Ah yes, my partner and I with our combined 40k income should forsake a quick coffee now and then until we can spend at minimum half a year’s salary on an electric that we have no means to charge except at a target 15 minutes away.
I 1000% agree that waiting in a line like this while idling is insane, but instead of shifting responsability to people who can barely afford to survive, how about we shift that attention into laws and infrastructure that penalize this behavior by corporations.
Many of us have to drive 20-30 minutes just to buy groceries, let alone work. Where I live, it hasn’t been below 37° at 11am since March. Cars, and cheap old ones that annoyingly guzzle gas, are a necessity for us.
Of course all of this just adds more to emissions. Which is all of the problem….
^^ from above
how about we shift that attention into laws and infrastructure that penalize this behavior by corporations
Completely agree, this is what we should be focusing on. YOUR CAR isn’t doing shit. ALL OF OUR CARS collectively are doing shit. You can change your behavior and feel better about yourself, but this problem was caused by laws, oil money lobbying, and the resulting policy. Laws and policy are the way out of it, not making people feel bad about their “choices.”
I know, but I see it all the time. When people continually “carbon shame” or “car shame” people without any concern for the actual individuals whom they are asking to sacrifice even more, it gets exhausting.
My dad was an environmental consultant. Growing up we knew about erosion control, smog statutes, chemical dumping, and carbon credits from an extremely young age. I have been an activist for climate control and carbon responsability my whole life. Hell at 9 years old I was cold calling trash companies in my county to setup more public recycling bins (it worked).
However, people like the commenter above have forgotten that climate change and emissions regulations are just as much a class issue as anything else.
7.14% of global emissions come from passenger motor vehicles. That’s terrible, and we should be doing everything we can to raise the availability of cleaner fuels and cheaper low-mileage vehicles. But, 35% of global emissions come from commercial energy use and direct carbon production. The problem is not Jim-Bob in his F-350 (though that’s an entire other issue that should be regulated). The problem is Eric Moneybags and his 15 million dollars of carbon credits who gets to ignore EPA regulations because he has deeper pockets.
Global Warmingis a class issue. Its causes are a class issue, and its effects will be felt along class lines. We need to start treating it like the problem it is.
But, 35% of global emissions come from commercial energy use and direct carbon production. The problem is not Jim-Bob in his F-350 (though that’s an entire other issue that should be regulated). The problem is Eric Moneybags and his 15 million dollars of carbon credits who gets to ignore EPA regulations because he has deeper pockets.
The problem is things like the CAFE regulations that essentially subsidize Jim-Bob’s F-350 by exempting it from the same requirements that govern regular cars, and (from your previous comment) the zoning codes that prohibit density and literally displace you outside of walking distance from your grocery store and work.
I made another longer reply to someone who said something similar.
You’re absolutely right. It wasn’t entirely your fault. However, i do still feel that the class issues of climate control get ignored in these conversations, and it’s easy for people to look at a line of cars like this and blame the individual when, I promise you, many of those people don’t want to be there at all, but this might be their one thing a day, or even week, that makes getting out of bed worth it.
Climate change is a class issue, and it is a social issue. The people it affects the most (in a given population) should always be remembered in our discussions.
Note: Obviously my own comments come from a place of great privilege. Even more importantly we should remember how oir economies and laws are currently at the expense of the global south, and that they are likely going to be the first ones lost as the effects of our corporate and societal greed are felt even more strongly.
Ah yes, my partner and I with our combined 40k income should forsake a quick coffee now and then until we can spend at minimum half a year’s salary on an electric that we have no means to charge except at a target 15 minutes away.
I 1000% agree that waiting in a line like this while idling is insane, but instead of shifting responsability to people who can barely afford to survive, how about we shift that attention into laws and infrastructure that penalize this behavior by corporations.
Many of us have to drive 20-30 minutes just to buy groceries, let alone work. Where I live, it hasn’t been below 37° at 11am since March. Cars, and cheap old ones that annoyingly guzzle gas, are a necessity for us.
^^ from above
Completely agree, this is what we should be focusing on. YOUR CAR isn’t doing shit. ALL OF OUR CARS collectively are doing shit. You can change your behavior and feel better about yourself, but this problem was caused by laws, oil money lobbying, and the resulting policy. Laws and policy are the way out of it, not making people feel bad about their “choices.”
deleted by creator
I know, but I see it all the time. When people continually “carbon shame” or “car shame” people without any concern for the actual individuals whom they are asking to sacrifice even more, it gets exhausting.
My dad was an environmental consultant. Growing up we knew about erosion control, smog statutes, chemical dumping, and carbon credits from an extremely young age. I have been an activist for climate control and carbon responsability my whole life. Hell at 9 years old I was cold calling trash companies in my county to setup more public recycling bins (it worked).
However, people like the commenter above have forgotten that climate change and emissions regulations are just as much a class issue as anything else.
7.14% of global emissions come from passenger motor vehicles. That’s terrible, and we should be doing everything we can to raise the availability of cleaner fuels and cheaper low-mileage vehicles. But, 35% of global emissions come from commercial energy use and direct carbon production. The problem is not Jim-Bob in his F-350 (though that’s an entire other issue that should be regulated). The problem is Eric Moneybags and his 15 million dollars of carbon credits who gets to ignore EPA regulations because he has deeper pockets.
Global Warmingis a class issue. Its causes are a class issue, and its effects will be felt along class lines. We need to start treating it like the problem it is.
Source: https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector
deleted by creator
The problem is things like the CAFE regulations that essentially subsidize Jim-Bob’s F-350 by exempting it from the same requirements that govern regular cars, and (from your previous comment) the zoning codes that prohibit density and literally displace you outside of walking distance from your grocery store and work.
Yeah that’s what sucks right now. It does kinda feel like your responding to something I didn’t say though :-/
I made another longer reply to someone who said something similar.
You’re absolutely right. It wasn’t entirely your fault. However, i do still feel that the class issues of climate control get ignored in these conversations, and it’s easy for people to look at a line of cars like this and blame the individual when, I promise you, many of those people don’t want to be there at all, but this might be their one thing a day, or even week, that makes getting out of bed worth it.
Climate change is a class issue, and it is a social issue. The people it affects the most (in a given population) should always be remembered in our discussions.
Note: Obviously my own comments come from a place of great privilege. Even more importantly we should remember how oir economies and laws are currently at the expense of the global south, and that they are likely going to be the first ones lost as the effects of our corporate and societal greed are felt even more strongly.