extremely successful.

As to Mexico... its problems will have to be solved by the Mexicans themselves, certainly not by the tourists. It would help them a lot if the USA would outlaw the sale of automatic weapons and legalize the possession of drugs.

I know the Clinton Global

artappraiser — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:13:11 +0000

In reply to Like it or not, the water and

I know the Clinton Global Initiative pushes the issue too, here's an example:

.Clean Water and Sanitation

Diseases borne from dirty drinking water are the number one killer of young Africans today. CHDI is investing in infrastructure improvements that will help schools, hospitals and entire communities access clean water and sanitation systems

and though not as much of a priority as Gates puts on it, I believe I've seen the two Bills talk on it together.

I believe it's just the kind of thing you need philanthropy to do, I just don't ever see much potential for politicians doing it or promoting it, unless it's a dictatorship situation. Look for example at Mexico, tourists always just adjused to "Montezuma's revenge," they don't get mad and say "why hasn't someone done something about this," it's just fodder for jokes and it never stopped them from visiting Mexico, while a drug war that is probably not going to affect them if they visited has done exactly that.