Destabilized Saturday Edition #47
Scary summers and normal winters, Mitt Romney's beard, Florida's conundrum, the FBI investigates in North Carolina, and video of today's Manchin-Sinema meeting
Some thoughts on recent events at the end of this week:
So much for all the Republican losers of 2022 elections conceding:
It will be an indicator of democratic health whether or not Arizona Republicans believe Lake’s (false) claims that she actually won and had the gubernatorial election stolen from her. Does the existence of Trump’s Big Lie claims make similar subsequent claims more believable, or do Republicans start to show signs of drama fatigue?
Georgia voters returned Senator Rafael Warnock to the US Senate this week, making it official that in the 2022 midterms the party holding the White House gained one Senate seat.
Observation: In the U.S. in the climate change era, life is much more normal-seeming in the winter than in the summer. Summer is the season of flooding, wildfires, extreme heat, and hurricanes; winter feels more like it always has.
This seasonality of climate-fueled extreme weather tempts us to imagine things are fine. Combined with pro-democracy candidates exceeding expectations in the recent elections, the result is pleasant but disorienting. A defining feature of our destabilized age is increased uncertainty in many domains, and uncertainty is uncomfortable.
Florida needs more tax revenue to ruggedize their infrastructure against rising seas and more powerful hurricanes, but per this tweet their political leaders are instead reacting to pressure from constituents to reduce taxes and prevent insurance costs from rising along with climate risk. (This is why I argued in the spring that red states are a bad climate bet.)
My Work
Red states are a bad climate bet (link)
We should be wary when our views on a fact-based question, like what kinds of places will fare better in the climate change era, end up aligning with our preexisting political and ideological commitments. For example, if someone a few years ago thought Tesla made high quality products and played an important role in accelerating electric car adoption, but now that Elon Musk has made a reactionary heel turn thinks Teslas are bad vehicles, that opinion may be based on vibes more than reality.
We’re all subject to subconscious mental pressures like confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance, and to see the world clearly requires actively managing them. So it was with some trepidation that I reached the conclusion I will explain in this post. You can judge whether I’m seeing clearly or succumbing to wishful thinking.
Interesting Reads
As North Carolinians regain power, investigators probe terrorism and threats against power substations across the US (link)
The FBI had warned of reports of threats to electricity infrastructure by people espousing racially or ethnically motivated extremist ideology “to create civil disorder and inspire further violence,” the agency said in a November 22 bulletin sent to private industry.
…Beyond this month’s incidents in South Carolina and North Carolina, where lights flickered back on Wednesday:
• In Oregon, a substation in Clackamas was damaged in a “deliberate physical attack” over the Thanksgiving holiday, a Bonneville Power Administration spokesperson told CNN. “BPA operators discovered a cut perimeter fence and damaged equipment inside,” the spokesperson said, adding the company is working with the FBI on the incident.
• In Washington state, “two incidents occur(ed) in late November at two different substations,” Puget Sound Energy spokesperson told CNN. “Both incidents are currently under investigation by the FBI,” it said… And two Cowlitz County Public Utility District substations were vandalized in mid-November in the Woodland area, agency spokesperson Alice Dietz told The Seattle Times.
Tweets of the Week
Calling all Philadelphia Eagles fans
Extreme Weather Watch
Creeping Fascism Watch
A week after a mass shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs…
