• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

People are complicated. Love is not.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Optimism opens the door to great things.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

We’re not going back!

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
Climate Solutions: Recommended Documentaries

Climate Change

You are here: Home / Archives for Climate Change

Open Thread: Another Maui Update

by Anne Laurie|  September 17, 20236:22 pm| 19 Comments

This post is in: How about that weather?, Information Warfare, Open Threads

West Maui opens on Oct 8 to visitors. We need you to come back — so many of my friends' jobs are resting on the return of visitors. https://t.co/ydB4OYGWag

— HawaiiDelilah™ 🟦 #MauiStrong (@HawaiiDelilah) September 16, 2023

Death toll from Maui wildfires drops to 97, with 31 missing https://t.co/B7hrjsuADQ

— Jeffrey Levin 🇺🇦 (@jilevin) September 16, 2023

Good (if gruesome) explainer from the Washington Post — “Death toll from Maui wildfires drops to 97, with 31 missing”:

show full post on front page

The death toll from the devastating wildfires on Maui dropped unexpectedly to 97 on Friday, a decrease that officials attributed to more precise testing done by military experts who found that some body bags contained human remains belonging to the same people and cautioned that a final count is still not finalized.

The blaze, which began Aug. 8, was already the deadliest in modern American history, far outstripping the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people in Paradise, Calif. Previously, Hawaii officials said at least 115 people died in the fires that quickly subsumed the historic town of Lahaina, but Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) said Friday the confirmed number of deaths has gone down.

“That number dropped a little bit because the Department of Defense and all of their physical anthropologists were able to help us discern better who was in cars or in houses,” Green said in a video statement. “So thank God, fewer people have passed away.”

There are still 31 open reports of missing people. “And not all of those who are lost have been identified,” Green added.

During a news conference Friday, Maui police said they’ve positively identified 74 individuals.

John Byrd, the laboratory director for the Pentagon’s agency in charge of identifying remains of U.S. war dead, said his team is assisting in the process but is not prepared to offer a final count for the number of fatalities…

Driving past Lahaina is so difficult. Nothing left of the town I call home. The news cycle moves so quickly. Don’t forget about us. Rally your representatives and senators to do the right thing and vote for the funding to help us. pic.twitter.com/Iz8yE9hgjm

— HawaiiDelilah™ 🟦 #MauiStrong (@HawaiiDelilah) September 15, 2023

My research on the disinformation campaign(s) targeting the Hawaii fires —which was amplified by Russia and China — is featured in this new piece by @HawaiiNewsNow.

The takeaway: Crises are a target for disinfo and social media is an attack surface.https://t.co/ddRXAHnYWe

— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) September 13, 2023

And it’s arguably good news that the local media is warning Hawaiians against the Space Laser! conspiracists…

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A disinformation campaign that sprung up almost immediately after wildfires ravaged Maui was spread by China and Russia, researchers have concluded.

And, they say, that campaign made the government’s response to the disaster even more difficult.

From weather warfare to floating bodies on another island to thousands of missing children to a Maui land grab, experts say online posts about the wildfires might have started as genuine concern.

But they also said China and Russia are now using artificial intelligence to amplify false messages and spread fear, division and distrust in government.

Caroline Amy Orr Bueno, a University of Maryland postdoctoral research associate and digital deception expert, said the online rumors started the day after the Aug. 8 fire.

One phrase “Hawaii, not Ukraine” was similar in messaging to what was seen online after the Ohio train derailment disaster.

“They link that to the U.S. providing support to Ukraine. The idea is the reason that the aid to Hawaii was inadequate was because our attention and our resources were going to Ukraine,” said Bueno.

“It was the same narrative with this overarching idea pitting the support for Ukraine against support for a local community,” she added.

Gov. Josh Green reacted to research on HNN’s “Spotlight Now,” saying the disinformation is disappointing — and dangerous.

“When you start talking about laser beams and heat rays coming from space that would take out a people on Maui, coming on let’s get real,” Green said…

New York Times correspondent Steven Lee Myers, who covers misinformation, told Hawaii News Now that Maui wildfire rumors had photos generated by artificial intelligence.

They were on all digital platforms and in multiple languages.

He says it’s hard to tell if China and Russia started the rumors or amplified once it was online…

“People are hurting, people are upset, they are looking for answers and in that space I think people can be vulnerable,” he added.

Experts also said that platforms like Facebook have taken down several pages linked to China, but say they need to do more.

Open Thread: Another Maui UpdatePost + Comments (19)

Climate Solutions: EVs and Battery Technology

by TaMara|  September 9, 202312:45 pm| 152 Comments

This post is in: Changing Climate, Climate Change, Climate Change Solutions

I’ve been following this New Zealander recently – mainly because his hobby is restoring old cars and turning them into EVs – it’s pretty simple, in the scheme of things. Probably easier and less costly than restoring an old combustion engine. From there, I found out he also reviews EV cars in New Zealand – by driving all around New Zealand, which is fun on many levels, to me anyway. As you’ll see in this video, he also represents an electric company in New Zealand that uses only renewables and he has expanded to reviewing larger EV equipment.

I’m excited to see that electric technology is moving into more and more diesel engine territory. And when I have time, I’ll go looking for USA examples. But for now, I enjoy his excitement for all things electric.

So this video led me to do a little exploring on lithium iron phosphate batteries – especially their flammability. Turns out one of their properties is they are slow to burn when pierced (they will burn once pierced, but it can take up to 8-minutes+ at a slow burn vs. bursting into flames).

And that led me back to Matt Ferrell and his video on some of the current battery technologies:

I also have some videos and articles on battery life and recycling that we can cover in another post (before the “but what about recycling and environmental hazards” crew weighs in on this post).

Anyway, that’s what I’ve been doing in my spare time this week, watching all things EV.  I am digging more into the IRA and Rewiring America but it is still at the overwhelming and not quite concise stage, so I’m waiting to write an update on all of it. CO seems to be dragging its feet on guidance, if your state is doing better, let me know and get me links, pretty please.

I was looking at taking advantage of electrifying my house this year with the incentives, but a new roof derailed my plans. I will start again on that research and keep y’all in the loop.

Anyone looking at purchasing an EV this year? Looks like there will be some good tax credits (info here and here) and some rebates, make sure your dealer is knowledgeable before you buy. Kelley Blue Book has a breakdown by state of cash rebates available, here. Of course, double-check with your state for requirements.

 

Climate Solutions: EVs and Battery TechnologyPost + Comments (152)

Monday Evening Open Thread: The Stranded Burners Are Escaping

by Anne Laurie|  September 4, 20236:17 pm| 102 Comments

This post is in: How about that weather?, Open Threads, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All, social media

BREAKING: Muddy roads that left tens of thousands of people stranded for days at Burning Man have dried enough to allow them to begin their exodus from the northern Nevada desert. https://t.co/l2Qs7Lf7VQ

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 4, 2023

… Burning Man organizers said they began to let traffic flow out of the main road around 2 p.m. local time — even as they continued to ask revelers to delay their exit to Tuesday to ease traffic. As of Monday afternoon, they said about 64,000 people remained at the festival site.

Organizers also asked attendees not to walk out of the Black Rock Desert about 110 miles (177 kilometers) north of Reno as others had done throughout the weekend, including celebrity DJ Diplo and comedian Chris Rock. They didn’t specify why.

The festival had been closed to vehicles after more than a half-inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain fell on Friday. The road closures came just before “the Man” was to be set ablaze Saturday night. The event traditionally culminates in the torching of the large wooden effigy shaped like a man and a wooden temple structure during the final two nights, but the fires were postponed to Monday night as authorities worked to reopen exit routes by the end of the Labor Day weekend…

At least one fatality has been reported, but organizers said the death of a man in his 40s wasn’t weather-related. The sheriff of nearby Pershing County said he was investigating but has not identified the man or a cause of death.

President Joe Biden told reporters in Delaware on Sunday that he was aware of the situation at Burning Man, including the death, and the White House was in touch with local authorities…

Trailing a plethora of online jokes with lifespans as brief and yet ancient as the dinosaur shrimp on the Playa:

we could fund social security for the next five hundred years by selling tapes of hunter biden explaining burning man to his dad https://t.co/eURT99eqhE

— Mrs. Detective Pikajew, Esq. (@clapifyoulikeme) September 4, 2023

You’re laughing? Influencers at Burning Man are unable to fulfill sponsored content agreements and you’re laughing?

— jordan (@JordanUhl) September 3, 2023

show full post on front page

There has never, in the history of man, been a group of people less in need of our thoughts and prayers than those stranded at Burning Man.

— Brasidas (@br4s1d4s) September 3, 2023

My biggest fear is having to listen to burning man attendees talk about it. They probably won’t eat each other and will give themsleves a lot of credit for this, as opposed to the Nevada state government.

— Crabcake Inspector (@ilpomodoro2) September 3, 2023

Two months if you just roll coal at them and then float away https://t.co/kAZoGNfkYQ

— Pinboard (@Pinboard) September 3, 2023

tech leadership trapped at burning man, time to seize the means of production

— dr brames (@realnamepolicy) September 2, 2023

Burning Man attendees need to remember to ration billionaires to avoid overdosing on adrenochrome.

— Chris Wyman (@wymancr) September 3, 2023

flying a plane over burning man to drop pamphlets that say “you deserve this for your choices in life” on the bedraggled attendees. psychological warfare is the key to demoralizing the enemy

— america’s lounge singer (@KrangTNelson) September 3, 2023

Seeing a lot of misinformation on the timeline. Yes, it rained a lot at Burning Man and the “playa” is very muddy, but everything is mostly normal. That said, they really did eat Elon Musk.

— David Roth (@david_j_roth) September 3, 2023

(Some of the best jokes I’ve seen are on Bluesky, but that site doesn’t have an embed function yet — dammit.)

ETA: Neal Katyal’s dispatch, since questions were raised in the comments:

It was an incredibly harrowing 6 mile hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud, but I got safely out of Burning Man. Never been before and it was fantastic (with brilliant art and fabulous music)…except the ending. pic.twitter.com/jhxsOfNp5y

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) September 3, 2023

Monday Evening Open Thread: The Stranded Burners Are Escaping 1

Monday Evening Open Thread: The Stranded Burners Are EscapingPost + Comments (102)

Labor Day Monday Morning Open Thread

by Anne Laurie|  September 4, 20237:28 am| 138 Comments

This post is in: How about that weather?, President Biden, Proud To Be A Democrat!

Florida locals praise Biden for all the federal help they've been getting since Hurricane Idalia hit……and then FOX conveniently loses their feed ?????????? https://t.co/1fo368FMLW

— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) September 2, 2023

Rick ‘Bat Boy’ Scott really, really hates Ron DeSaster…

"And then how fast you approved through FEMA the individual assistance, the public assistance.

It's a big deal to everyone in this community.

These are not rich communities. Many of them struggle."

— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) September 2, 2023

we should talk more about how this was cool and good https://t.co/ldDt25xc8o

— restorative justice ghostbuster (@revhowardarson) September 4, 2023

E.J. Dionne, at the Washington Post, looks at the bright side — “At last, a Labor Day when workers can celebrate their power”:

show full post on front page

Workers and organized labor are cool again. Young Americans are the country’s most pro-union generation. Labor has poll ratings most politicians only dream about, and the Biden administration is making workers’ pay, benefits and rights its calling card…

Let’s stipulate: Although membership in unions is ticking up again, the organized share of the workforce is still stuck at about 10 percent.

But so many other indicators suggest that labor’s long decline is over. Heralds of change include well-publicized organizing efforts in new sectors of the economy, broad public sympathy for the Hollywood writers’ struggle, and big wage gains by workers increasingly willing to strike for them.

There is also President Biden, the most outspokenly pro-labor president since Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. Progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) support Biden’s reelection partly because they get how the often-unheralded work of his administration is making a new era for labor possible…

Lest anyone doubt where the administration stands, the Treasury Department released what it proudly called a “First-of-Its-Kind Report” on the economic value of organized labor. It found that unions raise the wages of their members by 10 to 15 percent, have “spillover effects” that benefit nonunion workers, “reduce race and gender wage gaps” and “boost businesses’ productivity.”

The report reflected how a large majority of the country feels. A recent Gallup survey found that 67 percent of Americans approve of unions. That’s down slightly from 71 percent last year, but Gallup emphasized that 2023 was “the fifth straight year this reading has exceeded its long-term average of 62%,” up from an “all-time low of 48% in 2009.” The survey also found a record-high 61 percent saying “unions help rather than hurt the U.S. economy.”…

Next year Donald Trump will be on trial, on live television, for most of the campaign. This is what that election will be about. If America chooses that it’s a problem that Democrats can’t really solve with the right blend of working class pandering. https://t.co/bH7HHKkwDO

— Centrist ??Madness (@CentristMadness) September 2, 2023

Labor Day Monday Morning Open ThreadPost + Comments (138)

Dank Grey Dawn Open Thread: Emotional Rescue

by Anne Laurie|  September 2, 20233:04 am| 82 Comments

This post is in: How about that weather?, Open Threads, President Biden

DeSantis isn’t planning on meeting Biden tomorrow during his trip to Florida, the governor’s office says, despite Biden saying earlier today at the WH they would be — https://t.co/4wSk4vfNtb

— Alec Hernández (@AlecAHernandez) September 1, 2023

Too busy running away from 15 year olds? https://t.co/jgA2atK5Fx

— Susan J. Demas ?? (@sjdemas) September 1, 2023

We all remember what happened last time pic.twitter.com/xjZoK9W1YY

— Sam I Am (@sambone76) September 1, 2023

Dank Grey Dawn Open Thread: Emotional RescuePost + Comments (82)

Friday Morning Open Thread: Putting in the Work At FEMA Headquarters

by Anne Laurie|  September 1, 20237:16 am| 184 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., How about that weather?, Open Threads, President Biden, Proud to Be A Democrat

Biden visits FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C. to thank workers for assisting in recent disasters:

“We're not this engaged this often. But these last couple of years, with climate change and really kicking in, you guys are going 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.” pic.twitter.com/W1eLkIunx9

— The Recount (@therecount) August 31, 2023

When doing the right thing is also doing the smart thing…

Biden called for lawmakers to provide significantly more emergency funding for natural disaster recovery after Idalia's landfall.“We’re going to need a whole hell of a lot more money to deal all you’re taking care of,” he said at FEMA. via @gardnerakayla https://t.co/u5f0qNLM1L

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) August 31, 2023

New: Pres. Joe Biden tells reporters at FEMA HQ he plans to travel to Florida Saturday after Hurricane Idalia battered the state, repeated calls on Congress "to make sure [FEMA's] able to have the funds to be able to continue to show up and meet the needs of the American people." pic.twitter.com/xbhHl6wjfc

— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) August 31, 2023

President Biden makes unannounced stop at FEMA and says he spoke again with Gov DeSantis of FL and Gov McMasters of SC. The president is thanking FEMA HQ staff.

— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) August 31, 2023

Reporter: Mr. President, a government shutdown, how would that affect FEMA?

Biden: It would be a serious, serious problem. I'm hoping that there's greater maturity to prevent that from happening pic.twitter.com/4PngQgvpnJ

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 31, 2023

Peter Baker: What, no paper towels to throw? Doesn’t Biden understand photo ops?

The president came with a pizza delivery for FEMA workers, per WH.

— Akayla Gardner (@gardnerakayla) August 31, 2023

President Biden visited FEMA headquarters for the 2nd time this week, with the clear undertone to the media of "I can't expect you people to otherwise reasonably cover the work 1000s of professionals are doing on the ground, so here is your big shiny object, you dumbasses." pic.twitter.com/NVICzFRef1

— The Biden Accomplishments Guy (on Threads) (@What46HasDone) August 31, 2023

Friday Morning Open Thread: Putting in the Work At FEMA HeadquartersPost + Comments (184)

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Florida, Man…

by Anne Laurie|  August 31, 20238:05 am| 204 Comments

This post is in: How about that weather?, Open Threads, Show Us on the Doll Where the Invisible Hand Touched You, Ron DeSaster

At @POTUS' direction, the federal government pre-positioned personnel and resources to immediately support response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Idalia.

This Administration will continue to work closely with first responders and local officials as the storm progresses. pic.twitter.com/wz3R3FkeQt

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 31, 2023

Praise be the Trickster God, Idalia (so far) seems to have been far less destructive in Florida than feared. Per the Washington Post, “In Florida, Idalia leaves a trail of destruction and a sense of relief”[unpaywalled gift link]:

… As Idalia churned northeast toward Georgia and the Carolinas on Wednesday, bringing with it hurricane-force winds and more fears of fatal flooding, communities across Florida’s Big Bend region were beginning to assess the storm’s damage.

Idalia cut an unpredictable path of destruction, rending some homes from their foundations while sparing others.

But as the storm moved on from Florida, residents and officials here were hopeful that they had avoided the deadliest, worst-case scenarios, releasing a cautious, statewide exhale nearly one year after Hurricane Ian caused catastrophic damage and claimed roughly 150 lives.

“This is ten times better than what I expected to come back to,” said Joe Brenner, standing outside of his intact home in the tiny coastal town of Keaton Beach, where Idalia made landfall…

At least two motorists died while driving on the region’s rain-sodden roads, authorities said. The storm’s toll may rise in the coming days, but state leaders said they haven’t yet seen the telltale indicators of a high death count…

Ergo, I consider myself permitted to share some storm-related snark…

Even the trees have gone woke https://t.co/pic7QG7KXb

— Susan J. Demas ?? (@sjdemas) August 30, 2023

Hurricane Idalia causes 100-year-old oak tree to split, fall on Gov. DeSantis' mansion https://t.co/8iCpyOxTwm pic.twitter.com/76no5hN8PW

— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) August 30, 2023

show full post on front page

[Yes, snark]

vaxxed? https://t.co/juObyWezgI

— knife-wielding hemophiliac (@NickTagliaferro) August 30, 2023

We said climate change is a hoax, we pushed conspiracy theories demonizing climate scientists, we insisted that more intense storms and higher floods coming more frequently was just random weather or not real, so why won't insurance companies cover property there, I don't get it. https://t.co/ysLKdsrfmo

— Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) August 30, 2023

Clearly the only answer that makes sense: the insurance companies have all gone woke.

Better ban teaching about Black history ASAP!! https://t.co/918WVSTWxD

— Centrism Fan Acct ?? (@Wilson__Valdez) August 30, 2023

Yeah, that should do it. The "S" stands for "science-based" and the "G" stands for "getting a profit."

— Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) August 30, 2023

Also this. They're not just praising his response to Idalia, many of them can't help throwing in propaganda about his COVID response. https://t.co/EDbSzTX5c3

— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) August 30, 2023

Support of DeSantis is like 95% “I’m a reactionary but I’m also sick of not being accepted in polite society because of my reactionary views.”

— ferg (@sincerelyzoomer) August 29, 2023

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Florida, Man…Post + Comments (204)

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 45
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Political Action

Postcard Writing Information

Recent Comments

  • montanareddog on Late Night Open Thread: The Political Dress Code, Redux (Sep 28, 2023 @ 4:06am)
  • moops on Late Night Open Thread: The Political Dress Code, Redux (Sep 28, 2023 @ 4:06am)
  • Chetan Murthy on Late Night Open Thread: The Political Dress Code, Redux (Sep 28, 2023 @ 4:05am)
  • Gretchen on Late Night Open Thread: The Political Dress Code, Redux (Sep 28, 2023 @ 4:04am)
  • Ksmiami on Late Night Open Thread: The Political Dress Code, Redux (Sep 28, 2023 @ 4:01am)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
What Has Biden Done for You Lately?

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Cole & Friends Learn Español

Introductory Post
Cole & Friends Learn Español

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc