I think this cultural blame on SUV/truck drivers is misguided, and I pedal a bike to work and share a car with my wife. While I try to make responsible decisions, the impact I can have on the environment is tiny in comparison to large corporations and billionaires. Largely my “sacrifice” is meaningless, past giving me exercise and making me feel good about my decisions. If every middle income or poor person in the world did their best within the system to make responsible environmental decisions we would still be headed to, and in, a climate catastrophe. Policy has to change and corporations have to be forced into making more responsible decisions. An electric car is still an incredibly inefficient use of energy. But I can’t force my city to add public transit to make not owning a car viable. Large properties and spread out infrastructure is also killing the environment, but I can’t personally force city councils across the country to scale back single family zoning in favor of multi use zoning.
The main place regular people are failing is not what they drive, but who they vote for, imo.
Corporations don’t pollute just to pollute. They aren’t just burning coal while their evil CEO is watching it burn laughing maniacally.
Corporations produce pollution while making things for us. If we want them to pollute less then enact laws which demand that, which of course will results in higher prices. Or simply stop buying stupid shit we just don’t need. Or a little bit of both.
They forgot that 72 inch TVs were a luxury when advertising and streaming companies paid to subsidize them, so we could purchase them at consumer level all for the low price of our privacy, AND our world! It’s not out of public reach if we just make it affordable for them the worst way possible!
I think this cultural blame on SUV/truck drivers is misguided, and I pedal a bike to work and share a car with my wife. While I try to make responsible decisions, the impact I can have on the environment is tiny in comparison to large corporations and billionaires. Largely my “sacrifice” is meaningless, past giving me exercise and making me feel good about my decisions. If every middle income or poor person in the world did their best within the system to make responsible environmental decisions we would still be headed to, and in, a climate catastrophe. Policy has to change and corporations have to be forced into making more responsible decisions. An electric car is still an incredibly inefficient use of energy. But I can’t force my city to add public transit to make not owning a car viable. Large properties and spread out infrastructure is also killing the environment, but I can’t personally force city councils across the country to scale back single family zoning in favor of multi use zoning.
The main place regular people are failing is not what they drive, but who they vote for, imo.
I think people kind of forget a rather big thing.
Corporations don’t pollute just to pollute. They aren’t just burning coal while their evil CEO is watching it burn laughing maniacally.
Corporations produce pollution while making things for us. If we want them to pollute less then enact laws which demand that, which of course will results in higher prices. Or simply stop buying stupid shit we just don’t need. Or a little bit of both.
Ban planned obsolescence, duh. Once upon a time things would last 10+ years if treated right and maintained as necessary.
Now companies want you to throw away your things after a couple years and buy new shit.
Just adding more to the landfills and junk piles, while milking the poor for every last penny…
When did people forget that 72 inch televisions aren’t a necessity, they’re a luxury?
They forgot that 72 inch TVs were a luxury when advertising and streaming companies paid to subsidize them, so we could purchase them at consumer level all for the low price of our privacy, AND our world! It’s not out of public reach if we just make it affordable for them the worst way possible!