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Atlantic City Is Really Going Down This Time
- Zecar 8y agoI don't know how much real science can be done on a barrier island, we already know how these things work. Same reason you don't buy a house in a horseshoe bend on a river.
- dashmatte 8y agoThe problem with us common folk understanding climate science is the problem seems so daunting how do we even start to tackle the problem and a road map that's easy to digest to get us to where we want to be.
- RandallBrown 8y agoI don't think we should focus on climate change at all. Like you said, it's too daunting of a problem. What we should focus on is solutions to "now" problems that will help with climate change as well. I'm talking about things like smog prevention. That's a problem people can see right now, that can be improved within our lifetimes.
- spicymaki 8y agoI agree 100%! We know what type of problems humans in general are mentally equipped to face. An opaque, multigenerational, slow moving problem like climate change is the worst case scenario category for us. We need to translate these hard problems to smaller nearer term tangible problems we can deal with now.
- perl4ever 8y agoEurope is doing ok with higher gas taxes than the US. If other countries converged that would help a little. People talk about boiling a frog in a pot as a negative thing, but why can't it be used to accomplish something worthwhile?
- Kephael 8y agoExcept that's exactly what kicked off the Yellow Vests.
- stefanfisk 8y agoThere’s A LOT more to the yellow wests than fuel taxes.
- perl4ever 8y agoIs a gradual increase what caused it, or was the problem that there was a sudden increase?
- NikolaeVarius 8y agoI seem to remember France burning
- dahfizz 8y agoIf by "okay" you mean "on the verge of revolt".
- mac01021 8y agoI disagree. You're right that the effects of our actions on the climate are not directly observable by laypeople. And that the scale of the problem is daunting. But it is _critical_ that we fix the underlying problem in the next couple of decades. The scale of the problem means we can't fix it without help and motivation from the government, so we need to agitate now, today, for the government to put a price on carbon emissions. There's even a bill for a carbon fee-and-divident right now. But it will never pass as long as we're all not focusing on climate change. When it does pass, the incentives will suddenly be right for us to solve the problem.
- RandallBrown 8y agoI think the problem is marketing. Taxing carbon emissions for climate change is unpopular because people can't understand the problem it's trying to solve. Taxing carbon emissions so they have a clear view on sunny days is a lot more understandable.
- mac01021 8y agoWe could completely solve smog without making even a tiny dent in our carbon footprint. Why not instead try to get people to understand the real problem?
- dqpb 8y agoSo, your question is: how do you stop a 7.6 billion person stampede toward the edge of a cliff? You don't.
- ars 8y agoYou give them a better destination. Or in carbon dioxide terms, a new source of energy. Everything else is just noise and misanthropy.
- vkou 8y agoYou can, today, dig up coal for $30/tonne. That's 3 cents/kilogram. How do you compete with that? How are you going to come up with a better source of energy - without banning it?
- lexs 8y ago> 3 cents/kilogram add in the costs of climate change and it would be significantly more
- ars 8y agoAnd all that would happen is people would pay it. You've spent money and accomplished nothing. We need energy. All the noise and machinations don't change that. You either have a new source of energy or you don't.
- sizzzzlerz 8y agoAlthough it's fictionalized, the TV show, Boardwalk Empire, does a pretty good depiction of what AC must of been like in the early 20th century. Of course, the place was completely mobbed up and one had to become enured to the occasional dead body dumped in a vacant lot or washing up on the beach, but, otherwise, the place was relatively free from street crime.
- walrus01 8y agoThe wikipedia page and linked references for the inspiration for the fictional Nucky Thompson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoch_L._Johnson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoch_L._Johnson
- jmts 8y agoRather a significant number of characters in that series that based on real people, to the point that many characters use the real person's actual name. The cast section of the Wikipedia page shows the extent: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boardwalk_Empire#Cast_and_characters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boardwalk_Empire#Cast_and_char... The references beyond that are quite interesting as well. I always felt that the character Nelson Van Alden (also George Mueller) was a reference to Baby Face Nelson, who was known also as George Nelson.
- dwd 8y agoMost of the Chicago mafia depicted were real people. If you enjoyed Boardwalk, you should also like Peaky Blinders. Being set in the same era, there are interesting crossovers like when the Peakies get involved in selling whiskey to the US. Many of these characters are also loosly based on real people like Tom Hardy's Alfie Solomon who steals many a scene much like Stephen Graham's Capone.
- sjjshvuiajhz 8y agoThe whole gambling industry is a really a utility black hole. Human risk-taking impulses evolved so that we could decide to look around that corner, explore that dense underbrush, see what happens if we rub some sticks together. Instead of directing those impulses toward making our lives better (eg. through scientific research, or making a better product more efficiently) people are having them exploited by the world’s most expensive video games. Please, if you’re going to make bets, stick to those that might have a positive expected value!
- calvinmorrison 8y agoIt's called entertainment sweetie, look it up. Seriously I live near AC and go down a few times a year. Always have a blast. Usually there is awesome food, service and music going on as well. Gambling is exciting and fun, that's why I do it. It's no worse than blowing money on concert tickets or impulse amazon shopping.
- sjjshvuiajhz 8y agoSure, if you can go once in a while, having a good understanding about how much money you will lose and can keep yourself from losing more trying to get it back, good for you. But the casino’s bread & butter are the people who show up every day.
- Smithalicious 8y agoThe first sentence describes most people who go to casinos, though. And the second sentence might be correct, I don't think it's something you can just assert without a source.
- lbatx 8y agoThat would not be true (at least in Las Vegas). For one, the vast majority of customers of Strip casinos are tourists. For another, a casino's quarterly results can be significantly influenced by a small handful of players -- if a player is particularly lucky at baccarat, for example, the swing can be millions of dollars. Source: industry knowledge & https://www.billionairegambler.com/2011/07/worlds-biggest-casino-whales-high.html https://www.billionairegambler.com/2011/07/worlds-biggest-ca... (look at the Adnan Khashoggi entry).
- oska 8y ago> We were standing at the base of the lighthouse, which he clearly adores. He’s climbed it 71 times this year. “I don’t volunteer here, I just climb the steps,” he said. “It’s a lot more interesting than spending time on a Stairmaster.” Good on this guy. Stairclimbing is an under-appreciated fitness activity.