infrastructure

TRX
February 14, 2012
29:
> 2030 to 2040

18 to 28 years from now.

Looking back on the last 30 years of politics, technology, and economics, and the last 40 year in general...

I'm going to go for the position that not a hell of a lot is going to change at the visible level. The infrastructure may change, but to most people, the infrastructure is just that - they don't know or care how electricity gets to the wall socket, how water gets to the tap, or what happens to their garbage when they set it out. It could be interdimensional translation, chain gangs, or nanotech... but it still be part of the background they don't notice.

TRX
February 15, 2012
103:
> I was born in 54 and never had any
> duck and cover drills.

Born in 1959, had "nuclear attack" drills in schools in four states. They were the ones where you hid under your desk. One state (Tennessee) had tornado drills. We had to move away from the windows.

TRX
February 16, 2012
206:
> The problems with rooftop PV and
> local wind turbines are currently
> more political than technical

PV is within my budget for my current remodeling project, but unless I can have the neighbor's trees removed, it would be a waste of time. Not the shading; the continuous downfall of sap that covers my roof, my walls, and my vehicles would shortly lower the efficiency of the PV panels to not enough to worry about. And I'm not inclined to climb up on the roof with a bucket and scrub brush every few weeks.

Unfortunately, trees are practically worshipped here. Having one removed from your own property requires a permit from the city, and it would probably take an expensive lawsuit showing imminent danger of property damage to do anything about trees on someone else's property.

TRX
February 17, 2012
250:
> Moving half the people in LA back to
> the rust belt to rebuild Cleveland
> and Detroit might make even more
> sense, actually,

The Black Helicopter aficionados would LOVE to hear about that plan...