Friday, August 3, 2012

Question for the weekend

Will this summer's drought and the resulting shortage of basic foodstuffs be a problem serious enough so that even politicians and journalists understand that it is no longer possible to ignore the problems of climate change?

I say "no" but this is because I believe it is always bad to bet against stupid in USA.

4 comments:

  1. Being and acting stupid is a luxury Americans can no longer afford. That is maybe the only bright side of our our modern times filled with man-made and foolishly handled calamities, that people will become firsthand acquainted with the wisdom of the ages.

    Politicians focused on gays and abortion, CNN et all reporting on picketing funerals and TomKat's celebrity divorce...not a big deal when the pantry is empty, Dad's out of work, and the family home is underwater.

    This is Dust Bowl Era stuff with no California to run away to, so those 'New Deal' reforms that underlay Hopey/Changey 08 candidate Obama that were tossed aside in 09 may get a longer discussion this fall as crops failures come to reality.

    Or the elites can wait for the riots...their call. I just think they will be surprised at the location of these riots, because they aren't gonna be downtown like a generation ago.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I say "no" as well, for much the same reason. Also, this quote attributed to Keynes comes to mind--just extend it to the country as a whole: "Markets can remain irrational a lot longer than you and I can remain solvent." The crazy and stupid can go on a lot longer than any sane person would expect.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with you, and for the same reason.

    I work for the EPA. Asked one of my managers about the drought. He was surprised to learn we are even having one. Same with the lady at the register at the supermarket. What drought?

    When homelessness was launched in the 80s they literally covered it up by pretending it did not exist. If they can pretend that city parks filled to overflowing with destitute families are invisible, I'm guessing painful increases in the cost of goods at the supermarket will be easy to brush off.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Mike. Yes indeed, stupid IS a luxury that can only be afforded by the rich. We are about to discover just how expensive stupid is.

    @Bolo. GREAT quote!

    @someofparts. HOW can a manager at EPA not know about this drought? One of the great attractions environmental studies held for me was that it is cross-disciplinary. To be good at it, you had to know a lot about a lot of things. Now none of us can know everything about a subject but how the heck do you ignore something that affects over half the counties in USA? In-freaking-credible.

    ReplyDelete