freddie

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All 5 Stages

The 2016 primaries were quite remarkable, both on the Democrat and Republican sides. The "outsiders" from both parties garnered tremendous support from the respective bases and from new voters -- Sanders, if you consider him an outsider as an Independent, probably mores so than Trump wrt new voters (I don't have a link, so this is conjecture).
If you were a Republican and looking for a non-political candidate, you really only had Fiorina, Carson, and Trump; the former 2 ending their campaigns early. If you were a Democrat and looking for an outsider, you really only had O'Malley and Sanders.
If I recall, Candidate Trump performed better than most thought he would in the primary debates, and soon became the top dog, which nobody expected, especially Bill Maher.

Denny Crane

I keep hearing this being said and it makes sense in a general way. Serious questions...

What, specifically, is a responsible way? And when can our healthcare system handle it? Does the whole country wait to open for NYC, New Orleans, Detroit etc. to get below a certain positive test rate a day or death rate? Or does each State go their own way when it might affect (infect) the whole country again?

I don’t care how long we wait IMO, without a vaccine or treatment that works, there eventually WILL be another spike in cases. Herd immunity needs to be developed. How is this done in a responsible way?

Wish I knew the answers...

Denny

80ktsClamp

GA's healthcare system is having a particularly easy go of this thing. I live near Emory (which is colocated with the CDC), and it's a ghost town. That's why Kemp made the call at the recommendation of our head epidemiologist.

newKnow

I know the answers to those questions come from someone much smarter than me, but....

...If it were me, I would start by trying to use some of this stimullus money to by people out who were at risk (age, or pre-existing medical condidtion) to buy them out and allow them to retire early. So they aren't required to risk their lives to pay the bills.

#2....if it were me, I'd use some o the stimulus money to make sure our health care systems were prepared for a ceetain amout of cases over what they are ready for right now. From what I hear, the NYC system is over stressed, because of Covid-19 patients, and I know from personal experience that the Chicago system is as well. I've said all along that the problem with Covid-19 is not necessarily the mortality rate, it's the hospitilization rate and the amut of time people stay in once admitted. Things can get so overcrowded that other emergency cases, like heart attacks, car accidents, and strokes, get turned away. Make sure the country has the capapcity to handle the oncoming surge, then let's go.

#3.... Revamp the entire rules and reegulatios in place for the workplace. Come up with some new ones, too, to now include new industries and workplaces to halt the spread of the virus. Same thing for hospitals, nursing homes.

That could be a start.

Mesabah

This virus is almost certain to become a seasonal thing, and should be back in the fall, continuing through spring. If you haven't gotten the flu shot in the past, it's almost certainly required now, due to the danger of getting both the flu, and covid at the same time. I'm not optimistic about a coronavirus vaccine, as they have been working on it for many decades without success.
As far as aviation goes, mask protocol could be the new normal, and things like Far-UVC lighting in the cabin, would make flying one of the most sterile environments out there. In the short term, there also might be a severe shortage in jet fuel as refineries idle themselves in this current market, and the current oversupply is used up.
Third world countries that rely on oil, and other commodities as their primary GDP, face Armageddon.

waldo135

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj...ws-11587746176
Dr Ioannidis, one of the 100 most cited scientists, published more than 1,000 papers, many of those meta-analysis and his wife, an infectious disease specialist just published a paper. Of the Covid-19 deaths in Italy, only 0.7% were under 65 without underlying health issues. In NYC, the number was 1.8%. Overall fatality rate between 0.12% and 0.2%. Fascinating read...

Bucking Bar

We, as a society, have accepted some terrible numbers to live with pollution. Fossil fuels cost us 1,200,000 people a year. We seem to be pretty good at saying "who cares"

Speed Select

Bar,

I agree with you on many points, including this post. Despite the effect of fossil fuels, this country is the cleanest it’s been in modern history. And although it took a small dip recently (largely due to lifestyle choices), life expectancy is the highest it’s been in the history of man kind.

Fossil fuels have improved quality of life FAR more than hurt it. Look into the environmental effect of burning wood or the energy deficit of windmills and electric vehicles (I know you have).

My college roommate has a PhD in chemistry and helped develop the alternative fuel that you’ll occasional see publicized by the Air Force. He says that it takes more energy to make the fuel than the fuel produces, and that because of its multitude higher energy density, fossil fuels are the cleanest source of power.

Yes, he is an actual scientist.

Anyway, the numbers are starting to consistently suggest that it is safe to start digging out of the CV hole. Hopefully that means a robust return of pax. I’m beginning to actually miss the smell of the Plane Train.

Bucking Bar

After a seven-year decline, pollution is resurgent under Trump's administration, up 5.5%. It is no wonder given his attack on the EPA as well as policies favorable to resource extraction, opening America's parks for drilling, subsidies to the oil and gas industries while allowing alternative energy supports to expire.

We should have remained in the Paris Climate Accord. What most Americans do not realize is that the big sticking point with getting China and India on board was the reliance on US technology and manufacturing to meet the goals. By leaving that agreement, we abandoned an important and profitable market that would have employed many tens of thousands of Americans.

In the next 45 to 60 days we should start to see a lot in the press about improvements to battery technology; energy density, weight, reduction in the cost of materials and ease of manufacture. Many of America's best engineering talent has taken their work to China, where their government has realized the need, seen the coming market and is taken the action to capitalize on it.***

Your roommate is quite correct. The Air Force's biofuel push was yet another subsidy to mid-America voters who have ridiculously outsized representation thanks to the Electoral College. It wasn't about the environment or efficiency, or any capitalistic rationale. Trump's global retreat back to America, where he envisions us safe behind a wall, probably will have a quite large benefit in reducing the fossil fuels used by our military.

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*** What we will see: The Koch Brothers, American's for Prosperity, Rosneft (Putin), fossil fuel funded pro-pollution right-wing have been successful in retarding American manufacturing of alternatives to their products. American companies and engineering simply moved to where the market is. China had to do something. Too many of their own people were dying.

Oil is a global market. While the business will survive the longest in backward nations, what we see now in global energy markets is simply a preview of what is coming. There is going to be less and less demand for the stinky, nasty, stuff that destroys the lands from which it is extracted.

Electric is not just cleaner, it is better. Ask anyone who drives a Tesla what they think of the powertrain in the thing.