i forgot to mention that i started watching the climate town hall.

yes, i'm going to watch the entire thing. it's just going to take a while. one per day, or every other day, depending on when i eat.

the first candidate up was julian castro, and i'll acknowledge that he sounded well spoken enough. i don't really disagree with much of what he said, but i'll just throw out there that the impression that i get from him is that he's a pragmatist, and, at this stage, the global superpower cannot be thinking in pragmatic terms when it comes to climate change. it's too late for that.

somebody asked him about his plans to fund infrastructure replacement, and he suggested it wouldn't be necessary, because he'd reverse the warming. that's not a science-based analysis anymore, that's wishful thinking. but, i think it's wise for me to expect a little bit of that from everybody both because (1) these people have poor science credentials across the board and (2) it is difficult to understand that it really, actually is too late to stop a certain level of damage. the candidate that stands up and says "i know that this isn't just about emissions reductions anymore. i've read the ipcc reports. i understand the necessity to mitigate the irreversible upcoming effects, which means i have budgeted to alter the existing infrastructure" is the one i'm going to take the most seriously, but i'm not sure that's going to happen.

i know that the usual political reflex is to rally people around a cause and be optimistic. but, telling people you can reverse climate change is about as honest as telling them you can bring their factory jobs back. it's magical thinking.

but, the thing i found most instructive was watching him react to the question about what he did wrong in the past, because he stopped to process it. don't get me wrong: it's generally a good idea to think before you speak. but, he seemed to process that he was being walked into a trap, and i'm not sure i believe the answer he gave.

the sum reaction was proceed with caution with this guy.