14 ms·
What do you want people to do? I suppose many could walk, take transit or bike. In North American cities, everything is so spread out that walking is prohibitiv
by vegetablepotpie 4y ago
What do you want people to do? I suppose many could walk, take transit or bike. In North American cities, everything is so spread out that walking is prohibitive except in the core of cities and transit is often too unreliable and infrequent to be taken by people with responsibilities. Biking is good, except bike infrastructure is so patchy and car drivers are often distracted that you risk ending up badly injured or dead from them.
Long term we could live in more dense and walkable neighborhoods, but even if we did the zoning changes, it would take decades to swap out all of our infrastructure for a less car dependent built environment.
Short term we could have electric cars. But 60% of our power grid is still fossil fuel driven [1]. Plus electric cars are built with 50% more plastic than ICE cars [2]. Exxon, without selling gasoline, expects to make as much money from petrochemicals as the company as a whole made in 2013 [3].
We really have significant issues, they’re not easily solved. But telling people that they make a lot of carbon is not going to change behavior. There are deeply rooted structures that influence behavior. They can be changed, but they will take a long time and alternatives are needed.
[1] https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us-generation-capacity-and-sales.php https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-...
[2] https://www.silverdoctors.com/headlines/world-news/the-green-electric-car-myth-772-pounds-of-petro-chemical-plastics-in-each-vehicle/ https://www.silverdoctors.com/headlines/world-news/the-green...
[3] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/25/exxon-mobil-ceo-all-new-passenger-cars-will-be-electric-by-2040.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/25/exxon-mobil-ceo-all-new-pass...
- epistasis 4y agoI want 1) people to be numerate about actual environmental damage rather than go on marketing vibes, and 2) advocate for ways to numerically decrease their consumption. That means walkable neighborhoods, which would exist if they weren't blocked by law. My city, which claims to be lefty, takes great pains to talk about taking climate actions, but takes even greater pains to avoid the numbers that would show that city planning laws and codes and zoning must adapt. I have been fighting like mad to try to make even small changes to this, but the Overton window remains firmly closed. EVs are only a partial solution. We should legalize housing and markets and jobs and all sorts of buildings that are accessible without requiring cars.
- sokoloff 4y agoWanting people to be numerate about anything seems pretty much pre-ordained to end in disappointment.
- epistasis 4y agoI'm not sure I agree, at least for the subset of people that take part in local government and advocate for or against changes. The bigger problem is not innumeracy, but ignorance, and also a willingness to prioritize short term personal gain over their stated values. It would be a lot easier if everyone was honest and upfront, but I am not so naive as to believe that many people are arguing their true beliefs in my local political arena. Instead people say whatever has the best chance of effecting their desired outcome.
- sokoloff 4y agoAnytime I start to expect numeracy, I'm reminded of my folly. https://culinarylore.com/food-history:aw-1-3-pound-burger-failure-fact-check-are-americans-really-that-bad-at-fractions/ https://culinarylore.com/food-history:aw-1-3-pound-burger-fa...