The atomization of decision-making allows entrenched interests to disrupt progress. If you've ever been to a city planning meeting, you can see how NIMBY homeowners block transit upgrades or affordable housing. Sometimes consensus is impossible
Also, lots of state and local governments in the US have strong renter protections.
For sure. I think trying to preserve these tools is a bit of a waste of time. But extending their lifespan is always a win in my book
I'm from a big wind state. It's absurd to me how unpopular wind farms have been among rural folk. It brings jobs and revenue and has a relatively small land foot print. I just don't get why people don't like them, except for culture war stuff :/
The only disease to be fully eradicated, 5 million people can live every year who otherwise would have died had we not defeated this disease
Unfortunately, I don't know if it would be possible for another species to reach our level of technology or civilization. We built up our society off of easily accessible energy resources (surface-level coal being our first source of industrial energy). This energy excess allowed us to develop other sources of energy, solar, wind, nuclear, etc. But if you tried starting from zero again, you could never get to this point, at least along the same path, as you need a high level of technology to access any available energy resources. Thus, if any new species took our place, they could only ever rise to the level of the pre-industrial revolution.
Highways were constructed in regions with sparse populations or in urban areas with little political power (primarily black and Latino neighborhoods). Basically, areas where democracy didn't have to function because there was no democratic power to block it. Whereas nowadays, with higher levels of democracy (unequivocally good) and local control (more of a mixed bag), massive infrastructure projects are harder to accomplish. Plus, the 50s had the benefit of a booming postwar economy and the national cohesion (at least among enfranchised Americans).
I figured there were some issues like that, I think I'm more into the general idea than this specific execution
I am really heartened by how solar continues to punch higher and higher above projections year-after-year.
Exactly. I grew up on a farm and there's no way a regular bus route would efficiently service us. Cars are still necessary but their usage can be greatly reduced.
For instance, in Europe most suburban/rural households can get by with one car. And in urban areas no car lifestyle is very easy to pull off
If you ever find yourself with small logs or large branches, I recommend looking into Hugelkultur, which similarly involves building mounds of compostable organic material around large pieces of wood, which allows for the slow breakdown and release of nutrients over time
Poplars and willows are fairly fast growing. Plus there are perennial grass feedstocks