Political rants

I hate how the site handles images. Ugh. Copy pasta then. China is the largest emitter of CO2 in the world, with about 9.3 GT of carbon dioxide emissions in 2017. This is about 28% of the world’s total emissions. China’s per capita emissions are around 6.5 tons, the 12th-highest of any country. The United States has the second-highest carbon emissions at 4.8 GT in 2017. The United States is responsible for about 14% of the total global emissions. Additionally, the U.S. has the fourth-highest per capita emissions of 14.9 tons. After almost a decade of decrease in energy use, total energy consumption in the United States has increased in recent years likely because of greater heating and cooling demands and cheaper oil prices increasing the number of people traveling.

Citation for the per capita statement? I don't believe that for a second. (I don't doubt it's up there, but I can think of several small countries that output a lot of co2)

As for gun sales, those went up last year and after the "Summer of Love" that's understandable. Once you see videos of people shop lifting in broad daylight and being filmed without a care in the world, and violent criminals being set free with their charges dropped, that's even more understandable. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/31/us-gun-sales-rise-pandemic "...data study, compiled by Northeastern University and the Harvard Injury Control Research Center and seen by the New York Times, shows that 6.5% of US adults, or 17 million people, have purchased guns in the past year, up from 5.3% in 2019. Of those, almost one-fifth who bought guns last year were first-time gun owners of whom half were women, a fifth were Black and a fifth were Hispanic, challenging the stereotype of white male gun owners building personal arsenals. In 2021, gun owners overall were 63% male, 73% were white, 10% were Black and 12% Hispanic. ...The FBI reported a 25% rise in homicides last year that has continued into this with an 18% increase over the first three months of 2021 across 37 cities, including rises of 36% in Los Angeles and 23% in New York."

It seems like too much of a stretch to jump from guns to an increase in homicides to me. Mental health overall has been very poor for many since this pandemic started. We've seen large increases in domestic violence as well. That's not cause they bought a gun.

Ah, I wouldn't be surprised if that were true. The last excerpt felt like it carried a subtle implication just due to how it was presented, but I was also reading quickly.

Also,lack of trust in police. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/03/gun-sales-january-background-checks/%3foutputType=amp "The killing of George Floyd set off a summer of racial-justice protests and prompted retailers in some cities to board up windows. Firearms sales went even higher, to 2.8 million in June and 2.5 million in July. Walmart removed gun and ammunition displays from thousands of its U.S. stores. Steven Dulan, who teaches firearms law at Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School and is on the board of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners, said he has heard of new gun owners buying firearms as an investment, like a precious metal. Far more common, he said, are the reports from first-time buyers who say they no longer trust police departments to protect them, especially after some agencies were overwhelmed by protesters during the summer."

Huh, yup. My Walmart doesn't even have a gun section anymore. It's just completely gone. Went away when they remodeled a month or two ago. I haven't trusted police to protect me for quite awhile. It's not really their job. They are policy enforcers. They are not defenders, they are not responsible for protecting you, and they are not required to put themselves in harms way for you. Sure, there are some outstanding individuals who will do so, but I'm not going to depend on that.

Most police officers see it as a job. They have families they have people they would like to go home to. So is the case that they would likely not risk their lives for you. Why put themselves in a dangerous situation when they can just let those looting loot and leave it to the people do as they see fit to defend. Its really hard to ask someone to risk their lives everyday. Thats why there is so many police shootings. Some are racist but most are justified.

I guess my subtle point is if the climate crisis needs to be addressed, looks like from multiple sources, China should be addressing it harder than the US. RE guns. I hope I never see the US in the state that Australia is in today. I used to want gun control because of a couple of childhood incidents with them. In hindsight I can see one being more of a mental health issue and the other an intelligence issue (or lack thereof).