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Agreed. I don't know what year that tweet is from, but I can't believe we're still being told by the UN that we can beat climate change by "unplugging unused ap

by tdeck 6y ago

Agreed. I don't know what year that tweet is from, but I can't believe we're still being told by the UN that we can beat climate change by "unplugging unused appliances" when what we really need is a major shift from industry/ It's the same kind of blame-shifting propaganda that we've seen for decades about single-use packaging: https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-indian-crying-environment-ads-pollution-1123-20171113-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec...

ebg13 6y ago
> I don't know what year that tweet is from Oct 27, 2019. So not long ago.
rvense 6y ago
The electronics shop across the street has its display windows lit all night, with two or three giant TV screens telling the (very few) passers-by to buy a Google Home so they can talk to their smart light bulbs, or whatever. Maybe, just maybe, we could stop that before telling me to unplug my phone charger or switch off my router at night.
- Brian_K_White 6y ago
  You know tv's aren't lit by incandescent bulbs right? Find some other punching bag to help you excuse yourself from whatever little things might otherwise be your part, if not "phone chargers", that one was a flop.
gen220 6y ago
During the California drought, my mom put an hourglass in her shower, to help save water for the state. But in the Central Valley, they didn’t stop watering almond trees. She stopped watering her shrubs, while farms were purchasing secondhand oil drilling equipment in a race to the bottom of the water table. It’s like our federal budget: when times our tough, we “tighten our belts” by cutting basic research or education funding from 5% to 2%, but won’t flinch at spending >50% of discretionary budget on “defense”.
- fennecfoxen 6y ago
  Almond trees last 20-25 years and take 4 years to bear fruit. Saving almond trees during a drought would be an excellent use of the Central Valley's water supplies. Short-lived water-intensive crops like rice and alfalfa, on the other hand, we could have done without. You would think that this would mean that the almond farmers would simply buy water from any rice farmers who had seniority in their water rights. Hahahahahahhahahaha, you fool! That would make sense, so it's illegal. Also, if an alfalfa farmer who did get water didn't use it all (in the name of conservation, perhaps) they'd lose access to that water forever.
  - tdeck 6y ago
    Almond farmers are sucking water out of the Central Valley aquifers faster than it can be replaced, even in a rainy year. The problem is there's no limit on drilling and pumping. IIUC riparian rights are handled differently in the western US than they have been traditionally elsewhere, leading to a race to deplete the shared resource before it's all gone.
    - gen220 6y ago
      There’s a nice planet money episode about this: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/425392169 https://www.npr.org/transcripts/425392169
  - gen220 6y ago
    It’s a good point, about almond trees. I’m not doubting that it made the “most” sense in the moment. I guess I’m more distressed by how we ended up specializing in such water intensive crops, in a valley with a severe and worsening, decades-long water shortage! Within a few decades, there won’t be water left to grow anything... I’m not generally interventionist, but I think the markets have failed us here (unless I’m severely misunderstanding things, please correct me). I‘m all for almonds and rice, but we really should be taxing the externalities. I’m pessimistic we’ll ever get to that equilibrium. But yeah. All this focusing on consumer water use is a distraction. We need to have an honest discussion about how the agriculture water system should be architected, so the state can continue to be productive for generations to come.

by tdeck 6y ago

ebg13 6y ago

> I don't know what year that tweet is from Oct 27, 2019. So not long ago.

rvense 6y ago

The electronics shop across the street has its display windows lit all night, with two or three giant TV screens telling the (very few) passers-by to buy a Google Home so they can talk to their smart light bulbs, or whatever. Maybe, just maybe, we could stop that before telling me to unplug my phone charger or switch off my router at night.

Brian_K_White 6y ago
You know tv's aren't lit by incandescent bulbs right? Find some other punching bag to help you excuse yourself from whatever little things might otherwise be your part, if not "phone chargers", that one was a flop.

gen220 6y ago

During the California drought, my mom put an hourglass in her shower, to help save water for the state. But in the Central Valley, they didn’t stop watering almond trees. She stopped watering her shrubs, while farms were purchasing secondhand oil drilling equipment in a race to the bottom of the water table. It’s like our federal budget: when times our tough, we “tighten our belts” by cutting basic research or education funding from 5% to 2%, but won’t flinch at spending >50% of discretionary budget on “defense”.

fennecfoxen 6y ago
Almond trees last 20-25 years and take 4 years to bear fruit. Saving almond trees during a drought would be an excellent use of the Central Valley's water supplies. Short-lived water-intensive crops like rice and alfalfa, on the other hand, we could have done without. You would think that this would mean that the almond farmers would simply buy water from any rice farmers who had seniority in their water rights. Hahahahahahhahahaha, you fool! That would make sense, so it's illegal. Also, if an alfalfa farmer who did get water didn't use it all (in the name of conservation, perhaps) they'd lose access to that water forever.
- tdeck 6y ago
  Almond farmers are sucking water out of the Central Valley aquifers faster than it can be replaced, even in a rainy year. The problem is there's no limit on drilling and pumping. IIUC riparian rights are handled differently in the western US than they have been traditionally elsewhere, leading to a race to deplete the shared resource before it's all gone.
  - gen220 6y ago
    There’s a nice planet money episode about this: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/425392169 https://www.npr.org/transcripts/425392169
- gen220 6y ago
  It’s a good point, about almond trees. I’m not doubting that it made the “most” sense in the moment. I guess I’m more distressed by how we ended up specializing in such water intensive crops, in a valley with a severe and worsening, decades-long water shortage! Within a few decades, there won’t be water left to grow anything... I’m not generally interventionist, but I think the markets have failed us here (unless I’m severely misunderstanding things, please correct me). I‘m all for almonds and rice, but we really should be taxing the externalities. I’m pessimistic we’ll ever get to that equilibrium. But yeah. All this focusing on consumer water use is a distraction. We need to have an honest discussion about how the agriculture water system should be architected, so the state can continue to be productive for generations to come.