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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#182151: Apr 10th 2017 at 7:56:47 AM

Wondering if the BLM is using that coal photo legally.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#182153: Apr 10th 2017 at 7:59:44 AM

[up][up][up] The thing that makes the Republicans' hatred of renewable energy so risible is that it is becoming more and more economically competitive with fossil fuels, and will continue to get more so. Ergo, their "free market" ideology is transparently a lie, since the free market is saying, "Yeah, we like this stuff, let's keep working on it," while Republicans are trying to use government power to prop up the fossil fuel industry.

edited 10th Apr '17 8:00:40 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#182154: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:07:07 AM

It also helps that things like wind power have much lower fuel costs (not no fuel costs, because sometimes the wind doesn't blow and things like that) and require a much smaller infrastructure footprint.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#182155: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:10:56 AM

And beyond Climate Change and economics, the (non alternative) fact is that one day, fossil fuels are going to run out. It's that simple. They are a limited resource, that we can not continue to treat like it's not.

edited 10th Apr '17 8:16:46 AM by megaeliz

AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#182156: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:19:20 AM

Conservative and Alt-Right Allies, including Steve Bannon, consider Cohn a threat who might make Trump more Liberal.

I'd consider this a good thing, if it's true.

With a name like that expect even more whining from the Alt-Right because (((Cohn))) will be corrupting Trump along (((Kushner))) with their (((liberal agenda))).

/pol/, Stormfront and Breibart are going to lose their shit again if that happens.

Inter arma enim silent leges
CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#182157: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:25:39 AM

There were actually some people who thought Trump was a secret liberal during the campaign. As often covered, he spent years saying things from both sides of his mouth. Changing his advisors may produce such a change in policy. Tis not like the man has any actual policy of his own besides Money, Dear Boy

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#182158: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:34:57 AM

The fundamental issue with the position of "just sit down and listen to the experts damnit" is that the basic function of experts and intellectuals is to implement the agenda of society's elites, not to have an agenda of their own.

Whatever they may think personally, the "intellectual class" lacks both the vast resources at the disposal of the ruling class and the sheer weight of numbers of the general population, and is thus incapable of dictating a society's agenda on it's own.

edited 10th Apr '17 8:48:44 AM by CaptainCapsase

Luigisan98 A wandering user from Venezuelan Muscat Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: I <3 love!
A wandering user
#182159: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:36:47 AM

No idea if the situation is turning even more suited for a Tom Clancy story or a bad political movie done by Shyamalan...

The only good fanboy, is a redeemed fanboy.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#182160: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:37:14 AM

As an aspiring scientist, I resent that strawman, Capsase.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#182161: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:38:48 AM

The problem is the sheer number of people who immediately throw out anything the experts say because they're experts. Like, when climatologists and meteorologists talk about how climate change is absolutely a thing, I'm inclined to believe them, because their entire job is to study climate and weather and they have no incentive to fake it.

edited 10th Apr '17 8:40:22 AM by Zendervai

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#182162: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:40:10 AM

Yeah, that's a weird attitude to take. Who would I be better suited to trust on climate change (or any other scientific matter) — someone who's spent their entire career studying it, or someone who has very loud opinions about it on TV?

I mean, we clearly know what the voting public thinks about that (or at least enough of them to get Republicans elected), but I'm afraid I can't just ignore how stupid it is.

edited 10th Apr '17 8:42:00 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#182163: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:46:39 AM

It's a principal called the equality Heuristic. Basically this means that a mental shortcut people use is to rank everyone's equally and judge based on what fits our world view. So instead of thinking, this person has studied this issue their entire career, so what they say must have more weight than this random brietbart article, it's this brietbart article has more weight because it makes sense to me.

http://www.npr.org/2017/03/13/519661419/when-it-comes-to-politics-and-fake-news-facts-arent-enough

edited 10th Apr '17 8:50:52 AM by megaeliz

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#182164: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:47:47 AM

Government without at least some measure of technocracy will inevitably hand over the reins of power to the drooling rubes, who will lead society to ruin. We need intellectuals and we ultimately need elites, because without either, we have our current nightmare.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#182165: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:48:12 AM

This anti-intellectual bullshit is one of the reasons populism tends to go poorly. Populism = pro-common people -> anti-elite...and all too often experts are derided as elites.

It probably doesn't help that experts usually have a lot of negative things to say about the pie-in-the-sky promises that populists tend to make to win support.

Populist: Vote for me and I'll save the unicorns from extinction! Free unicorns for everyone!

Public: Yay!

Biologist: Um, unicorns don't exist.

Populist: ...He's a damn dirty elite ivory tower expert! What does he know about our day to day lives cooped up in his lab!

Public: Yeah! What does he know! Boo! <throws produce at the biologist>

edited 10th Apr '17 8:52:19 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#182166: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:50:37 AM

It's probably a function of our lack of rigid class structure — when you don't have people prancing around in ermine, how do you identify the wealthy and privileged targets of populist backlash?

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#182167: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:51:31 AM

@Septimus: I am in the same boat (aspiring scientist) and while it's incredibly frustrating, I've come to accept that we don't really have much say at all in how the world is run, or what purposes our work is put towards.

edited 10th Apr '17 8:52:21 AM by CaptainCapsase

Perseus Since: Nov, 2009
#182168: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:51:46 AM

...Pretty sure you're not helping anything, least of all your case, when you unironically use phrases like "drooling rubes".

Not that I disagree on overall principle, but. Just saying.

Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#182169: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:52:23 AM

[up][up][up]Hey, maybe it's the rich people who constantly whine about taxes being real discrimination. You know, like the current illustrious president.

edited 10th Apr '17 8:53:26 AM by Zendervai

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#182170: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:53:23 AM

[up][up] Maybe, but otoh...look at what's running our country now.

[down] Apologies for the double-post.

edited 10th Apr '17 8:56:37 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#182171: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:56:04 AM

NVM

edited 10th Apr '17 8:56:15 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#182172: Apr 10th 2017 at 8:59:14 AM

Definitely check out the podcast episode I linked to. It explains how misinformation works, and why people can be blinded to reality. It really helps create an understanding of the current Political Climate.

http://www.npr.org/2017/03/13/519661419/when-it-comes-to-politics-and-fake-news-facts-arent-enough

edited 10th Apr '17 8:59:35 AM by megaeliz

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#182174: Apr 10th 2017 at 9:01:58 AM

how do you embed videos? Trying to embed reaction.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=frAEmhqdLFs

edited 10th Apr '17 9:13:30 AM by megaeliz

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#182175: Apr 10th 2017 at 9:04:57 AM

[up][up] Unbelievable. It took Trump less than three months to totally fuck up relations with Russia.

Disgusted, but not surprised

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