California Doing California Things

[TSwizzle]

now you know why it’s such a hellhole and no one wants to move there. Except homeless people.

Plenty of people and businesses are leaving California and It is only some areas of some cities that are hellholes. The state and many of its cities are governed by donkeys. Newsom has started pointing fingers at the cities for the homeless problems "do your damned job" he tells them.

This is what we have to put up with;

A passenger was shot and killed and an armed man suspected of hijacking a Metro bus and taking its driver hostage was arrested following a terrifying pursuit and standoff Wednesday morning in downtown Los Angeles.

News

 

[Shadowy Man]

now you know why it’s such a hellhole and no one wants to move there. Except homeless people.

Plenty of people and businesses are leaving California

That's true, depending on your definition of "plenty". A quick internet search indicates the population decreased by 0.2% last year.

A passenger was shot and killed and an armed man suspected of hijacking a Metro bus and taking its driver hostage was arrested following a terrifying pursuit and standoff Wednesday morning in downtown Los Angeles.

News

Well, in a state of early 40 million people, the occasional odd thing is destined to happen. It's not like it's Florida, though.

 

[TSwizzle]

Well, in a state of early 40 million people, the occasional odd thing is destined to happen. It's not like it's Florida, though.

Los Angeles is a open air psychiatric ward, these "odd things" are frequent.

 

[Shadowy Man]

Well, in a state of early 40 million people, the occasional odd thing is destined to happen. It's not like it's Florida, though.

Los Angeles is a open air psychiatric ward, these "odd things" are frequent.

Of course it's open air; as you so rightfully state, the weather is quite good most of the time.

 

[ZiprHead]

now you know why it’s such a hellhole and no one wants to move there. Except homeless people.

Plenty of people and businesses are leaving California and It is only some areas of some cities that are hellholes. The state and many of its cities are governed by donkeys. Newsom has started pointing fingers at the cities for the homeless problems "do your damned job" he tells them.

This is what we have to put up with;

A passenger was shot and killed and an armed man suspected of hijacking a Metro bus and taking its driver hostage was arrested following a terrifying pursuit and standoff Wednesday morning in downtown Los Angeles.

News

Apparently crime doesn't happen elsewhere. You should probably move.

 

[Derec]

I just saw a nephrologist, so I am wondering what it does to my kidneys.

Did you ask him what he thought about it?

 

[Derec]

Hey, those seas of plastic in the oceans aren't a big deal. We can harvest from them in the next decade.

I am not saying we should not do something about plastic being dumped in oceans, but I am skeptical of such heavy-handed government regulation - i.e. a complete ban.

 

[Derec]

https://suffolkcountyny.gov/Portals/0/FormsDocs/health/PublicHealthProtection/Website%20Enviromental%20Impactsv3.pdf

Lots of information on these two pages of PDF that shows that you have no idea about what you are talking about.

Let's look at some of these "arsefacts" you posted critically, shall we?
When we are talking about a product that is widely used, it will have huge aggregate quantities. Such large numbers are good for propaganda, which is what this pamphlet by Suffolk County, NY government basically is.
"It requires 2.2 billion pounds of fossil fuel and 3.9 billion gallons of fresh water to produce the 100 billion plastic bags the US consumes each year."
Billions and billions. Tsts. But if we divide, it allegedly takes just about 10 g of fossil fuels and 150 mL of water to make a plastic bag. That looks far less impressive. Especially since it just says "plastic bags" which implies all plastic bags, not just the very thin standard shopping bags that do not use much material compared to other plastic bags people might use.
"The manufacturing of plastic bags produces a billion pounds of solid waste and 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)per year."
4.5 g of solid waste and 27 g of CO₂ in other words.
"Plastic shopping bags are made from polyethylene, a thermoplastic made from oil. Accordingly, reducing the use of plastic bags will decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. "
Not by much.
And it goes on like that.

I reuse my grocery shopping bags. They are useful for carrying small things and as trash bags, e.g. in a car or to line small trash bags like you might have in the bathroom.
And you have to compare these plastic bags with alternatives. How much energy and other inputs are required to make paper bags?
As far as reusable bags, how many trips do they last in practice? How much energy and water is needed to clean them?
And compare the plastic shopping bags with all the plastic packaging that ends up inside the bags. There is easily far more plastic inside the bags than in bags themselves.

 

[Derec]

Per Google AI:
Yup, totally insignificant.

I would not trust Google (or any other) AI with these things. It used the 8M metric tons figure for two different quantities for example.

That said, I never said that the problem of plastic pollution is insignificant. I just do not think that banning these thin grocery shopping bags that weigh a few grams or so is going to do anything significant. Especially given the amount of plastic packaging in groceries themselves.
I happen to have went to Publix today. Stocking up for that hurricane Helene that is bearing on us - you never know.
Produce? Lose produce gets put in a plastic bag. You know the kind, that you pull from a roll. Other produce, like a bag of spinach or a box of lettuce heads, is packed in plastic. So is the box of strawberries or mushrooms. Meats come in that little polystyrene tray and are shrink-wrapped. Fish was packed in paper though. Other stuff - bacon packed in plastic. Pasta - paper but color printed which takes energy and other inputs. Pasta sauce is in a glass jar but that is not free either resource-wise.
Some other things, but you get my drift.

Maybe instead of mindlessly banning all and sundry, California and other states could fund research into making better biodegradable plastics for single use applications.

 

[Derec]

A big problem with plastic bag that go to the land fill is that they reduce the amount of water peculation that helps break down the waste.

Wouldn't you want the amount of water peculation to be reduced?
Or, you must mean percolation. Aren't landfills already lined with water-impermeable liners on the bottom?
And it would be more durable bags, from plastic bags from clothing stores to discarded reusable grocery bags, that would present more of a barrier problem. The grocery store bags are so thin and flimsy, they tear apart easy.

Maybe grocery store can use bags like these instead. Would that not be better than restricting consumer choice by banning plastic bags outright?

 

[Derec]

Horry County, SC, home to North Myrtle Beach, is a strongly conservative area that has implemented a single-use plastic bag ban. The same goes for Beaufort County, where Hilton Head Island has also adopted similar bans.

Do you have a link?
What I could find is that it was the city of NMB, not the Horry County, that came up with that ban.
North Myrtle Beach City Council considers banning all plastic bags in city
Not sure about the politics of the city itself.

These are just two examples of Republican-leaning regions taking action to protect the environment. Not all conservatives disregard science or critical thinking. That's a personal choice.

My problem is not with science but with heavy-handed government regulation infringing on personal choice.

Edit: I never claimed entire states—what I specifically said was 'parts of.'

That's my point. Parts of states can have politics diametrically opposite to the states themselves. Same goes for counties.

 

[TSwizzle]

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed an official apology for harms caused by slavery and hundreds of years of discrimination against Black Californians. The governor also approved legislation that would make public the list of books the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has banned in prison and would further protect Californians from being discriminated against due to their hair style or texture.

News

Newsom will make for a great president.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed an official apology for harms caused by slavery and hundreds of years of discrimination against Black Californians. The governor also approved legislation that would make public the list of books the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has banned in prison and would further protect Californians from being discriminated against due to their hair style or texture.

News

Newsom will make for a great president.

As we know, if it hasn't impacted TSwizzle, it simply doesn't exist.

 

[Elixir]

Let’s take legislative advice from a dude who will vote for a twice impeached, 34x Felon under 88 open indictments…
Yeah, that’s someone you need to listen to regarding criminal behavior, law & order, who to elect …

 

[unapologetic]

what the actual fuck are government doing getting into the real estate business?

They've been in the business for decades or centuries. They are a fairly major player. In fact the fed OWNS - outright! - about 28% of all the real estate in America*. State governments own about 9%. CA owns 45,493,133 acres of real estate.


*(Certainly not that high a percentage in Santa Monica; the feds might have an office space here or there, but they probably mostly rent.)

I was shocked. 75% of Navada is owned by the US.
I found this map:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/US_federal_land.agencies.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_land#United_States

No, it's money going to non-citizens when that money could be used to improve the lives of actual citizens.

No, every penny is going to the BANKS.

 

[Politesse]

what the actual fuck are government doing getting into the real estate business?

They've been in the business for decades or centuries. They are a fairly major player. In fact the fed OWNS - outright! - about 28% of all the real estate in America*. State governments own about 9%. CA owns 45,493,133 acres of real estate.


*(Certainly not that high a percentage in Santa Monica; the feds might have an office space here or there, but they probably mostly rent.)

I was shocked. 75% of Navada is owned by the US.
I found this map:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/US_federal_land.agencies.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_land#United_States

No, it's money going to non-citizens when that money could be used to improve the lives of actual citizens.

No, every penny is going to the BANKS.

Most of Nevada is either dry salty flats stretching for hundreds of miles or rugged mountain crests covered in sage and pine. To me the Great Basin is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I'm glad the government oversees the use of its mostly wild reaches, though it surely fared better in former times. Say what you will of the Shoshoni, but they did not bomb the shit out of things just for the hell of it the way Americans do. In a land where any action you take can leave a mark that lasts for centuries...

 

[bilby]

what the actual fuck are government doing getting into the real estate business?

They've been in the business for decades or centuries. They are a fairly major player. In fact the fed OWNS - outright! - about 28% of all the real estate in America*. State governments own about 9%. CA owns 45,493,133 acres of real estate.


*(Certainly not that high a percentage in Santa Monica; the feds might have an office space here or there, but they probably mostly rent.)

I was shocked. 75% of Navada is owned by the US.
I found this map:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/US_federal_land.agencies.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_land#United_States

No, it's money going to non-citizens when that money could be used to improve the lives of actual citizens.

No, every penny is going to the BANKS.

Most of Nevada is either dry salty flats stretching for hundreds of miles or rugged mountain crests covered in sage and pine. To me the Great Basin is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I'm glad the government oversees the use of its mostly wild reaches, though it surely fared better in former times. Say what you will of the Shoshoni, but they did not bomb the shit out of things just for the hell of it the way Americans do. In a land where any action you take can leave a mark that lasts for centuries...

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Frankly, it sounded to me like they just wanted the wiring pre-installed to make installing the Breathalyzer easier.

BMW does that. The wiring for all options is installed at the factory. You want the alarm system. Okay. install the siren, the level sensor and the proximity sensor. All the wiring is there, just plug them in.

You want the Homelink garage door controller. Buy the module, pull out the wiring and plug it in. It's all yours.

I have no problem with that. Properly integrated wiring is far less likely to cause a problem than stuff added after the fact.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

"Paper or plastic" will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that bans all plastic shopping bags. California had already banned thin plastic shopping bags at supermarkets and other stores, but shoppers could purchase bags made with a thicker plastic that purportedly made them reusable and recyclable. The new measure, approved by state legislators last month, bans all plastic shopping bags starting in 2026. As San Francisco's mayor in 2007, Newsom signed the nation's first plastic bag ban.

News

More virtue signaling from CA legislature.

We don't have a use for these things after they are used once. We need to stop using them. Their cost post use is problematic. Cheap ass stores bags aren't good either. We need food luggage bags (durable, made to be used for over a decade, not actual luggage). They already exist. They are convenient as all heck. Three bags instead of 16, each on the verge of destruction. Plastic has its benefits (very light, inert, relatively cheap), but it is extremely costly (fucking inert!, environment issues regarding degradation and entering the ecosystem and then into our bodies, mostly impossible to repurpose/reuse).

The problem is that a lot of us use them as trash bags. Replace them with the food luggage bags (which aren't actually as green as it might seem and have very real issues with cross-contamination) likely means people buy a lot more trash bags.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

But hey, if that bothers you, you can always move to Texas, where apparently, according to their Supreme Court, single-use plastic bags are part of their waste management strategy!

They are useful for lining small garbage cans.

Yup. Two small cans that are lined with them and in the kitchen we have a bigger can that's not really lined, just a grocery bag stood up inside it. Those rarely are filled, they are disposed of in a day or two because of the organic waste in them. (Yeah, in theory, compost pile. I would not expect it to work here.)