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Oh so that’s what “Christ on a bike” means

Some people would blame the crucification of Christ on bike lanes if they could

100% the Tower at Mount Auburn Cemetery which is on the outskirts of Cambridge but has an amazing view of the whole area. It’s not always open this time of year so you may need to call them and ask or wait until spring. But Mount Auburn itself is incredible in spring, do win-win.

All the comments on the Cambridge Day’s Facebook post are people blaming the new bike lanes. I feel like I’m going insane.

Didn’t they just do a renovation of some kind? So sad to see this, they are a neighborhood staple

Ohh fuck this noise.

Wow I am so bummed. Atwood’s and Toad forever ✊

This sucks big time.

Once got to see Delvon Lamar Organ Trio there. To this day, it’s still a top three concert memory for me. The atmosphere was top notch. This is a real bummer.

That sucks.

It is depressing seeing a lot of these longtime local restaurants/bars close down

Amazon is nothing compared to the plastic pollution generated by India and China. Unless you plan on invading those countries to collapse their economies, any suggestions you write into your congressmen is absolutely laughable.

Such sad news, loved the vibe of Atwood’s

Are you still at school? One of the big ones in Cambridge? Some good spots require a university ID.

You just aren't listening. Of course those things are bad. You haven't shown any evidence that they are worse: any comparison of the harms of additional plastic to the harms of additional energy use.

Unless you are asserting that there is no harm from energy use which could possibly be as bad as the harm from plastic, which is prima facie ludicrous.

???

Yes. I am asserting that making more plastic (which doesn't break down, makes microplastics, and leaches endocrine disruptors into environmen) is bad compared to not making more plastic.

I don't think we have to wait until a final tally of the global chain of production, distribution, and consumption is performed to n-th levels of accuracy to take reasonable steps towards harm reduction.

And, just to be clear, it isn't k cups that matter - but the actions of corporations and their intransigence against removing plastic from their business model.

You are asserting that the harm from a K-cup's worth of plastic waste exceeds the harms of a cup of coffee's worth of energy. That is not at all self-evident.

The example you used was k cups versus just grinding the beans.

Just grind the beans and minimize the plastic waste.

We don't actually need complete information to avoid obvious problems.

Right, I wholeheartedly agree that plastics are bad. But to show that they are worse, you need to compare them to the alternatives. My point is that it's so easy to point to all the harns you enumerate, and say "plastics bad! We should ban disposable plastic coffee cups!" when it's entirely possible that such a policy would cause harm to the environment on net.

It's just worse pollution.

Plastics don't biodegrade but instead fragment - leading to microplastics in the water, soil, and our insides. Plastics can also leach chemicals into the environment that are estrogen mimics or endocrine disruptors. These can cause developmental issues and cancer in humans and other life.

There is no way to ensure plastics are "handled appropriately" in the sense that the only alternative to waste burial is incineration - which costs more energy and requires gas and particulate scrubbers to remove the (now incinerated) pollution.

> the pollution produced (the plastic itself) is worse than the energy component.

Worse on what axis? If the waste is handled appropriately, I don't see how it inherently causes harm independent of the energy and resources used in its creation .

> we shouldn't be focusing on individual choices here.

I'm not: I'm saying that theres reason not to blindly trust individual intuition as to what societal changes will actually help the environment.

This thing with the energy component is that plastic may take less energy to produce but the pollution produced (the plastic itself) is worse than the energy component.

But again - we shouldn't be focusing on individual choices here. Plastic pollution (and energy waste) are driven by commercial and industrial practices not individual ones.

It's not exactly in the town but Robbins Farm Park in Arlington gives a nice unobstructed pano view of the skyline. Atop the excellently named Bussey Hill in the Arboretum also gives a nice view.

It's even farther out but the Blue Hills reservation has some great ridge walks where you can enjoy high and far views of the city, though at this point it's a bit far without binoculars.

Roof Garden at Kendall Center?