Climate Change? Nahhh ...

So because Mississippi has issues, it makes California's bad ideas and poor execution infallible?

 

I don't think Batman's problems with Jackson politics have much to do with race.

I think he honestly deplores Democratic politicians - black or white - and their failures.

 

That said, it's maybe worth reminding folks how electricity came to that part of the country.

 

Just wondering ... have you spent a lot of time in California?

 

There are close to 50,000 miles of interstate highway in the United States. While it would not be workable everywhere they are, solar panels could be run down the length of the median of many, many miles of highway without any great impact other than building them and upkeep.

 

tell me you don’t travel on highways that aren’t interstates.

Again, what awaits us, in terms of the infrastructure needed, is something that’s hard to get our arms around. We are not prepared. And there’s real question as to whether we need to do it at all.

Klein’s column captures some of that. The larger world has been convinced - we’re going to die in 50 years unless we do all these things. Doing them, IMO, is going to cause great inconvenience, frustration and even suffering. But, because apocalypse, we’re going to try to do them, and it’s going to hurt.

 

5%?

We’ll need a quarter of the land in every state in the west. We could use nuclear power. But that crosses the line of some environmentalists too. Eventually, most Americans will come to see the vision is that everyone just needs to live with a lot less. Less land. Less house. Less freedom to travel where you want in a reasonable timeframe. Less food. Less stuff.

and I guess we’ll see if people are down for that monastic, religious standard of living.

 

Or not.

Your predictions are no more credible than mine when it comes to the future.

But I gotta say the reluctance to embrace sources of free, endless energy from the wind and the sun and the tides seems kind of illogical, global warming or no global warming.

There's certainly going to be a period of transition - like the one between draft horses and automobiles - during which we have to develop new and better technologies.

 

I'm citing that figure in reference to your concerns about charging the cars.

Cover all that existing parking infrastructure with solar panels and chargers.

 

That's some of it. A lot of it is also basic incompetence.
In the case of California, my issue is that its bad state policies are often forced on the rest of the country through various means. Several other states (I think Virginia is one) have attached themselves to California's laws. In other cases it's simply market forces that bully the rest of the country into following suit. I don't think it's controversial to say that California is ridiculously over-regulated, and seeing other states follow them down that road is disconcerting.
My dislike of California, though, comes from a morbid curiosity. I think a lot of their policies and politics are asinine, but if that's what people keep voting for then that's apparently what they want.

When it comes to Jackson, as I've mentioned several times on several threads, it's because that city's government has completely and utterly failed its citizens in its primary mission. A city government has a handful of core functions that it should competently do (water, power, streets and public safety) no matter the politics. Even if the economics of the city aren't the best, you should be able to drive down a street without getting carjacked or having your car swallowed by a pothole. When you get home, you should be able to flip the light switch and get a drink of water at the sink. Jackson has failed in almost every single one of those areas. And since Democrats have been running the city forever, it's hard not to cast the blame for its decline on them.

 

I have not, but I have read and listened to enough podcasts and radio shows based out of there to be more familiar with the state's issues than someone living halfway across the country with no ties to the state should be. I have a morbid fascination with the place, especially its status as a harbinger of things to come.

 

Alright .... well I was born in and have spent time in California for work trips, and I lived in Mississippi. If your news sources have convinced you California is some sort of failed state, I encourage you to change news sources ...