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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 5th, 2023

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  • Good lord that isn’t how commodity prices work. There’s no cabal with complete control over global oil and gas prices. There are groups with varied interests depending on the amount and quality of oil they possess, but even that gets complicated. It boils down to what is on the market and how it’s bought and sold on contracts by global energy traders. Yes, OPEC and Saudi Arabia have some power over prices by increasing and decreasing supply on the market, but that’s been reduced with how much supply has come online over the years in the US and Canada. Russian supply cuts to Europe had a pretty obvious ripple effect, but after a year or so, supplies and relative demand have shifted. This reductionist take is so tiring and is such an obvious sign of lack of understanding how commodities markets, and quite likely economies themselves, actually work in the real world. It sounds almost as crazy as the right wing conspiracies about global cabals.



  • It’s worse unfortunately. Even if we stopped using plastic materials today the effects from this will carry on for many generations. Fortunately, I’m confident we will also find ways to mitigate the issue over time as well, but it’s a far greater challenge than lead. Perhaps as a positive the symptoms might not be akin to the violent behavior lead caused around the world. We shall see.







  • There isn’t a single front really, and the importance of Robotyne is its proximity to Tokmak, which is really in its supply line value. Major rail networks pass through it. By taking Robotyne they have proximity to start shelling Tokmak which is heavily fortified on all sides. I don’t know where Russia would be pushing back to retake it, but guessing instead they are falling behind the second line of defenses and doubling down in holding Tokmak. If that one falls to Ukraine, then we’re talking about cutting off supplies from Melitopol down through Crimea. They’d be in position to essentially squeeze Russia out over time.








  • You think the average human can just “choose” whatever life they want? Just get up one day and be like, “you know what? I’m going to save up for a horse and buggy.” That’s not a possibility for the vast majority of people. Go to the YouTube channels featuring people who HAVE made that switch in life and it’s usually people who had a lot of money, time, and independence before they made the decision.

    I know you probably have very decent intentions when you say this, but the lack of depth in consideration around how much actual freedom of movement people have is just really frustrating that it borders on victim blaming. Most people simply cannot do what you’re making sound like it’s a choice like flipping a light switch. It’s not.

    Even making simple changes in lifestyle can be challenging. What is up and down? A well educated person might still be confused as we had decades of a recycling industry that was basically non-existent, corporate interests intentionally confusing, and a whole corner of the public discourse outright lying to people about reality. It’s extremely challenging and often very expensive to choose the more environmentally conscious items when buying food and basic needs. Most people don’t have public transit options, can’t afford an EV, or don’t even have access to better options for what they buy either way.

    This problem is way more complicated than you’re making it and the fact yours is a common position on social media is extremely tiring. It’s also just a lazy take that is akin to yelling at traffic while you yourself are part of it. So I hope you at least counted yourself when you made that comment.