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You're absolutely right, when it comes to individuals. The whole concept of an individual "carbon footprint" is literally just corporate propaganda to deflect

You're absolutely right, when it comes to individuals. The whole concept of an individual "carbon footprint" is literally just corporate propaganda to deflect responsibility away from the actual offenders, who are primarily energy companies. The top 20 carbon-emitting corporations are responsible for ~35% of all emissions. [0] Individuals have very little control over most carbon emissions. Outside of choosing to have fewer children, and transportation-related activities, there really is very little an individual can do here. [1] --- [0]: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/09/revealed-20-firms-third-carbon-emissions https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/09/revealed... [1]: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541#erlaa7541s3 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541#...

maxerickson 4y ago
Why not both? People choosing excessively large vehicles for aesthetics shouldn't get a pass because some giant company happens to produce the fuel it uses.
- lozenge 4y ago
  How about car companies deciding to sell more oversized vehicles because they don't want to put in the engineering effort to meet fuel efficiency standards? As actually happened. Advertising shifted to SUVs. Blaming individuals may be interesting morally but it makes for terrible public policy. It doesn't produce anything actionable. Imagine trying to fix ozone depletion with a voluntary labelling scheme and "blaming" people who use CFCs.
  - maxerickson 4y ago
    Only marketers have agency. Marketers and the US government.
    - steeleyespan 4y ago
      Sarcastic, yet perhaps closer than you realize. People are very malleable to propaganda.
    - goodpoint 4y ago
      Responsibility should come with power. Marketers and companies in general have enormous power to manipulate people and yet they dodge responsibilities all the time.
  - gruez 4y ago
    > How about car companies deciding to sell more oversized vehicles because they don't want to put in the engineering effort to meet fuel efficiency standards? As actually happened. Advertising shifted to SUVs. AFAIK SUV sales replacing sedan sales is a trend that has been going on for decades[1]. Blaming it on "[car companies] don't want to put in the engineering effort" doesn't make sense. [1] https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iukk8bw9OXns/v1/-1x-1.png https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iukk8bw9OXn...
- goodpoint 4y ago
  You are confusing 2 different things. The concept of "carbon footprint" truly is corporate propaganda and deflection. That does not imply that individuals are morally entitled to overconsume.

maxerickson 4y ago

Why not both? People choosing excessively large vehicles for aesthetics shouldn't get a pass because some giant company happens to produce the fuel it uses.

lozenge 4y ago
How about car companies deciding to sell more oversized vehicles because they don't want to put in the engineering effort to meet fuel efficiency standards? As actually happened. Advertising shifted to SUVs. Blaming individuals may be interesting morally but it makes for terrible public policy. It doesn't produce anything actionable. Imagine trying to fix ozone depletion with a voluntary labelling scheme and "blaming" people who use CFCs.
- maxerickson 4y ago
  Only marketers have agency. Marketers and the US government.
  - steeleyespan 4y ago
    Sarcastic, yet perhaps closer than you realize. People are very malleable to propaganda.
  - goodpoint 4y ago
    Responsibility should come with power. Marketers and companies in general have enormous power to manipulate people and yet they dodge responsibilities all the time.
- gruez 4y ago
  > How about car companies deciding to sell more oversized vehicles because they don't want to put in the engineering effort to meet fuel efficiency standards? As actually happened. Advertising shifted to SUVs. AFAIK SUV sales replacing sedan sales is a trend that has been going on for decades[1]. Blaming it on "[car companies] don't want to put in the engineering effort" doesn't make sense. [1] https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iukk8bw9OXns/v1/-1x-1.png https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iukk8bw9OXn...
goodpoint 4y ago
You are confusing 2 different things. The concept of "carbon footprint" truly is corporate propaganda and deflection. That does not imply that individuals are morally entitled to overconsume.