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If you are like me, you hate reading articles like this. You know there is a problem but you feel like you can't do anything about it. You recycle, you turn o
by giarc 7y ago
If you are like me, you hate reading articles like this. You know there is a problem but you feel like you can't do anything about it. You recycle, you turn off lights, you have a programmable thermostat but you know it's a drop in the ocean.
I finally decided to do something about it last fall. I researched and have committed to purchasing green power. Every month I purchase 850 kWh for $22 from Bullfrog Power (a Canadian company, I have no affiliation). It's much more reasonable than I thought. I still conserve as much as I can but $22/month allows me to feel like I am doing something. If in 40 years, my kids ask me what I did to prevent climate change, I feel like I'll have an answer I'll be proud of.
- lllr_finger 7y agoThat's awesome and I'm right there with you on wanting to do more. Have you considered your next step, and do you have any suggestions? Purchasing green power is such a minor sacrifice for my household, I'm still looking for something more.
- giarc 7y agoMy next steps will be writing to my government representatives. I live in Alberta and we just elected a right wing party that scrapped our carbon tax (although we now have a federal carbon tax).
- Gravityloss 7y agoThis is why we have democracies, legislation and international treaties. Trying to solve it on individual goodwill of course helps but is not enough by itself.
- oezi 7y agoHow about carbon offsetting your own life and that of your children?
- SketchySeaBeast 7y ago> If in 40 years, my kids ask me what I did to prevent climate change, I feel like I'll have an answer I'll be proud of. Doesn't it kind of feel like this is the equivalent of a kid in the 70's asking why their parents didn't stop World War 2? We absolutely need to be as vocal as possible, but as individuals, outside of trying to get people with power to affect the change we need, I don't know what we can expect to accomplish. You just can't do enough diet modifications, carbon footprint reduction, or recycling to have it matter on a global scale.
- chipsa 7y agoWhy would we have wanted to stop WW2? WW2 was an objectively good war for the Allies to fight (not that the Allies had a choice, as it only takes 1 side to start a war).
- SketchySeaBeast 7y agoI feel like you're missing my point, but I'll concede it may have been a bad example, even though I find it hard to argue that it was good that all those people died, which would be a child's understanding of the event.
- giarc 7y ago>You just can't do enough diet modifications, carbon footprint reduction, or recycling to have it matter on a global scale. I used to think like that. I used to think "There's nothing I can do, why do anything." Then I had kids and I realized that I need to be able to tell them I did something. Our world might be a wasteland of burnt forests and flooded cities, but at least I will be able to look my children in the eye and say "I tried."
- SketchySeaBeast 7y agoI feel as though it may ring a little hollow.
- 0xffff2 7y agoThere is a problem and you can't do anything about it. We are way past the point where individual action is going to cut it. You have to vote. No other action is going to have a meaningful impact and you shouldn't pretend otherwise because it makes you feel better about yourself.
- chrisco255 7y agoYou going to vote out Xi Jinping?
- 0xffff2 7y agoNot being a Chinese citizen, there's very little I can do there (AFAIK there's not very much I could do if I was either). I certainly will vote for any politician that promises to put pressure on China to change their policies.
- Gupie 7y agoElect a government that will ban imports from polluting countries.
- WA 7y agoChina is actually also doing a lot pro-climate. Also, reading this as a German: I think the U. S. can do a lot first, before pointing their finger to China. Same for Germany btw., because we have similar discussions here as well like "why should we do anything? The US and China are the culprits". You can follow this logic all the way down to an individual level. If China doesn't do anyting, the US doesn't have to do anything either. If the US doesn't do anything, Germany doesn't have to do anything either. If not Germany, then not Munich. If not Munich, then not our little town. If not our neighbor, then me neither. Everybody and every country should do whatever they can. Will it be enough? Probably not. But you gotta start where you actually have some control.
- triceratops 7y agoVote in politicians that will tariff any country that doesn't have carbon pricing.
- jacquesm 7y agoI am like you. And you and me both will be on the wrong side of history anyway, simply because we have children. It's the singles that are doing more for climate change than all those people with kids combined.
- Accujack 7y agoNot to rain on your parade, but programs like this from big power companies are essentially meant to allow customers to feel good while simultaneously not going through the work and cost of switching completely to renewable power. That's because the power companies want to keep people from developing competition to them... if enough individuals install solar plants with battery storage, eventually they power company simply won't be needed any more, which is what they're trying to avoid. By selling "green" feel good power, they quiet the impulse that people like you get to make changes that would impact their business. It's still good that you choose to purchase green power over e.g. coal fired power, but it's also the power companies you're keeping in business that are causing a lot of climate change, and who have contributed to it all along.
- giarc 7y agoBullfrog Power isn't a power company. They invest in green energy projects. https://www.bullfrogpower.com/green-energy/projects-and-sources/ https://www.bullfrogpower.com/green-energy/projects-and-sour...
- Accujack 7y agoMy bad, then. Carry on.
- imtringued 7y agoThe idea is that a CO2 tax will never be implemented. Instead of doing nothing the best thing you could possibly do is to self impose a CO2 tax on yourself. If politicians finally decide to implement a CO2 tax you've already prepared yourself and won't see a significant increase.
- giarc 7y agoThat's exactly the way my wife and I saw it. Our provincial government removed the tax on Jan 1 2019. We just simply self imposed the tax.
- herogreen 7y agoThe problem of this "easy" method is that it does not scale: if everyone was doing it there would be much more problems to manage: renewables are not continous (storage needed), we do not have near enough capacity yet, the grid may not be designed for decentralized production, etc. edit: also it is very rare to have the externalities included into the sum of CO2 emissions (dams need cement, wind turbines need steel, solar panel need mining, we need to transport these components, etc. -> all of that is probably not currently powered by CO2 neutral energy).
- luckylion 7y ago> Every month I purchase 850 kWh for $22 Is there a typo somewhere? I run multiple computers at home 24/7 and I'm using ~2500 kWh a year. Also, 850 kWh for $22 sounds crazy cheap, I pay ~100€ per 200kWh (including the rented meter, but more importantly, taxes).
- giarc 7y agoSorry I should have said, "every month I purchase offsets equating to 850kWh for $22". This is in addition to my regular electricity bill (I pay about $0.07/kWh). Bullfrog Power isn't my supplier, they are a company investing in green energy projects.
- luckylion 7y agoAh, that makes sense, thanks. $0.07/kWh still sounds great, we're blasting past 0.30€, subsidizing wind farms is pricy.
- imtringued 7y agoSubsidizing heavy industry is expensive. I assume you're German. https://youtu.be/YkA65vpeA5g https://youtu.be/YkA65vpeA5g
- luckylion 7y ago> Subsidizing heavy industry is expensive. That too, yeah. Though they are primarily subsidized by not paying taxes on energy, they're not paying negative prizes (yet).