SJoyce For Emperor: Final Recap

[Zanas]

(SIGH...)

It is clean,

sigh... No. It's not. If something produces waste, it's not clean, 'cause waste is kind of the opposite of clean, y'know.

it is sustainable,

sigh... No. It's not. If something relies on a resource, and that resource is not inexhaustible, this something is neither renewable nor sustainable. 'Cause, y'know, sustainable means renewable, and they mean, well, not finite or something.

and it is safe and reliable. I never said having objections to nuclear power is hysteria - but saying that they'll end up as disasters or massively pollute our region is. If your objection is based on practical reasons, I can understand and respect that. If it's based on some vague belief that if we build so much as one more new nuclear power plant it's guaranteed to make an area of tens of thousands of square miles uninhabitable for millennia, I cannot give any kind of credit to that, since it's just not true. And if you want demagoguery, I'd suggest you take a gander at my opponent's introduction speech.

What's not true is implying I said disasters were guaranteed. Of course they're not guaranteed. It's just a pros and cons evaluation really. If a disaster has even a tiny chance to appear, and this is undeniably the case, the fact that it can have absolutely dramatic consequences, which is also undeniably the case, must make us think this through.


We can however decide that it's worth the risk, and we just did, and I respect that. I just want us to acknowledge that we've made a choice considering the risks, not blatantly and blindly DENYING they exist.

[Donerail]

sigh... No. It's not. If something produces waste, it's not clean, 'cause waste is kind of the opposite of clean, y'know.

We've been over this before.

sigh... No. It's not. If something relies on a resource, and that resource is not inexhaustible, this something is neither renewable nor sustainable. 'Cause, y'know, sustainable means renewable, and they mean, well, not finite or something.

We've been over this before. However, there is a difference in definition between sustainable and renewable. Uranium and other fissile materials are sustainable, if not renewable - by sustainable, we have enough of them to sustain us for hundreds if not thousands of years. They may not be renewable, but we can sustain the production of such fuel for an extremely long time, especially considering the unconventional sources of uranium we have not yet begun to tap.

What's not true is implying I said disasters were guaranteed. Of course they're not guaranteed. It's just a pros and cons evaluation really. If a disaster has even a tiny chance to appear, and this is undeniably the case, the fact that it can have absolutely dramatic consequences, which is also undeniably the case, must make us think this through.

We can however decide that it's worth the risk, and we just did, and I respect that. I just want us to acknowledge that we've made a choice considering the risks, not blatantly and blindly DENYING they exist.

The risks exist - but they are minuscule enough to be near-nonexistent.

[Napoleon]

Your slogan seems familiar.

[Donerail]

Your slogan seems familiar.

A particular corporation dropped it in 2011

[Napoleon]

Your slogan seems familiar.

A particular corporation dropped it in 2011

Really cool people picked it up in 2012 though

[Donerail]

Your slogan seems familiar.

A particular corporation dropped it in 2011

Really cool people picked it up in 2012 though

OH, that one. Yeah, that was unintentional. The text in my sig below it wasn't.

[Donerail]

Water

One issue that hasn't gotten enough attention in this campaign that we need to be talking about is water. Water is essential to almost all life in our region, so it is necessary to manage fresh water as a sustainable resource to be able to ensure that we have an adequate supply of water in future, especially with the uncertain future of our water resources in light of climate change. Ideally, we should make it our goal to not take out more water than naturally replenishes - that goal goes hand-and-hand with reducing the energy cost of our water facilities and protecting natural habitats. We need to reduce water loss while maintaining our high water quality.

One goal we can focus on is metering - fitting every residential household, commercial building, industrial facility and farm with a water meter to measure their consumption. This alone can reduce consumption when coupled with a tiered fee based on how much water you use. Putting in place regulations on some big water users such as car washes and lawns can also help reduce water use - that lawn bill can be reduced even further through a government plan to promote and incentivize xeriscaping with native plants, which means lawns will require less water (which reduces folks' water bills, while promoting the use of native rather than exotic plants). In the yard, you can water with graywater, try to harvest rainwater, purchase (if you must have a lawn) controllers to water when the weather would make it most favorable to do so, attach nozzles to the hoses, or even start to grow plants on your roof. Basing the bill on water usage also encourages the purchase of items which will pay for themselves in the long run, like low-flush, composting, saline or graywater, or dual-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads, faucets that are low-flow, have aerators or are hands-free, HE appliances, and pool covers.

Business is an area where we have a bit more area to regulate (than what people do in their own homes, at least). Some of the things you do at home can also apply to businesses, like hands-free faucets, green roofs, and harvesting rain water, but others are business-specific. If we make paving surfaces permeable, that's a lot of stormwater that's going back into the ground and can eventually circle back to us. A lot of big businesses have urinals rather simply toilets - waterless urinals are possible. A water broom is a lot more efficient than a hose. Washing your car can normally take several dozen gallons - a waterless car wash can make that zero. A film processing system for x-rays uses 788,400 gallons a year, but just adding on a recirculation system can cut that to 13,530, and would make it able to be used even when water is lost. Conductivity controllers for cooling towers can save 800,000 gallons a year. Steam sterilizers are faster and more water-efficient than water ones. A more efficient water heater can also save gallons.

However, one of the major suckers of our water resources is not businesses, and it's not our residential lawns - it's far bigger areas of plants, namely our farms. The answer is efficient irrigation techniques and water-efficient crops. Drip irrigation is expensive, yes, but it's becoming more and more affordable. Some simple timing (don't water when it's going to rain, don't water when the soil's moist) can save water as well, and trying to eliminate runoff can help as well.

So what can we as government do? Tax incentives can certainly be talked about, especially for business and agricultural purposes. Metering can do a lot as well. We can also do PR campaigns, perhaps increase property taxes for non-natural/non-xeriscaped lawns compared to those that are, require green roofs in government buildings, mandate some of these features in new construction - we have a variety of policy options that we can pursue to save our water.

[Donerail]

For the record: official campaign song shall be Billy Ray Cyrus' We The People.

[Donerail]

Although it's not clear what's happened in Boston yet, my thoughts and prayers go out to the injured, their families, and anyone else affected.

[Donerail]

My Senate Endorsements (Top 3)

1. HagridOfTheDeep (Fed-SC)
Hagrid has been an excellent Senator - he's contributed a lot to the Senate, both supporting good legislation and opposing bad legislation. He's been a pragmatist in the Senate and we've seen some good stuff.

2. Napoleon (Lib-CT)
Napoleon's Presidency may not have been the most popular, but he has been undeniably effective and active as a Senator.

3. Matt (Fed-VT)
Matt hasn't been in the Senate long enough to compile a large record, but he shows promise, and appears to have a good record in the Northeast as SoC.

[Donerail]

RECAP
Not just nuclear power

In light of the elections being tomorrow, I'd like to go through a brief recap of the goals I will attempt to accomplish if elected Emperor.

Goal 1: Expand our regional HSR network
One of my prime objectives as Emperor would be to deliver a region-wide high-speed rail network. While we have already taken several important steps in that direction, there is much more that can still be done, such as creating a new line in Florida, and expanding our Southeastern Corridor north to Richmond, Nyman, and Baltimore, and south to Greenville and Atlanta.

Goal 2: Saving water
What we need is a plan to save water. Water is essential to almost all life in this region and in the world, and we need to take steps to preserve it. There are a variety of water-saving steps that we can take, and that's ultimately a discussion we'd need to have with the Legislature, but I outlined several different options in my post.

Transportation expansion
We need to start focusing on expanding our ports - the Panama canal is expanding, and our deepwater ports need to expand to attract the same business. We also need to expand our international trade through airport and seaport expansions, generating more business for our region.

Constitutional reform
Another thing that needs to be done is going back through our current Constitution, examining it for anything that's outdated or not working, and bring it all back up to speed. We need a usable, manageable document for the coming years.

And then there's my energy policy, which I'm sure y'all have heard plenty about. I'd also like to work on the wiki.

So that's my platform, and if you elect me I'll do my best to deliver on all of them.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Congratulations, SJoyce!  I'm confident you'll do well!

[Dereich]

Yes, congratulations Emperor-elect!

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Congratulations, SJoyce!  I'm confident you'll do well!

[Sopranos Republican]

Well the polls in the IDS don't close for 50 more minutes, but your pretty safe so yes congrats SJoyce!

[Adam Griffin]

[ZuWo]

Congratulations! I think both you and Zanas put up a great and mostly issue-based campaign so this was a very interesting election to follow.

[Donerail]

Thanks y'all! I'll have a full statement up later today.

[Donerail]

Actually, screw the full statement (spent my time updating the wiki instead ). Zanas, you ran a good issue-focused race and I'm fully confident that if you had won you'd serve competently. Now let's get to work.


By the way, I found this on my computer and I'm not sure where to put it but here.

[LastVoter]

I hope the emperor elect considers removing the silly names.

[Supersonic]

Congratulations SJoyce. *clap clap*

Here's to hoping you preserve the Imperial system.