What? Just do both. I don’t follow your logic.

There’s a course that’s been required for engineering degrees at my university for some years about sustainable development, in which they even mention collapse.

Of course almost nobody gives a fuck or even go to class.

Yes, realize it’s not a great idea building a city for a million people in a desert and move everyone.

By saying “only regulations on industry can save us now”, you’re placing your faith on a top-down system which has already failed us.

The article claims the bottom 90% produce an average of 2.76 tCO2/year. That’s still twice too much. Again, I did not the say the billionaires and corporations were not partly responsible. But what makes the billionaires and corporations rich and able to do so are the consumers paying for it.

To blame everything on someone else is choosing what’s most convenient for you. It’s wrong and self-centered. If you’re saying “someone is doing worse than me, hence I have no reason to improve myself”, then everyone but the worst won’t change. The correct mentality is “I will act in such a way that if everyone were to do the same, everything would work out” (also known as the categorical imperative).

Why do you think the oil & gas industry exists? To satisfy the needs of consumer. The industry isn’t just burning oil just to fuck the climate up. It all comes down to the consumer.

Now about carbon footprint. The Paris agreement aims to limit global warming to 1.5ºC. To do, we collectively have to emit less than 250 Gt (from the start of 2023). That means each of the 8 billion persons on the planet get a 1.16 t/year budget until 2050, and then zero.

You cannot reach this footprint while eating meat like the average American does. You cannot reach it by keeping driving, or even owning a car. You cannot just hope anymore to keep same lifestyle, which was only made affordable by an era of cheap fossil energy.

Of course you can keep blaming other in all caps text but that’s not going to change anything, nor inspire change. Are the companies to blame? Sure. But companies are made by people, and are all eventually financed by the consumer. You. Me. Us.

https://archive.is/KQS9q

Air conditioning inspired by Hobbits is also surprisingly effective.

While I wholeheartedly agree with what is said the article, I cannot fathom how banning cars could even begin to happen. The car is strongly anchored in western culture, a majority of people own one, and there are no alternatives that would satisfy these people.

Evolving into a car-centric democratic society is a one way transition. By the point the majority of voters own a car, all possible alternatives are delayed and watered down to the point of become insufficient, if they are implemented at all. Some places in Europe have never fully adopted the car. North America though? Forget it.

Let’s say some city administrators believe in transition. Thus, they decide to build a tramway for the city. Of all the voters, 70% own a car, and 50% oppose the project, perhaps having been convinced by the opposition that the project will make their taxes jump through the roof. By the time the project starts, the term has ended and the administration is voted out, the project is dropped.

The asbestos comparison is flawed in that asbestos didn’t have a hundred billion dollar industry backing it, lobbying and brain washing the population into thinking a life without a car is impossible. People didn’t need asbestos for earning their livelihood.

People know cars are dangerous. Everyone who has taken a walk down a busy street or uses a bicycle know it. Ironically, the best way to protect yourself from cars is to own a car, the biggest car you can get. So people who care about their safety buy bigger cars, exacerbating the problem.

Let’s also not forget that most people lack the ability to plan years ahead of time. They make choices that will be good for them today. Hence a majority of the population don’t give a fuck about the climate change, because they’re not affected by it today (or so they believe). Now .when the choice to make is about diverging from a path taken by all your friends and family for three or four generations (owning a car), it’s very nearly impossible to give a fuck.

So to be honest, I have zero hope for a transportation transition in western societies. I believe it will take something more. A collapse of the fossil fuel supply, lasting multiple years.

To put this in perspective, 250 Gt at the start of 2023 means each of the 8 billion persons on the planet get a 2.6 t/year budget if we collectively reach net zero in 2035, and a 1.16 t/year budget for 2050.

Moreover, to be fair to underdeveloped countries, it would make sense for them to have a larger allowance of this budget given that they are the farthest from having the infrastructure needed to get rid of fossil fuels while ensuring quality of life.

Considering population is still growing, that the current global average (per the article data) is around 5 t/year/person, and that this average is also still growing, we can all see that’s not happening.

More on this line of thought: https://medium.com/@bumblebeeunbarred/is-britain-doing-its-bit-for-climate-58f9c78074eb