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What can I do about climate change?

bbc.com

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Re: What can I do about climate change?

#31

Post by pdimitar »

ido wrote: post #26
pdimitar wrote: post #6

This article's quality is higher than many others on the same topic and that's a pleasant surprise. That being said, I can't help being reminded about German language lessons I had ~10 years ago where the teacher was preaching that we must all ditch electric kettles for the sake of the planet. I asked her how is this going to help -- even if 100_00 people do it today -- if corporations are happy to let toxic waste se…

Off-topic but what's wrong with electrical kettles? was her position to not boil water or to use a different kind of kettle? My Kitchen has electric range so I doubt using a non-electric kettle on it would be any more efficient.

The main argument against them was along the veins of that it draws big amounts of wattage in an initial burst and that we must use "slower" and thus allegedly more sustainable tech.

Which is ridiculuous because every electrician will tell you that your home-grade fuses and the switchboard of your house/block handle such loads quite well without much additional strain on... anything, really.

I quickly wrote her off as a virtue signaller back then.

Re: What can I do about climate change?

#32

Post by pdimitar »

Vinnl wrote: post #20
pdimitar wrote: post #6

This article's quality is higher than many others on the same topic and that's a pleasant surprise. That being said, I can't help being reminded about German language lessons I had ~10 years ago where the teacher was preaching that we must all ditch electric kettles for the sake of the planet. I asked her how is this going to help -- even if 100_00 people do it today -- if corporations are happy to let toxic waste se…

Ugh, I once read a booklet that had the same premise of the article. One of the suggested solutions: use less soap when doing the dishes, to preserve packaging. As I mention in a different comment, individual action is important. However, there is a large difference in effectiveness, and promoting obviously ineffective ones isn't going to convince people to do the ones that are likely to be effective.

The cynic in me thinks such articles are commissioned by the lobby groups so as to shift the blame. But I can't prove it so I will not claim it.

But you have to wonder.

Re: What can I do about climate change?

#33

Post by jamil7 »

philjohn wrote: post #12
TheSmiddy wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think individuals require deep change in order to solve climate change. Most sources of emissions when broken down by industry ultimately just point back to the energy generation. The only deep change that an individual can do that will make an actual impact is going vegan. Adding solar panels to your roof is not a drastic change, in fact in Australia it makes good economic sense. Driving an electric car is n…

Got any scientific studies to back up that going Vegan is better for the environment?

I think this would be pretty difficult to study since there isn't "one" vegan diet. It differs radically depending on where someone is and what they choose to eat and the complexity of food distribution. On the surface removing meat, diary and eggs from your diet is definitely better for the environment and you can easily find scientific studies to back this up. I find the problems start to arise when you take into account what kind of fats and proteins vegans are supplementing with, eg a vegan living in Scandinavia that's buying imported avocados from South America is probably having a considerable environmental impact by doing so.

Re: What can I do about climate change?

#35

Post by moviuro »

lumberjack wrote: post #11

If people were not so stuck up on individual action, that would be some progress towards solving climate change. One of the big obstacles is admitting that we need collective action to solve this worldwide problem. Would ee propose individual action when less dangerous situations occur in society? Say, a bank run is imminent. Does individual action work? Does the government broadcast it on the 8 o'clock news and do t…

> we expect individual action to work on climate change.

Don't regulations come into play? In the EU, inefficient light bulbs have been phased out [0]

In France, we have free energy market since 2010 [1], with some players [2] focusing on green energy, etc.

Diesel & gas (for cars) prices are sky-rocketting (taxes !! [3]). Not cool for people who don't have the choice to keep using their old cars (students, unemployed, etc.) but the goal is to make combustion-engine cars so expensive they become unattractive.

[0] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-09-368_en.htm : On 18 March 2008, the Commission adopted a regulation on non-directional household lamps which would replace inefficient incandescent bulbs by more efficient alternatives (...) between 2009 and 2012.

[1] https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFT...

[2] https://ekwateur.fr/offre-electricite : I'm a happy customer

[3] https://www.zagaz.com/stats.php

Re: What can I do about climate change?

#36

Post by KitDuncan »

Vinnl wrote: post #17

> 9. But if I eat less meat or take fewer flights, that’s just me – how much of a difference can that really make? > > Actually, it’s not just you. Social scientists have found that when one person makes a sustainability-oriented decision, other people do too. This is the thing that still gives me hope. Try to do good, and people will notice - and, without so much as telling others to something, they will emulate you…

Anecdotal, but I went vegan 3 years ago and in those 3 years, quite a few of my very close friends went vegan or vegetarian as well. It really does give me a lot of hope.

Even my parents started eating meat a lot less, basically only for big events and startet using oat milk for their coffee!

Re: What can I do about climate change?

#37

Post by NLips »

tomp wrote: post #34
KnightOfWords wrote: post #3

This graphic give a pretty good summary of the relative impact: https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/hire...

Why does “replace typical car with hybrid” help at all? Does regenerative braking save that much energy?

Hybrids typically run the engine at or close to peak efficiency all the time, which more than makes up for transmission losses. In contrast, traditional ICE-only powered vehicles have to run the engine at a range of speeds, some of which are considerably less efficient.

Re: What can I do about climate change?

#38

Post by shoo »

i selfishly don't want to take the necessary individual action where my personal cost-benefit analysis comes out negative.

for example, i could become a vegan. if i did so, the net benefit to humanity would be positive. but i don't want to, as i'd have to privately pay the cost (no more delicious chicken) while the benefits (in terms of reduced global cumulative greenhouse gas emissions) are spread across the billions of the rest of you.

however, i really want you all to take individual action to limit your greenhouse emissions so i can benefit. go vegan, have fewer children, get your economies to install carbon taxes. yes please, i'd love the lot of you to do that.

i'm very willing to trade you something of value in return for you making lifestyle changes that don't locally benefit you.

how do we make this kind of trade happen? how do we make this kind of collective agreement to change behaviour happen faster?

Re: What can I do about climate change?

#39

Post by tokyodude »

I don't have a single friend or even. aquaintence who would do any of the top 3 things long the list of 148 most impactful things an individual can do

they were

1. have one less kid.

I can maybe imagine a friend choosing not to have 3 but I can't imagine someone wanting 2 to go to 1 or someone wanting 1 to go to 0 for this reason

2. go carless

Sone friends live in a city that supports a carless lifestyle and already live carless but I can't imagine a single person I know giving up their car or moving somewhere they don't need it for for purpose of helping the environment

3. don't travel

zero friends would give this up. even the most eco "aware"

Re: What can I do about climate change?

#40

Post by _wc0m »

I agree this article isn't as terrible as average. Going vegetarian and cycling to work once a week might make you feel good but it ain't gonna make a difference. It's a political problem. It needs a political solution.

Agitate and vote for the most left-wing party you can (that has a realistic chance of winning/influencing an election). Campaign for them to institute a ban on fossil fuels. Protest. Climb smokestacks. Make headlines. Break the law. If you work in the media, subvert their agenda as much as possible. Capitalism is crisis.

Of course, the BBC would never state these things. But given how little has been achieved in the last 40 years by playing by the rules, at this point they are obviously necessary, if not sufficient.

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