this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
261 points (95.5% liked)
Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.
5306 readers
456 users here now
Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades:
How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world:
Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:
Anti-science, inactivism, and unsupported conspiracy theories are not ok here.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
A reminder that oil companies invented “carbon footprint” to distract you while they continue to pollute. Form unions and solidarity networks to overcome harmful systems. Don’t argue over hamburgers.
Reminder that this doesn't absolve you from your personal responsibilities. You do need to be making choices that move the world towards a better future.
Besides that the number one reason for land loss, the loss of biodiversity, nitrate pollution, and methane production is still the bio-industy. Let alone the ethical implications of killing billions of animals a month.
You can do both. No, you're obliged to do both. Stop supporting bio-industy and fight for rights.
In my country, the standard argument against climate action is "well China isn't going to stop polluting so why should we?" This stock argument ignores the following facts:
Our per capita emissions have always been worse than China's
China is already beginning to outpace us in green technologies
Even if China were behind us, our positive actions would still save lives because climate collapse affects us by degrees
I have no idea why the fuck all these "patriots" are opposed to the idea of us being better than China. I'd love to be better than China, and I think our government is illegitimate. Why the fuck am I a bigger patriot than these losers?
Apparently, the mainstream animal-abusing left gets their whataboutisms from the same place as my racist uncle, because now it's capitalism's fault that people have no obligation to do good things ever.
So, if you think of yourself as a leftist but you eat meat and drive a car, I'd just like to remind you that you chose to pay a killer to kill for you, and you chose to worsen the flooding and draughts in poor countries, and no, a corporation did not put the money in your hand and force you to do this.
These companies pollute to satisfy a demand. If people stopped driving cars, TotalEnergy and Shell would sell less oil.
Where these companies are evil is when they try to influence people and politicians. For example jay walking is a crime because of them.
That said taxing the hell out of these polluting industries is a solution, as it will raise the oil price and force people to consume less.
It's not only cars, there are power plants running on oil, nearly every "small" backup generator runs on diesel. Also logistics, trucks, trains and ships needs boatloads of diesel.
The person you're replying to said that if people stopped driving cars, companies would sell less oil.
You seem to disagree, and your argument is that energy and shipping use oil.
Are you saying that a carfree world would consume exactly the same amount of oil, because it still has energy and shipping?
I had the wrong assumption that cars consumed nowhere as much oil as those things. Turns out I was dead wrong - https://afdc.energy.gov/data/10661
industry creates its own demand.