We’re going to end with a strong red/blue state divide on regulatory frameworks. I wonder if the vaccine guideline coalitions point to emerging regulatory consistency among blue states on this as well.
I like this actually - let different states try different things, and see how they work out. As the results become more certain, states will feel pressure to adopt the policies that are working well. And there's still room for different states to retain different policies that are better suited to them individually.
Exactly. Just like the pressure of being the last state in basically every single metric has empowered Mississippi to turn things around. Oh wait what? Mississippi is more fucked up than ever and shows zero signs of ever joining a civilized nation? Maybe they just haven’t hit rock bottom quite hard enough. Surely then conservative politics will turn things around!
Like it or not - Mississippi is doing what their citizens want as they demonstrate at their own ballot box. It's not up to me to decide what's best for them. And in the worst case, if a person there really feels strongly about some particular issue - it's not THAT hard for them to simply move to a more agreeable state.
We should embrace diversity and mutual respect - not simply assume that other people doing things differently are wrong and need to be fixed/corrected.
Why would this not be ethical to study? It's not like the researchers are taking an active role in creating this situation. In fact, I would say it is more unethical not to research this, given that we already know the PFAS will readily migrate out of the red-flag states.
Regarding vaccines, if you live in a red state you probably won't be able to get one unless your a senior citizen, travel to another state, or possibly with a doctor's prescription.
Well pre COVID, Silicon Valley had one of the highest non-vaccination rates amount kids in day-care. So at least then it wasn't a red/blue thing at all.
> The Cookware Sustainability Alliance, an industry group formed by major cookware companies, urged lawmakers to oppose the bill.
“The proposal risks taking safe, affordable, and reliable kitchen essentials off the shelves, leaving customers with fewer options for the products they use every day,” the group said in a statement.
> The alliance says PFAS is a category that includes some chemicals—such as fluoropolymers used to coat nonstick cookware—that have been deemed safe for uses in food preparation by the Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority.
> “They are non-toxic and inert, they do not bioaccumulate, and importantly, they are not water soluble,” the alliance stated.
Wow, what a lie-by-outrageous-omission. I would believe that the fluoropolymers in nonstick cookware are, in their intact state, inert and rather harmless (if quite persistent). I would even believe that most of the definitely-not-safe stuff that’s used in manufacturing them don’t end up in the pan.
But these things are in cookware, where they are regularly heated to high temperatures, and a lot of fluoropolymers start to degrade at temperatures that are well within the reach of the average stove. Have any of these people ever contemplated the state of an omelette pan at a restaurant? Or basically any Teflon pan that has gotten any sort of regular use without extreme care taken not to overheat it? Heck, overheated PTFE is so non-inert that it rather imfamously kills birds.
I will he delighted to see Teflon pans phased out at California restaurants. You can buy perfectly fine PFAS-free “ceramic”-coated pans these days at reasonable prices. (You can also buy non-PFAS-free “ceramic” pans these days — read labels carefullly, consider looking up the listed patents, and keep in mind that if it doesn’t see its PFAS-free then it probably isn’t. PFOS/PFOA-free does not mean free if other PFAS.)
Do restaurants even use Teflon? I get the sense that most restaurants use stainless steel, carbon steel, or cast iron for practically everything, because nonstick pans will last all of a week under heavy use.
(And if you’re a good cook, you definitely don’t need nonstick for an omlette.)
I am suddenly quite bullish on California real estate. The “good people” will flock from all around the world so that they can be in one place with the other “good people”. It’s about shared values. California will be the last refuge for people around the world who have these shared values.
I assure you there are places in the world with good people and shared values outside of one state in one particular country. Pretty wild comment frankly...