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Thread: OT: Politics

  1. #1331
    on a more serious note, we are learning that conservatives never really gave a shit about patriotic acts, or veterans today either. it was never about disrespecting the flag, or the troops. guess what it was always about? starts with an R ....

    seriously, the trump presidency and conservatives continued support of it, shows they never actually cared about ANY of the issues they have been arguing at us for 25 years.
    social conservatism: the mortal fear that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.

  2. #1332
    Insider PBSteve's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lurker27 View Post
    @ Steve - I'm actually curious if there is ANY good wildfire prevention solution for your locale - I'm guessing it's mostly that it gets super dry + windy that anything like a firebreak can't work. The only thing I can think of is really awesome surveillance and fast action (drones with water buckets or something?) that prevent the fires from hitting critical mass. That's clearly going to be expensive to implement and comes with a big dose of Big Brother-ishness, but the property damage numbers from these fires have to be astronomical.
    Yeah, it's very difficult. The problem in this area is the Santa Ana winds, which blow across the Mojave and out to sea. The air is warm and incredibly dry, any biomass in its path (mostly shrubs and grass) are dried out to the point of nearly spontaneous ignition.

    I'd be pretty weary of using drones, I doubt they'd be very effective with a limited water supply (these fires can spread tens or even hundreds of yards in a couple of minutes) and probably pose a fire risk themselves. Video feed fire towers and AI to watch them would probably be a decent approach.
    Ever so many citizens of this republic think they ought to believe that the Universe is a monarchy, and therefore they are always at odds with the republic. -Alan Watts

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  3. #1333
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    Fire moving that fast is terrifying. You're right about the water supply issue, of course - getting it there would be rough.

    Your photo reminded me of days spent up on mt Wilson is Pasadena with my late grandfather. It's a really cool thing to have, so close to the city. Here's to hoping things calm down

  4. #1334
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    Report #242, February 2018
    Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada
    Overview
    Full Report
    Executive Summary
    Press Release
    Study Description
    Study Schedule
    Overview
    In this report, the Commission calls for transformational culture change in its forest management practices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported in December 2017 that approximately 27 million trees had died statewide on federal, state and private lands since November 2016. The tally brought to 129 million the number of trees that have died in California forests during years of drought and bark beetle infestations since 2010.

    During its review, the Commission found that California*s forests suffer from neglect and mismanagement, resulting in overcrowding that leaves them susceptible to disease, insects and wildfire. The Commission found commitment to long-lasting forest management changes at the highest levels of government, but that support for those changes needs to spread down not just through the state*s massive bureaucracy and law- and policymaking apparatuses, but among the general public as well. Complicating the management problem is the fact that the State of California owns very few of the forests within its borders * most are owned by the federal government or private landowners.

    Among the Commission*s nine recommendations, it urges the state to take a greater leadership role in collaborative forest management planning at the watershed level. The Good Neighbor Authority granted in the 2014 Farm Bill provides a mechanism for the state to conduct restoration activities on federal land, but state agencies must have the financial and personnel resources to perform this work. As part of this collaborative effort, it calls upon the state to use more prescribed fire to reinvigorate forests, inhibit firestorms and help protect air and water quality. Central to these efforts must be a statewide public education campaign to help Californians understand why healthy forests matter to them, and elicit buy-in for the much-needed forest treatments.
    The government of California found that the state of California was not effectively managing the land to help stop forest fires, and it needs funding to do controlled burns and related. In an interesting bit, it says the general population is ignorant of why that is important, and what needs to be done. Ironic that what you guys are saying is proof of that ignorance.

    You want to fix the problem Steve? Stop blaming Trump, and fix the problem that can only be saved inside of your own states government. Vote accordingly. Support candidates that will support management. Volunteer. Getting mad on the internet at the president is throwing your anger in the wrong direction. Again. He can't control this, only your states government can, but isn't. Hard facts, straight from your own states government. Maybe you should listen to that. Or maybe you can sit on here and rage at the wrong person because he tweeted something that hurt your poor little flower heart and you act by insulting nearly half of the country on a small forum where it affects nothing. Oh, and that tweet was also correct, and you are not, as shown above. Really - do some research. Any would be a nice start.

    Ryan,

    What needs to be done, as outlined in almost any of these situations, is controlled burns and proper forest management, but also of education. Most of that is not beneficial to the timber industry, as shown by Steve's back yard. A fire break, controlled burns and related would help a lot. We had a lot of that in Alaska after the beetle kill up there and we have a lot of fire education. The easier part is we have mostly federal ownership of the land, but we have fewer resources and a lot more land. So education and related are important, and so is a controlled fire burn program.

    Which California tends to reject and not fund. Different states, same problem, different solutions. One works and one doesn't. Alaska has a $12 billion or so a year budget, and California is in the $250 billion range. Alaska has 663,000 square miles vs 164,000 in California. I think they can figure it out if Alaska can, but the will to do that most likely the problem. Is it more important than, say, maybe a bullet train project?

    https://lhc.ca.gov/report/fire-mount...-sierra-nevada

    Since you read these things, and Steve and Gordon don't.
    Last edited by pbjosh; 11-12-2018 at 11:36 PM.
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  5. #1335
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    I think it's possible that document applies to the Camp fire, but not the Woolsey fire in Steve's locale (not the Sierra Nevada). From that perspective, Trump's tweet is certainly wrong. It's possible that better management strategies have a role to play, but you have to admit that drawing any sort of environmental equivalency between Alaska and California is myopic, at best - it's hotter, drier, and Steve just explained how the wind exacerbates the fires. I'm leary of the idea that controlled burns would help much in the Malibu area.
    "So you've done this before?"
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  6. #1336
    the areas of the fire are under federal jurisdiction and management. trump could change how they managed right now.

    it was never about "forest management"

    stop arguing against arguments THEY THEMSELVES KNOW THEY ARE LYING ABOUT

    FYI, the fires also arn't in forests either. so thats two total bullshit lies.


    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/u...ire-tweet.html

    stop willfully lying. you either are lying and you know it, or you are a moron. it is that simple.
    Last edited by cockerpunk; 11-13-2018 at 09:39 AM.
    social conservatism: the mortal fear that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.

  7. #1337
    Insider PBSteve's Avatar
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    Josh,

    It's right in your quote ffs, you know the part you didn't bold.

    Complicating the management problem is the fact that the State of California owns very few of the forests within its borders * most are owned by the federal government or private landowners.

    Among the Commission*s nine recommendations, it urges the state to take a greater leadership role in collaborative forest management planning at the watershed level. The Good Neighbor Authority granted in the 2014 Farm Bill provides a mechanism for the state to conduct restoration activities on federal land, but state agencies must have the financial and personnel resources to perform this work.
    You're not going to correct 50 million acres in 4 years, regardless of your budget. While fighting fires. Alaska does not have the santa anas or diablo winds. Nor the agricultural lands. Nor the severe droughts. There's a whole list of difficulties here that you don't have in Alaska.

    Oh and FYI, nearly every politician in the state runs on a platform of implementing fire management practices. The state just dropped a twelfth of Alaska's entire budget on a five year fire prevention program.
    http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-p...901-story.html

    And yeah, I didn't blame Trump for anything other than being a fuck while people are dying. Christ you're predictable, if there's something you can know nothing about and pipe up as an "expert" you're the easiest bet in town. You might even be worse than Donald.

    I found the problem right here:

    Last edited by PBSteve; 11-13-2018 at 10:46 AM.
    Ever so many citizens of this republic think they ought to believe that the Universe is a monarchy, and therefore they are always at odds with the republic. -Alan Watts

    I work for the company building the Paragon

  8. #1338
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    I was in the Virgenes quite a bit earlier this year when my daughter was being treated, and it really is a beautiful stretch of land. Not quite a desert and not a forest, but something in between. Steve's picture pretty well covers it. The fires are rapidly approaching where my daughter was treated in Malibu. Hard to believe how fast these fires are moving. I'm really in support of most any plan that can control for future wildfires in the area, but right now it's so aggressive that there is talk that PG&E might go into bankruptcy for the damages to infrastructure. Shutting down a utility feels like a federal emergency to me.

  9. #1339
    Insider PBSteve's Avatar
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    Dye's sitting down in San Diego praying quietly (no sparks, no sparks, no sparks)...probably not a bad idea to join them.

    https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...story,amp.html
    Ever so many citizens of this republic think they ought to believe that the Universe is a monarchy, and therefore they are always at odds with the republic. -Alan Watts

    I work for the company building the Paragon

  10. #1340
    social conservatism: the mortal fear that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.

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