Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on cover of TIME

mrussel1

mcgruff10 said:

Meltdown99 said:

mcgruff10 said:

oftenreading said:

mrussel1 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Only a fool takes pride in driving a car.

Negative.  Driving a car or bike hard is so exhilarating.  Have you never tracked a car? Nothing like that adrenaline for me. 

Do you mean bicycle or motor bike? If bicycle, I'll agree with that, but in that case it's your own effort and strength and expanding your limits that's exhilarating. Just pushing the gas peddle on a vehicle is boring. 

I don't know about that.  Cruising around yesterday in the countryside listening to pj on sirius was pretty damn fun.  

Yup.  I agree.  Just came back from Dad's...had Bob Seger cranked.  You can't do that on public transit...well you can if you have earbuds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xx_VIbgAwk

I always scream FUCK IT when I'm jamming to this on public transportation. 

When coupled with Untitled,  to me,  this is their most "Bruce" like song.  The lyrics are vintage Springsteen. 

mcgruff10

mrussel1 said:

mcgruff10 said:

Meltdown99 said:

mcgruff10 said:

oftenreading said:

mrussel1 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Only a fool takes pride in driving a car.

Negative.  Driving a car or bike hard is so exhilarating.  Have you never tracked a car? Nothing like that adrenaline for me. 

Do you mean bicycle or motor bike? If bicycle, I'll agree with that, but in that case it's your own effort and strength and expanding your limits that's exhilarating. Just pushing the gas peddle on a vehicle is boring. 

I don't know about that.  Cruising around yesterday in the countryside listening to pj on sirius was pretty damn fun.  

Yup.  I agree.  Just came back from Dad's...had Bob Seger cranked.  You can't do that on public transit...well you can if you have earbuds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xx_VIbgAwk

I always scream FUCK IT when I'm jamming to this on public transportation. 

When coupled with Untitled,  to me,  this is their most "Bruce" like song.  The lyrics are vintage Springsteen. 

I also scream FUCK IT when listening to this one; it is a great driving song for sure.  I never thought of this as a Bruce song, interesting. 

dignin

mrussel1 said:

brianlux said:

mrussel1 said:

brianlux said:

drakeheuer14 said:

We can get rid of cars.

As long as we keep motorcycles. 

I used to think motorcycles were cool.  In high school, along side all my Hendrix and Fillmore West, Avalon Ballroom and Winterland posters and hand bills, I had a poster of Peter Fonda from Easy Rider on a bike and another of Steve McQueen from The Great Escape.

Any more though, I mostly hate them.  Where I live, the majority of riders have reamed out the mufflers so they are loud as fuck.  I've had my ears dinged countless time- each time making my tinnitus worse.  They roar up main street setting off car alarms.  One bike went by so loudly once it literally busted out a window in one of the other shops in  town.  No fun.

So I don't know how loud your talking, but there is a truism that "loud pipes save lives".  

I'm talking about loud enough to be harmful to one's hearing.  That is not OK.  Damaging innocent bystanders' hearing is not OK.  And I say that not just I have damaged ears.  I know others with normal hearing who feel the same way.  Anyone with normal hearing can hear a motorcycle without it pipes reamed out.  The loudness at the level I'm talking about has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with "Look at me!"  In most case it's macho bullshit carried out by sexually insecure men.

You must be talking hogs which are definitely not my thing.  I've heard what you're taking about and it's obnoxious.  I am a fan of high flow pipes which are louder, but stock super bikes are too quiet and a risk especially at night.  I would always down shift when I suspected someone was oblivious to my presence,  just ao they heard me  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LlA0_Hv3CQ

mrussel1

^That's yet another great episode.  

mickeyrat

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

mrussel1 said:

PJ_Soul said:

mcgruff10 said:

PJ_Soul said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Only a fool takes pride in driving a car.

I have to agree. This car addiction in North America is a big problem. So many people are being ridiculously defensive and stubborn when it comes to this topic. Many still seem to think that having a car is some sort of badge of honour or "real" adulthood, and a LOT of people actually look down on those who choose to live car-free. It's quite sad.

It's a necessity for millions of people,  the day to day logistics of my life could not be done without a vehicle.  

I am not talking about necessity. That has nothing to do with the point me or S_C are making.

I love cars.  I love driving them.  I love fixing them.  I love rebuilding them.  I love getting dirty underneath them.  I love racing them.  Am I a fool?  Just curious, because I don't feel stupid most of the time, but I love being judged, so fire away.  

I get it, M.  I was a big car enthusiast when I was young and sort of still am in a way.  I loved my first car- a mid 60's Riley 1.5 with it's rosewood dash, leather seats and amber blinking turn-signal arm- and equally loved my '65 Chevy Malibu.  And  I have to admit that I really like my Prius.  It gets great gas mileage, it will last at least 300,000 miles.  With back seats that fold flat and a rear hatch, I can haul several boxes of books when I need to. 

But times are changing.  We need to start finding other things to focus on.

Well that is exactly where I'm coming from (and I wasn't calling you a fool mrussel1, but I do think it's somewhat foolish to cling to the fetishization of cars at this point in time). It is simply time for people to start adjusting, and to let go of the car thing to every extent possible where they live. Obviously that includes cars as a hobby. I know people are into them and are really defensive about this concept ... But life isn't always fair, and I think in this case, letting go of the North American car obsession is for the greater good. People are really going to have to start understanding that they are actually going to have to make sacrifices for the sake of the our environment and to change culture towards that end. That doesn't even have to include public transit, but FFS, this strong resistance to even alternative transportation for individuals, like e-cars and e-bikes, is starting to simply come of as selfish and irresponsible.

cars or guns. you cant have both. pick one.

Meltdown99

For those who want us to give up cars, are you willing to forgo your smartphone that many of you likely upgrade long before you need to?

That is not particularly good for the environment.

I'm not giving up my ride and the eternal combustion engine will still be the bulk of car sales long after most of us are dead and buried...

brianlux

Meltdown99 said:

For those who want us to give up cars, are you willing to forgo your smartphone that many of you likely upgrade long before you need to?

That is not particularly good for the environment.

I'm not giving up my ride and the eternal combustion engine will still be the bulk of car sales long after most of us are dead and buried...

I do have a car but I never reproduced, I never have had nor expect ever to have a smart phone, I haven't replaced my TV in 15 years, haven't bought a major appliance in this century, expect to keep my 45 MPG car for at least 300,000 miles and adjust my thermostat for better energy saving that recommended and I still have too big a footprint. 

So we have to either voluntarily make more changes or have them involuntarily be made for us in a much harsher manner.  We still get to choose.

Smellyman

nobody can be 100% of not having an impact.  Not even Greta.  It takes a collective effort to help mitigate environmental impacts.

and some people are just selfish

Spiritual_Chaos

Smellyman said:

and some people are just selfish

Meltdown99 said:

And I refuse to ride public transit...I like driving.

mcgruff10

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Smellyman said:

and some people are just selfish

Meltdown99 said:

And I refuse to ride public transit...I like driving.

I like driving too; I only use public transit when I am in nyc.  The only people around here who use public transit are people commuting to nyc or those who can not afford a car.

Meltdown99

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Smellyman said:

and some people are just selfish

Meltdown99 said:

And I refuse to ride public transit...I like driving.

Me and a billions of other people.  So when are you going to commit to the environment and live like they did in the 1800’s.

Not only do I like driving it’s a necessity for millions of us in Ontario who have no access to public transit ... not that I would use it anyways. 

benjs

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Smellyman said:

and some people are just selfish

Meltdown99 said:

And I refuse to ride public transit...I like driving.

SC, for those of us who aren't likely to stop driving to work tomorrow, I'm wondering if you have any knowledge of the more efficient of the organizations offering carbon offsetting. I'd like to offset my flying and my driving, but I figure like a charity, there are going to be initiatives that yield better results. 

brianlux

Meltdown99 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Smellyman said:

and some people are just selfish

Meltdown99 said:

And I refuse to ride public transit...I like driving.

Me and a billions of other people.  So when are you going to commit to the environment and live like they did in the 1800’s.

Not only do I like driving it’s a necessity for millions of us in Ontario who have no access to public transit ... not that I would use it anyways. 

1800's?  Forget that.  Me in my buddies are going pre-agriculture.  

Spiritual_Chaos

Meltdown99 said:

Not only do I like driving it’s a necessity for millions of us in Ontario who have no access to public transit ... not that I would use it anyways. 

Smellyman said:

and some people are just selfish

PJ_Soul

brianlux said:

Smellyman said:

brianlux said:

hedonist said:

I'm curious how this affects various power grids.  I mean, in California (and I assume other states / cities) during various times of the year we're prone to brownouts, encouraged to use appliances during designated hours to conserve energy, keep the heat / AC at certain levels, etc.

If someone with an electric car battery needs juice during an outage, are they shit out of luck?

I would think so, unless they also own a fairly powerful gas driven (lol, oh the irony) generator.

not if you have a house equipped with wind and  solar.  Actaully isn't crazy or unattainable to have totally off grid houses.  They are everywhere.

Plus if you're worrying about blackouts or brownouts there are bigger issues.

If I thought I were staying in one place long enough, I would get solar, but I never expect to be in one home for long enough to make it pay off.  What should be done is to set it up so that the cost of solar is attached to one's mortgage.  That way, if you move, the solar payments go to the new owner.  A lot more people would go solar if this were done.  Simple solution.  Why this isn't done is beyond me.

I think government subsidies would be great. If one converts their home to solar, then they receive a nice cheque to help pay off the reno. There is NO WAY our world is going to convert in this way without government initiatives like that. Better yet, make it illegal to build homes without solar power.

brianlux

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

Smellyman said:

brianlux said:

hedonist said:

I'm curious how this affects various power grids.  I mean, in California (and I assume other states / cities) during various times of the year we're prone to brownouts, encouraged to use appliances during designated hours to conserve energy, keep the heat / AC at certain levels, etc.

If someone with an electric car battery needs juice during an outage, are they shit out of luck?

I would think so, unless they also own a fairly powerful gas driven (lol, oh the irony) generator.

not if you have a house equipped with wind and  solar.  Actaully isn't crazy or unattainable to have totally off grid houses.  They are everywhere.

Plus if you're worrying about blackouts or brownouts there are bigger issues.

If I thought I were staying in one place long enough, I would get solar, but I never expect to be in one home for long enough to make it pay off.  What should be done is to set it up so that the cost of solar is attached to one's mortgage.  That way, if you move, the solar payments go to the new owner.  A lot more people would go solar if this were done.  Simple solution.  Why this isn't done is beyond me.

I think government subsidies would be great. If one converts their home to solar, then they receive a nice cheque to help pay off the reno. There is NO WAY our world is going to convert in this way without government initiatives like that. Better yet, make it illegal to build homes without solar power.

In California, starting in 2020, all new houses will be required to have solar panels installed!

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article234162737.html

PJ_Soul

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

Smellyman said:

brianlux said:

hedonist said:

I'm curious how this affects various power grids.  I mean, in California (and I assume other states / cities) during various times of the year we're prone to brownouts, encouraged to use appliances during designated hours to conserve energy, keep the heat / AC at certain levels, etc.

If someone with an electric car battery needs juice during an outage, are they shit out of luck?

I would think so, unless they also own a fairly powerful gas driven (lol, oh the irony) generator.

not if you have a house equipped with wind and  solar.  Actaully isn't crazy or unattainable to have totally off grid houses.  They are everywhere.

Plus if you're worrying about blackouts or brownouts there are bigger issues.

If I thought I were staying in one place long enough, I would get solar, but I never expect to be in one home for long enough to make it pay off.  What should be done is to set it up so that the cost of solar is attached to one's mortgage.  That way, if you move, the solar payments go to the new owner.  A lot more people would go solar if this were done.  Simple solution.  Why this isn't done is beyond me.

I think government subsidies would be great. If one converts their home to solar, then they receive a nice cheque to help pay off the reno. There is NO WAY our world is going to convert in this way without government initiatives like that. Better yet, make it illegal to build homes without solar power.

In California, starting in 2020, all new houses will be required to have solar panels installed!

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article234162737.html

Awesome!

mrussel1

In California, starting in 2020, all new houses will be required to have solar panels installed!

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article234162737.html

That's great.  I'm a big fan of this.  I've had someone out evaluating my house, but they were a bit sketchy.  I think I'm going to pursue it some more.  I get full sun and have huge windows facing east, so my AC bill is high.  Also means I should be able to generate lots of solar electricity.  

OnWis97

Adults Say the Darnedest Things...
...when they see a teenage bully trying to keep her planet sustainable.

https://amp.newser.com/story/281393/science-teacher-on-leave-after-greta-thunberg-comment.html

brianlux

OnWis97 said:

Adults Say the Darnedest Things...
...when they see a teenage bully trying to keep her planet sustainable.

https://amp.newser.com/story/281393/science-teacher-on-leave-after-greta-thunberg-comment.html

That teacher should probably be fired, not just for the comment, but for being so stupid as to post it on Facebook.  We really don't need idiots teaching kids.