$$$ spent doesn't = fixing the climate
I've already written a zillion times that we can't stop carbon emissions without stopping carbon emissions, and that stuff like tax credits for electric cars isn't really helping.
But I saw an election news item portrayed as -- downballot victories against climate change -- so I read the item, and it was mainly about ballot initiatives funding a variety of climate mitigation activities. In some of the larger states, these funding initiatives were in the billions of dollars. The article was so cheerful, patting everybody on the back for all that we're doing about climate change. Democracy in action!
I have this conversation in real life also -- friends and family think that spending $$$ fighting climate change is the way to fix climate change. For example, spending a bunch of $$$ to upgrade the electricity transmission infrastructure to accommodate more solar and wind power generation.
But ... why do I have to keep saying this ... you have to stop burning carbon. You have to stop burning carbon. I mean, the plural you. All of us. We all have to stop burning carbon. If you personally stop, but somebody else picks up your slack and burns more, we've accomplished nothing.
The US is the #1 producer of oil. All that oil we produce gets burned by somebody. If we in the US burn less, because we switch to electric cars, then we'll export that oil, and somebody else will burn it.
The US is also the #1 producer of natural gas.
The US is only #4 in coal production LOL. Only #4. Out of about 200 countries.
I haven't paid close attention to the COP27 climate talks occurring in Egypt right now, but I've seen that one of the big issues they're negotiating is getting richer countries to pay more cash to poor countries to assist poor countries in mitigating climate change. But how is it that the US is one of the richest countries? Because we're #1 in both oil and natural gas production. How is China one of the richest countries? Because it is #1 in coal production.
The problem isn't that rich countries don't give enough cash to poor countries ... the problem is that many rich countries are rich because we're producing all this goddess damned carbon fuels.
I'm skeptical that we'll ever solve the problem of global warming, but spending more $$$ isn't the solution. Leaving carbon fuels underground is the solution. And we're not doing that at all. The US is the top offender in two of the three categories. But we can bribe some poor countries to feel like we're doing something.
But I saw an election news item portrayed as -- downballot victories against climate change -- so I read the item, and it was mainly about ballot initiatives funding a variety of climate mitigation activities. In some of the larger states, these funding initiatives were in the billions of dollars. The article was so cheerful, patting everybody on the back for all that we're doing about climate change. Democracy in action!
I have this conversation in real life also -- friends and family think that spending $$$ fighting climate change is the way to fix climate change. For example, spending a bunch of $$$ to upgrade the electricity transmission infrastructure to accommodate more solar and wind power generation.
But ... why do I have to keep saying this ... you have to stop burning carbon. You have to stop burning carbon. I mean, the plural you. All of us. We all have to stop burning carbon. If you personally stop, but somebody else picks up your slack and burns more, we've accomplished nothing.
The US is the #1 producer of oil. All that oil we produce gets burned by somebody. If we in the US burn less, because we switch to electric cars, then we'll export that oil, and somebody else will burn it.
The US is also the #1 producer of natural gas.
The US is only #4 in coal production LOL. Only #4. Out of about 200 countries.
I haven't paid close attention to the COP27 climate talks occurring in Egypt right now, but I've seen that one of the big issues they're negotiating is getting richer countries to pay more cash to poor countries to assist poor countries in mitigating climate change. But how is it that the US is one of the richest countries? Because we're #1 in both oil and natural gas production. How is China one of the richest countries? Because it is #1 in coal production.
The problem isn't that rich countries don't give enough cash to poor countries ... the problem is that many rich countries are rich because we're producing all this goddess damned carbon fuels.
I'm skeptical that we'll ever solve the problem of global warming, but spending more $$$ isn't the solution. Leaving carbon fuels underground is the solution. And we're not doing that at all. The US is the top offender in two of the three categories. But we can bribe some poor countries to feel like we're doing something.