Re:CO2 in the atmosphere just exceeded 415ppm for the first ...
by jacobolus on Monday May 13, 2019 @03:13PM
(#19902833)
> The companies are just giving people what they want.
Propaganda is extremely effective.
> Nobody is willing to make the lifestyle changes it would take to have a real impact on climate change. And it’s not unique to the US. Canada and Australia have similar carbon footprints per capita, suggesting it’s more a combination of material wealth and low density. Blaming corporations instead of the people for all that is asinine.
People move where it is cheap to live comfortably. Every level of US government subsidizes the shit out of suburbs and car commuting. If the true costs of people’s lifestyle were factored into the price, behavior would change in a hurry.
Individual consumers don’t have the information or analysis time necessary to factor in systemic effects of every choice.
> And what are our best and brightest from Stanford, etc., doing? Figuring out carbon recapture?
Some of them are. But doing research takes funding. If we want the smartest to take careers as researchers instead of looking to sell out and retire young, we should (a) tax/regulate the financial industry down to near break-even and enforce laws against fraud and other financial crimes, (b) tax capital gains as income, add additional income tax brackets for those making millions per year, tax large inheritances into the ground, consider adding a wealth tax, and crack down on tax evasion, (c) enact sweeping campaign finance reform, (d) pump more public money into basic research, (e) stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and shift those subsidies toward renewable energy, (f) while we are at it, clean up the broken health insurance system.
Propaganda is extremely effective.
> Nobody is willing to make the lifestyle changes it would take to have a real impact on climate change. And it’s not unique to the US. Canada and Australia have similar carbon footprints per capita, suggesting it’s more a combination of material wealth and low density. Blaming corporations instead of the people for all that is asinine.
People move where it is cheap to live comfortably. Every level of US government subsidizes the shit out of suburbs and car commuting. If the true costs of people’s lifestyle were factored into the price, behavior would change in a hurry.
Individual consumers don’t have the information or analysis time necessary to factor in systemic effects of every choice.
> And what are our best and brightest from Stanford, etc., doing? Figuring out carbon recapture?
Some of them are. But doing research takes funding. If we want the smartest to take careers as researchers instead of looking to sell out and retire young, we should (a) tax/regulate the financial industry down to near break-even and enforce laws against fraud and other financial crimes, (b) tax capital gains as income, add additional income tax brackets for those making millions per year, tax large inheritances into the ground, consider adding a wealth tax, and crack down on tax evasion, (c) enact sweeping campaign finance reform, (d) pump more public money into basic research, (e) stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and shift those subsidies toward renewable energy, (f) while we are at it, clean up the broken health insurance system.