iLemming
11 hours ago
We're getting cooked. I'm already paying 10-times more for water usage than I spend on gas, and 5-times more on electricity bills - AC's running non-stop. That's crazy, because I live in the area where you can't even walk to buy a piece of bread - we drive all the time. I fully expect for businesses very soon to operate at night. Costco, Walmart, groceries, even libraries will be working all night in places like Arizona, Texas and some parts of California.
MrSkelter
an hour ago
I am currently in London. I have run AC every night since May in order to sleep. The interior of my new build luxury apartment in the financial district is routinely over 30°C during the day and can’t be cooled below that even with the windows covered and the (portable) AC running.
At the turn of the century the CIA predicted climate change and water being the primary drivers of conflict in the 20s.
We are already seeing the US deposing Venezuela’s government and taking their energy as US’s intentional fossil fuel dependency bites.
Things will only get worse unless radical changes are made. We have to move faster than the skeptics and entrenched interests desire.
To save the planet some people are going to lose their wealth power and position. Despite their protestations it’s entirely logical, just and necessary.
blks
2 hours ago
Better solution would be migration and building and expanding cities. I have huge doubts current systems will be able to or even consider to tackle catastrophic problems that are 10-20-30 years ahead, huge public investments, forcing capital to share too, drain dry all the oil biz. Instead it will be free for all
Timon3
an hour ago
But what will be the safe places people could migrate to? I'm not sure we can really predict this, especially since the least affected locations are going to be the ones everybody will be interested in. And given the ramping-up xenophobia I can't imagine climate refugees suddenly being welcomed with open arms...
folkrav
10 hours ago
Maybe this country focusing so much on keeping the gas cheap might have something to do with it.
slashdev
9 hours ago
US emissions have declined 18% since 2005.
Look at Asia.
kakwa_
2 hours ago
Both sides of the equation need to be solved.
The US is still one of the leading CO2 emitters, both per capita and in absolute terms. And for cumulative past emissions, it's not even close.
The expectation is not a mere 18% decrease but something closer to halving emissions just to be on a per capita level comparable to the EU or China.
It doesn't mean China doesn't need to make efforts. China's emissions are yet to be stabilized.
But the US need to make their share, and at least honor and (re-)ratify past climate agreements, if anything to dampen the economic arms race between China and the US.
nyc640
6 hours ago
Yes, let's look at "Asia" (as if that's some meaningful grouping in this context when the countries are so different culturally, geographically, and economically).
Since 2005, a huge amount of US manufacturing and resource processing (both large emitters) have been outsourced (largely to Asia, and more specifically China). Our economy doesn't function without these imported emissions, yet they don't count as "US emissions". Even excluding these emissions, the US makes up 4% of the world population and emits 13% of world emissions. Asia makes up 60% of the world's population and emits 52% (more than 3x less per-capita than the US). If you actually consider that the countries in Asia are vastly diverse, you'll find the large majority of these emissions are from China (from said manufacturing and resource processing), and India for example emits far less than its share of the population.
This also completely ignores that the effects of warming are from cumulative emissions (not just point-in-time emissions) because CO2 doesn't just disappear every year. As a share of historical emissions, Europe comes off far worse than Asia per capita, and the US even worse than Europe.
Even despite this, at least China (and the rest of Asia to a lesser extent) is investing in clean energy. China produces > 80% of the world's solar panels and > 70% of the world's lithium batteries. Meanwhile, in the US the administration is doubling down on subsidies for fossil fuels and issuing stop-work orders on renewable energy projects already under construction.
And because I know I have to give this disclaimer these days: I am no apologist for everything else wrong with China and their authoritarian government. But I can't bear this attitude of absolving ourselves of blame for climate change because some other continent has a bigger number than us.
NegativeLatency
8 hours ago
You mean the place where we buy all our crap from?
Hikikomori
3 hours ago
China built more solar in 2025 than the US has in total. Meanwhile trump ripping up wind and solar builds.
pvaldes
2 hours ago
But the sins of out grandgrandpas haven't vanished, and still will need to be paid.
iLemming
8 hours ago
American gas is not cheap. In absolute-numbers-sense, it's comparable to the current prices in Russia. And by all means and for all the different reasons, one would expect gasoline to be enormously expensive there right now. Far more expensive than in the States. It doesn't seem to be the case.
Aurornis
8 hours ago
> American gas is not cheap.
Yes it is. I don’t know why you picked Russia to compare to. Russia’s government heavily intervenes in markets to keep prices low, including subsidizing refineries and banning exports at times. The fact that our prices are as low as theirs means our gas is cheap.
iLemming
8 hours ago
I feel like you have not watched any videos of what's going on there right now. People lining up to buy any gas, and those lines are miles long, sometimes they have to wait for 8-10 hours. The crisis now causing shortages in neighboring countries - Central Asian republics and Mongolia. Average gas prices jumped considerably - 8-10x, and you'd think, well, how expensive the gas then? And it's about $4 per gallon. So, just like I said - the "cheap" American gas is comparable to the most expensive gas in modern history of Russia. Of course, there's purchasing power parity and other factors, that's why I said "in absolute-numbers-sense".
Aurornis
7 hours ago
> and you'd think, well, how expensive the gas then? And it's about $4 per gallon. So, just like I said - the "cheap" American gas is comparable to the most expensive gas in modern history of Russia.
You have completely missed the point. The gas is cheap due to the government forcing it to be.
If the prices were set by the free market, it would not be $4 per gallon with shortages causing lines to stretch 10 hours long.
Russia also has 1/3 the median household income of the US. So in parity adjusted dollars they’re paying something closer to 3X as much as you for gas. Not the same amount.
iLemming
6 hours ago
Yes, that's why I mentioned all that - the parity and it not being the same amount. But I stand corrected - my initial claim of "US gas is not cheap" was incorrect. I just needed to look up "How US gas prices compare to the global average" and the answer is "significantly cheaper". I apologize for wasting your time. I got distracted by what's going on in Russia in the context of gasoline pricing.
sarchertech
10 hours ago
> I'm already paying 10-times more for water usage than I spend on gas
Are you irrigating an enormous yard?
iLemming
9 hours ago
No, but I have a pool and it's been drying up below the skimmers, I need to keep the water level or the filtration dies.
vachina
8 hours ago
lol. What a first world problem to have. Sounds like a very solvable problem too (remove the pool then)
iLemming
8 hours ago
Thank you captain. I'm sure this would greatly reduce the climate change effects. Doing it posthaste - the world needs saving.
jazzpush2
8 hours ago
To be fair, you were the one complaining about water costs as if it was a climate-related issue, when it's... your pool.
iLemming
7 hours ago
Haha. I guess you imagined "Deep Dive Dubai" or something? My pool is basically an oversized bathtub. We would've called it exactly that if it was installed inside the house.
chneu
3 hours ago
Tragedy of the commons.
It's not just you. It's you + the millions of people using the same "I'm a unique snowflake" logic.
If 8 billion people can't do it, maybe consider not doing it.
pvaldes
2 hours ago
A sheet of plastic floating in the surface while you don't use it could help to reduce the evaporation. If is a big pool put some holes here and there to allow air access if somebody or a pet falls into the pool.
Some marginal plants strategically placed and Nymphaeas can shadow the water (reduce the amount of heat that reaches the water), but you would have a very different kind of pool then and they have their own maintenance issues.
If your area allows the culture of columnar cactus and succulents, use it near the pool to provide shadow. They will rarely trow anything into the water and may be beautiful to see by itself. Look for the less vicious species like Euphorbia or Pilosocereus azureus that are strongly vertical while young, refreshing to see (blue is blue) and will not pose any problem if cultured in a wooden raised bed. The idea would be to make a short wall using the cactus as logs placed a few dm apart to allow the wind passing trough. You will need to avoid the access to cats protecting the dirt with a mesh, aizoaceae, gravel or rocks. Allow a lot of space for the roots. A small pot will not really work.
Cactus or succulents allowed to grow on the roof or near the house will act also as fire retardants (but not fire supressors) as they accumulate water.
edoceo
10 hours ago
Maybe they mean consumption is the same but price is up.
sarchertech
10 hours ago
The only way I can read what they wrote to mean that is if they are saying water costs $30-40 a gallon.
iLemming
8 hours ago
Have you never used a garden hose? Do you know that a regular, average hose left running overnight can waste like 5,000 gallons of water? My HOA enforces a rule - you must keep at least two trees per household. Trees need water. Not that much, of course, I shared the overnight hose number just for the sense of measure. Now you do the math - couple of trees, bathrooms, showering, drinking, cooking - that water usage adds up.
blks
2 hours ago
Trees don’t grow otherwise in that area? Like if you would stop watering, will they die? Future proof solution could be selling and buying somewhere where climate change won’t hit as hard, eg north, but I guess not everyone can afford that, and cooler regions may not offer sufficient sustenance or infrastructure like schools and jobs.
adammarples
an hour ago
If you live in what sounds like the desert and you're constantly watering your trees, it might be the case that you've picked non-native species that don't handle heat well. Check out the crime pays but botany doesn't on YouTube, he does a lot of videos about this, people in Texas etc planting English oaks and needing to water them all the time while native species are ignored or cut down because they're "messy".
parineum
9 hours ago
I assume they mean natural gas
iLemming
8 hours ago
No, I meant exactly in the petrol sense. Darn americanims - you never know if gas is gasoline, or poison, anesthetic, or flatulence, or you're just being gaslighted.
taneq
10 hours ago
Or driving a small, economical car?
sarchertech
10 hours ago
Even if you’re driving a Prius and getting 50mpg, if you’re “driving all the time” you’re spending at least $100 a month in gas. There’s nowhere in the country where a water bill is $1000 a month unless you’re doing a lot of irrigation.
mrexroad
9 hours ago
I read the comment as an overview of their utility costs—natural gas, not gasoline.
Aurornis
8 hours ago
> I'm already paying 10-times more for water usage than I spend on gas, and 5-times more on electricity bills
Comparing ratios of bills is confusing. This statement would be unsurprising if you drove 10 miles per week in a Prius. It would be very confusing if you were filling up your tank every week and spending $1000/month on a water bill.
iLemming
7 hours ago
I can explain. I work from home - no commute. Yes, I don't have to drive as much as the average person has to in my area. This summer has been extremely hot, hotter than any previous - seems that's becoming a new normal. Past couple of weeks the heat remained in the 90s, even around midnight. Water district installed big banners with warnings "draught stages in effect", there's a penalty for irrigating at certain hours - it gets added to the bill. These banners getting erected for the past three years. Yes, water here is expensive.
Aurornis
6 hours ago
> I work from home - no commute.
Don’t you think this was important information to include in your post? Your whole point was built on spending more on water than gas, but then we had to read the comments to discover that you don’t commute and you have water-hungry situations like a pool and HOA mandated landscaping?
iLemming
6 hours ago
I'm not trying to deceive anyone - no matter how anyone could twist it, it is true - the heat is real, the water shortages are the new reality, and I am in fact spending more on water than gas. And it's not because I don't have to drive at all - I do, just not as much as the average person who needs to go to the office every single day. I still need to drive daily.
blks
2 hours ago
How much water usually cost in dryer regions of USA?
0n0n0m0uz
8 hours ago
Libraries in SW Colorado were packed! Alot of people just using the AC since most houses dont even have it
iLemming
6 hours ago
A few years ago (before wildfires forced us to move), we were in the East Bay of San Francisco. East Bay gets unusually hot - the mountain range prevents cool winds from the ocean passing over. Summer was extreme, the AC couldn't keep up, we had to hose the outer walls every evening, just to cool it a bit.
One day we woke up, had breakfast and the power line had failed. I quickly imagined what happens if it lasts more than a few hours, checked the heatmap, found an area that wasn't dark orange, and told everyone to pack - we're leaving. We headed towards Half Moon Bay. It's a little over an hour drive, but it took us another forty minutes to find a beach with a room for parking - entire coast was packed with the heat escapees like us. The beach was full of stinking kelp, there were tons of flies - they've tormented our stay, but we had little choice. We thought we were lucky to find a spot with not too many people, only to realize there was a carcass of a dead sea lion and it was dead-cat-stenchy. At least, being next to the ocean offered some relief from the heat. Later that afternoon, our neighbors called us to tell us that they were sitting in their minivan, at an empty parking lot. The power was still out, and to have a dignified dinner, they've grabbed some food and convened in the car, which had a working AC. But they didn't want it to look weird, so they drove away from their street, away from curious neighbors and friends.
Next summer wildfires came back. This time bigger than ever. Dealing with both smoke and COVID restrictions together felt like too much, and we decided to move. We headed East, our first stop was Barstow, CA - we decided to rest a night. It's pretty far from where the actual fires were raging, yet when we woke up, we were greeted with what looked like snow at first. It was ash. Our car was covered with it. We kept driving. The sky was black from the smoke. It only started clearing out when we crossed into New Mexico. We were all terrified to realize the scale of that disastrous event. Which has now become "a seasonal climate occurrence" - it's almost guaranteed that each year something will massively burn somewhere in the West Coast. And the fuck are we doing about that? Entertaining a clown with renaming a lake.
blks
2 hours ago
This reads like a very good dramatic catastrophy movie. This is very alarming.
dzhiurgis
6 hours ago
So you live in a place where it’s unsustainable and complain about what exactly? Aren’t you the problem?