The internet has always been a collection of social media platforms: bulletin boards, Usenet, IRC, people hosting little personal sites and making contact with each other via email, etc. It got bad when big money arrived and brought in the general public. First is was platforms like AOL’s chat rooms and forums, and later things like Facebook and Twitter. We are all living in eternal September now.

Exhibit A: this t-shirt from 1994

She might be dead

That’s the power of consent!

Side note: If worrying about climate isn’t enough, we can also worry about potential famine as we use up our fossil fuels.

We are able to feed the world because of the Haber-Bosch process. This process uses fossil fuels, usually natural gas, to produce synthetic ammonia for fertilizer. That fertilizer makes modern high-yield farming possible. “Without the Haber-Bosch process we would only be able to produce around two-thirds the amount of food we do today.”
https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/features/cewctw-fritz-haber-and-carl-bosch-feed-the-world/

In the US it’s roughly a tie between road transportation and energy generation (which lumps together both heat and electricity).

(Source: University of Michigan https://css.umich.edu/publications/factsheets/sustainability-indicators/carbon-footprint-factsheet)

The global breakdown is similar: https://www.wri.org/insights/4-charts-explain-greenhouse-gas-emissions-countries-and-sectors

The solutions? Build mass transit, live in temperate climates, buy less stuff, …? Honestly, I don’t think we’re not going to fix the problem with simple, local improvements (though by all means do what you can). There are global demographic forces to contend with. A century ago there were 2 billion people on earth. Now there are >8 billion, and in my lifetime we will surpass 9 billion. Many of those people are climbing out of poverty, and they want cars and air conditioners and all the other energy-intensive things that rich countries have enjoyed for a century. IMO we’re going to need massive technological changes (like powering much of the world with nuclear very soon) in concert with a major population reduction and/or major changes to how people expect to live.

Global North

Australia

I know what they’re trying to say, but this still bugs me.

Same here. Paper ballots that can be machine scanned and stored for manual audits seem like the best possible method.

Not my language, but I like the Dutch word “peperduur” for “very expensive.” I like that the meaning has both historical and emotional aspects: pepper was once very expensive, and a high price can be considered spicy.

In English, “crestfallen” is a good one. When I read it I immediately imagine someone hanging their head in dismay.

The trend toward subdued color palettes. Every new home is decorated in “millennial gray.” Most cars are black, white, gray, or silver. You have to go out of your way to find bright, colorful clothing or furniture. It’s incredibly boring and I can’t wait for the pendulum to swing back the other way.

often a really good option from a functional POV

This right here. Electronic devices are full of plastics because they are often the best, or only, way to make those devices function and remain safe. You’re not going to make a car that meets any modern crash safety standard without plastic materials. Your not going to replace medical tubing with paper or cloth. Etc., etc.

The world can certainly use less plastic, and should use less. But eliminating it completely will require either (a) developing some novel new replacement material, or (b) giving up a lot of useful things humans have developed in the past century.

The Baz Luhrmann movie is definitely worth a rewatch.

Texans will appreciate that you refer to them as Texans rather then American.

It depends on your plumbing. If your sink’s waste pipe is large enough, and has enough slope, and you put enough water down the drain to wash all the solids through the pipe, then you can certainly put food down the sink drain.

In my house the kitchen sink’s waste pipe is smaller than what the toilets use. And it makes a long, minimally-sloped run to the main sewer connection. That pipe will clog in a hurry if I put food down the kitchen sink drain.

I think that goes to my point about simple comparisons being difficult. Norway has a high GDP relative to its size, so 4% might be more than enough for their situation. You also have to account for things like the labor cost of teachers, which varies by country.

Comparing things like this between countries is not straightforward. For example, Australia spends $14.1k per student while New Zealand spends $8.6k. That’s about 5.2% of GDP for both countries. From those numbers, would we conclude that Australia is overpaying, or New Zealand is underpaying, or that the two countries are comparable?

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/education-spending-by-country

If the mountain contains valuable minerals then the cost will be negative; you can make money by removing it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountaintop_removal_mining

Though, depending on the geology, you might not want to build a town on the resulting site. Sometimes heavy metals leach out of the disturbed rock, resulting in polluted surface water.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_mine_drainage

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Pit

Not so much eating, but having to choose what to eat, prepare/order it, and clean up afterwards. Sometimes, after a full day, it’s one chore too many.

That looks… uncomfortable.

It’s wild how many episodes have been edited or removed from circulation due to their content.

https://renandstimpy.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_banned/censored_episodes

Humans are messed up.

In other news, I would totally buy a box of those to gift to my family.