574
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
574 points (99.3% liked)
Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.
5301 readers
412 users here now
Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades:
How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world:
Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:
Anti-science, inactivism, and unsupported conspiracy theories are not ok here.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Can we move away from cars already?? People act like this movement against cars is just some aesthetic aversion based on personal preference. But cars literally ruin everything they touch, from commute times, housing supply, local economic activity, household debt, air pollution, water pollution, ground pollution, and just plain being the number one killer of children in the developed world. It’s mind boggling that cars are so normalized that many can’t see how obviously harmful they are.
No most ppl can't, obviously. What we can stop doing is proposing no alternative when we tell ppl to stop doing something...you know. Like you just did.
There is no viable alternative to a car when it is 20 below and you have to drive 30 min to get to work.
In the US, moving away from cars is a decade+ project. The alternatives are bicycles, trams, ebikes, walking, trains, busses, and subways.
All of them require substantial zoning changes and a change in focus from transportation departments from car capacity to people capacity and safety.
Most people in the US can't feasibly not drive. A good start are things like my neighborhood. I live 1.5 from a shopping center with grocery store and other essentials, but have to drive there. It would be a minimal change and cost to connect a few neighborhood streets to the back of the shopping center or finish the sidewalk/bike trail that abruptly ends half way there.
Another good start is giving tax breaks for employers that do 32 hour work weeks or even 4 10 hour days to reduce driving.
Another idea is allow for small general stores in residential areas.
Another idea is HSR on easy routes like LA to Las Vegas.
Another idea is trams along long strips with lots of foot traffic like public beaches and Las Vegas boulevard.
Another is to add bollards in cities with bike lanes that are just painted lines on the road so people feel safer using them.
Plus China is repeating our mistakes and building out a massive amount of car-centric infrastructure. Huge disappointment given the amount of resources and wonderful transit they have in major cities