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I'm not sure what you're getting at. Yes, we can slow down the rate at which the rate of growth grows. We may even feel awfully good about that. But if any mean

I'm not sure what you're getting at. Yes, we can slow down the rate at which the rate of growth grows. We may even feel awfully good about that. But if any meaningful projection of climate data is to be believed, we don't need slower growth, we need a total collapse in emissions: we need to get to net negative emissions. Soon. I think going green etc. is nice, and often just common sense with a new label on it. But very often it's just distracting from realising just what kind of breakthrough that is necessary.

kamjam 15y ago
Yes, we can slow down the rate at which the rate of growth grows Yes, in the UK it's called taxing the hell out of everything. Petrol is now £1.42 a litre. That's right, A LITRE. That's about $8.50 a gallon. That'll make people use their cars less and move to more efficient vehicles very quickly.
- mgkimsal 15y ago
  you'd think so, but it probably doesn't make much of a difference. The london driving tax was supposed to make a difference, and I don't think it did much - there's not enough good alternatives.
  - kamjam 15y ago
    there was some sarcasm meant in my comment but you are right of course, but unfortunately the way things are going we'll be forced to find an alternative cos we'll be priced out. Until that point governments know we will continue to pay and use it as a stealth tax. Yet we are still broke. And so the vicious cycle continues!
    - mgkimsal 15y ago
      i couldn't tell if you were being sarcastic or not. it worked either way. ;)
eli_gottlieb 15y ago
What am I getting at? We need to shrink our energy usage. Efficiency gains are linear, energy use grows exponentially. So what do we do? Try old-fashioned solutions like a healthy dose of localism and urban/geographical planning so that we exponentially decrease our energy requirements. Manhattan is the greenest city in America, in the sense of spending the least energy per citizen.

kamjam 15y ago

Yes, we can slow down the rate at which the rate of growth grows Yes, in the UK it's called taxing the hell out of everything. Petrol is now £1.42 a litre. That's right, A LITRE. That's about $8.50 a gallon. That'll make people use their cars less and move to more efficient vehicles very quickly.

mgkimsal 15y ago
you'd think so, but it probably doesn't make much of a difference. The london driving tax was supposed to make a difference, and I don't think it did much - there's not enough good alternatives.
- kamjam 15y ago
  there was some sarcasm meant in my comment but you are right of course, but unfortunately the way things are going we'll be forced to find an alternative cos we'll be priced out. Until that point governments know we will continue to pay and use it as a stealth tax. Yet we are still broke. And so the vicious cycle continues!
  - mgkimsal 15y ago
    i couldn't tell if you were being sarcastic or not. it worked either way. ;)

eli_gottlieb 15y ago

What am I getting at? We need to shrink our energy usage. Efficiency gains are linear, energy use grows exponentially. So what do we do? Try old-fashioned solutions like a healthy dose of localism and urban/geographical planning so that we exponentially decrease our energy requirements. Manhattan is the greenest city in America, in the sense of spending the least energy per citizen.