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What can one individual do when 25 corporations worldwide are responsible for 51% of carbon emissions, and 100 corporate entities are responsible for 71% of emi
by pmiller2 8y ago
What can one individual do when 25 corporations worldwide are responsible for 51% of carbon emissions, and 100 corporate entities are responsible for 71% of emissions? [0]
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[0]: https://www.sciencealert.com/these-100-companies-are-to-blame-for-71-of-the-world-s-greenhouse-gas-emissions https://www.sciencealert.com/these-100-companies-are-to-blam...
- ReptileMan 8y agoThose corporations have owners, stockholders and customers. The problem is that climate change requires substantial sacrifice from everone. And everyone tries to twist things in such way that the others will do the sacrificing.
- alacombe 8y agoSubstancial == lowering your live style to the level of Bangladesh, if you want a to be sustainable, that is.
- adrianN 8y agoOr, if you live in the US, you could lower your lifestyle to European, say an UK citizen. That would cut your CO2 footprint more than in half and buy some precious years to roll out more sustainable technology.
- closeparen 8y agoLive a non-car-oriented lifestyle in a city, show up to zoning/land-use hearings to support buildings that will enable as many others as possible to do the same. The auto and energy industries don't pollute because it's fun. They do it in the course of fulfilling our demand for suburban lifestyles.
- alacombe 8y agoDo you realize the infrastructure required to support your "green" urban living ?
- adrianN 8y agoWhat infrastructure is needed for urban living that is not needed much more for suburban living?
- Hextinium 8y agoThe changes to infrastructure can eventually be carbon positive or at least carbon neutral with improved quality of life. Properly designed cities have less energy consumption and co2 per capita because of economies of scale. Consolidating people encourages that behavior.
- pmiller2 8y agoWhat if I can’t afford to get off work to go to these zoning meetings in the middle of the day? What then? Or, what if I live in rural America? How do you expect me to give up my car? What if I already drive less than 10k miles a year?
- closeparen 8y agoYou asked what an individual can do, not what an individual can do with zero sacrifice, activism, or lifestyle change. Commuting from the countryside is one of the things that'll have to go if we are to eliminate emissions. (Farmers and residents of traditional small towns are generally already pretty close to where they need to be when they wake up in the morning). It's nonsensical to say something like "how do you expect me to give up my car?" with incredulity, and then blame the energy sector for supplying its fuel.
- pmiller2 8y agoHow much do you expect the 57% of Americans who have less than $1000 in savings[0] to sacrifice? My point is that most people simply aren’t in a position to do what you suggest. —— [0]: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/budget-and-spending/2018/05/22/what-average-american-needs-in-emergency-savings/35175419/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/budget-...
- closeparen 8y agoYou're right, most people aren't in a position to "just move," but the constituency fighting to keep cities exclusive is not that large, and it won't take many to overpower it. Then, with easy access to urban apartments, people can free themselves from the expense of owning and maintaining cars.
- adrianN 8y agoWell you can lower your own consumption as much as practical, vote for politicians who care about climate change, and show up for local council meetings to make your area more walkable. You can also try to convince other people to do the same.
- pteredactyl 8y agoAgreed. What boils my noodle is how the constituents will be forced to 'pay' for it.