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> Of course, it’s worth pointing out that, unlike someone like Musk, Swift actually had a pretty good reason to travel a lot last year: she was on tour. Yes, b
by koolba 2y ago
> Of course, it’s worth pointing out that, unlike someone like Musk, Swift actually had a pretty good reason to travel a lot last year: she was on tour.
Yes, because the richest man on the planet, heading up multiple billion dollar companies, couldn’t possibly have any legit reason to travel anywhere.
- baryphonic 2y agoI laughed out loud when I read that. Would expect nothing more from Gizmodo.
- ImAnAmateur 2y agoIts frustrating because it buries better points under mud. The effective way to reduce jet emissions is not to publicly rag on the people who have the money to use the service. I would go so far as to say that the author does not actually care about the subject at all, only perhaps being able to deride others to prop themselves up as not as bad as them. The subject as presented like this leaves little room for talk about alternatives or ways to reduce jet emissions. It poisons the conversation by starting down the wrong direction.
- dan_atem17 2y ago[dead]
- snapplebobapple 2y agoMore than that, it ignores the fundamental principle that America is founded on: I paid for it STFU. If there is actual market failure due to externalities then get the votes to raise the cost to cover the externalities (i.e though a carbon tax), but don't think your judgement calls on who should be able to do what should have any bearing on reality. Raise the price until your externality is properly priced or until you lose the political will to implement and then let everyone decide if they are buying or not at the new price. What made America great was recognizing everyone is too stupid to make any of these calls and letting individuals exercise their own judgement (and experience the costs of that judgement). It was a great system that worked wonders and was self regulating and we have drifted far too far from it.
- dzhiurgis 2y agoBetter start would be petrol not aviation fuel
- snapplebobapple 2y agoThats the beauty of a carbon tax. It doesnt care, you emit, you pay. Done right it makes no judgements, it just makes emitting cost more and then lets people decide if they still want to emit or not.
- bradknowles 2y agoHaven’t you heard? One dollar == one vote. So, who has all the dollars, and therefore all the votes? If you don’t have any dollars to buy off your entity in Congress, then how are you going to get the laws changed?
- baryphonic 2y agoI agree with you. I'd add that this kind of snarky sniping nonsense causes rifts between people who might otherwise agree with one another.
- zzo38computer 2y ago> The subject as presented like this leaves little room for talk about alternatives or ways to reduce jet emissions. It poisons the conversation by starting down the wrong direction. Well, it is the wrong direction for reducing jet emissions, because the privacy of the registration of private jets isn't what causes or reduces jet emissions. It is a separate issue. Unfortunately they can be confused with each other. They should have a way to reduce jet emissions, but it is a separate issue from anonymous registration of airplanes, so should be considered too, but this is something else, anyways.
- croes 2y agoIt doesn't say he couldn't have any legit reason but less than an artist you gets paid to perform in front of an audience. I bet for many travels of Musk this would be true: "This Meeting Could Have Been an Email"
- throwaway51081 2y agoI really want to see you design rockets, robots and brainchips using email. Taylor Swift could have livestreamed on YouTube.
- malfist 2y agoDo you think Elon is giving meaningful input on the design of robots, rockets or brainchips?
- throwaway51081 2y agoYes, I do. People working with him in SpaceX have said so. And in the other cases, his leadership, financial, business, product and marketing input is still a necessary part of the project that directly influences the technical decisions.
- croes 2y agoDoesn't need him to be on site.
- Turing_Machine 2y agoHe has a degree in physics and one in economics, both from Penn.
- malfist 2y agoWhat does a degree in physics or economics have to do with brainchips?
- Workaccount2 2y agoThat line approaches peak first world detachment; the things that actually matter are superfluous entertainment.
- Pet_Ant 2y agoThe entertainment may be superfluous but the emotional effect it has on her fans is not. I mean compare this to the carbon footprint of people driving to church. Not a fan personally, but a concert it a meaningful experience for her diehard fans.
- readyman 2y agoMeaning is not value, economically speaking. I don't think Musk creates much value if any, but can sympathize with their point.
- ipaddr 2y agoGoing to church which is usually local doesn't compare to the entertainment industry's waste from touring, production nevermind the collective gas usage. We shouldn't be promoting emotional effects that are massed produced like facebook feeds that trigger real emotional responses to fake simulants
- childofzombie 2y agoI think churches were a lot like spoken word venues with performers who try to copy the best, occasional traveling stars, and the most usable advice being memes that predate Christianity.
- ipaddr 2y agoThere are no performers. At it's basic level it's people getting together in a home where they read a bit of a book. More like a book club.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- ToucanLoucan 2y agoNobody (apart from the dolt who wrote this anyway) is arguing he or Swift or anyone else doesn't have a reason to travel. You don't need a reason. That said, in times such as ours when we're all being told via our media and legislation passed that we need to be more eco-friendly, it's a slap in the face (and I'll say, it's 2 slaps from Musk who's fortune has been greatly bolstered by AMPLE Federal subsidies for green industry!) that they can't take a regular goddamn airplane like anyone else. Planes are ATROCIOUS for emissions simply by virtue of how a jet engine works and, at least right now, it's pretty clear that public opinion leans towards it's unethical to use such machines so frivolously.
- lolinder 2y ago> Nobody's arguing he or Swift or anyone else doesn't have a reason to travel The article literally says that Musk did not have a "pretty good reason to travel a lot last year": > unlike someone like Musk, Swift actually had a pretty good reason to travel a lot last year
- ToucanLoucan 2y agoFixed.
- adgjlsfhk1 2y agocommercial planes are actually better per mile on emissions than most cars (around 100mpg per person). private jets of course are way worse though.
- markhalonen 2y agoone starts to understand the imperative of colonizing mars...
- mc32 2y agoNo kidding! Musk adds more and better things to the economy than a pop entertainer, for sure. Young fans would disagree, but household earners with dependents would disagree. How much does Tesla add, how much does SpaceX add? Twttr is in some ways in the same category (entertainment) as Swift, but it's also a good dissemination platform. Billions vs Millions, but whatever... truth is a cruel mistress.
- KennyBlanken 2y agoMusk was taking 20 minute flights in his jet to go to the beach - insanely wasteful because the fuel overhead of startup/taxi/takeoff and landing/taxiing is extremely high for the distance traveled. It's about the most environmentally damaging, wasteful way you could possibly move yourself from point A to B. At least Swift's flights are often very long distance, and she has several major reasons for using the private jet; because of how large and obsessive her fan base is, it would be beyond difficult for her to travel via non-private commercial travel and a huge annoyance to anyone else on the plane. There'd even be fans and paparazzi trying to predict what flight she'd be on and booking tickets themselves. There are also security safety concerns, although they have to be weighed against the much higher crash rate for bizjet travel than commercial passenger aviation flights. She also has to physically travel for a tour. There's no other option. Musk can do 90% of what he does via videoconferencing or phone calls - and from stories that have come out in the press from former executives who worked for him, he incessantly calls his subordinates, even in the middle of the night. Still, people are missing the true motivator behind this legislation. It's not just about the rich 0.01%'ers. It's also about all the FBI, DEA, and CBP planes that are registered through shell companies to somewhat hide their purpose...but ownership and purpose becomes obvious when you see the model of plane (the agencies have their favorites), photos of it by plane spotters (showing obvious surveillance equipment pods), and the flight paths available online (usually endless loops over an area, or loops that follow a track from one point to another, obviously following someone.) This makes it somewhat harder to track them.
- yfw 2y agoHe's busy twittering, can just stay at home for that