Feb 25, 2022·edited Feb 25, 2022Liked by Bill McKibben
Thank you. Very eloquent.
Just one modest quibble. EVs are not the silver bullet.
Critically important, yes. But no analyst seriously thinks there is any way to turn over the fleet fast enough to bring our climate emissions down as far as we need as fast as we need - much less to drastically cut our dependence on oil from soulless autocrats this year.
But we can make big progress in cutting down both climate change and Putin if we simply Get. Out. Of. The. Damn. Car. for every trip that we can. That may be hard to imagine going far in rural Vermont, but most Americans live in places where there average car trips are about 4 miles. For a big chunk of the year that is a simple distance to go on a bike. As a bonus you won't be in danger of participating in the slaughter of 40,000+ people that car drivers kill each year in the US.
Got too much to carry? Don't want to arrive in sweat? E-bikes are a game changer. The bike for people who hate to bike. And incredibly efficient. 1000-4000 MPGe. Twenty times as carbon efficient as the best electric cars. Worried about lithium for batteries? E-bikes get 30-100 times more miles per pound of battery than electric cars.
And e-bikes are safer than pedal bikes, particularly where the bike paths are not the best.
Best of all they make you feel bionic and are incredibly fun.
Please, Bill, make getting out of the car - and on to e-bikes - part of your rap.
After Pearl Harbor, American ambivilance to WWII rapidly evaporated. We rebuilt the ships lost in the attack and many more. Factories ran 24/7 to build aircraft, tanks, to manufacture uniforms and helmets and so much more. Gasoline? Well, it was rationed. Like sugar and other comodities where supply and demand played a role, the first need was the war effort. After that, families could use ration coupons that allowed them to purchase their allotment of gas for their cars.
Putin is little different from Hitler. In many regards he is playing a similar hand. We cannot be naive to think that he will stop with Ukraine.
A small sacrifice that each of us can make to defend the wellbeing of our nation and those of our allies, is to understand that this war in Europe will effect the lives of everyone in the US and likely everyone in the world in one way or another. Decreasing our demand for gasoline and other petroleum products will help to reduce price increases. It will also reduce demand for a product that largely drives the Russian economy. We can make a difference.
Americans have lost all conception of the ideals of sacrifice and community. If we couldn't collectively work toward eradicating Covid, a danger to very lives, then I have great doubt about our ability to tighten our belts to help a democracy under unimaginable threat. That said, I cannot understand the inability of Democratic leadership to explain (for the past 5 years) to explain the dangers of authoritarianism. Vast numbers of our countrymen believe that nothing will change if American democracy dies...they'll simply have license to freely use their guns, racial slurs, and misogyny, etc. They don't understand that their freedoms will be drastically slashed. Until we break through the bubble of denial, nothing will change. As an aside, if Biden pushed out DeJoy and insisted upon an all electric postal fleet, it would send an important message. Why isn't this happening?
When I was a kid (I'm on the cusp of Generation X and Millenial), I saw the Tiananmen Square protests on TV and in newspapers. I vividly remember seeing the photo of the protester standing in front of a line of tanks and thinking to myself how brave he was. My parent's told me that the protester only wanted what we Americans have and take for granted, the right to vote and freedom of speech. I took that lesson to heart and it upsets me when people don't vote because they think it doesn't matter - it does.
Years later, I took a humanities course in college. The instructor was this cliche of what people complain about when they talk about academia. He thought he was smarter than everyone else, and he was especially condescending to a student from Yemen who wore a hijab. One day during a reading, he mentioned that he didn't think anything was worth dying for. The student in the hijab replied, "Well, then I guess you don't really believe do you?" That shut him up.
The person who stood in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square believed, and he was willing to die for what he believed in.
It's unfortunate that our wealth and standard of living have made us so complacent about what we have and care so little about what other's don't have. We think that wearing a mask or getting a vaccine somehow impinges on our freedom. Sadly, I don't think that most Americans have any idea of what freedom truly is, and what it costs.
As for "biogas", that's comprised of methane and CO2, both of which are greenhouse gases, with methane being far worse for climate change than CO2. By switching from fossil fuels to biogas, aren't we just jumping from one frying pan to another?
I have a gas furnace heat pump combination in my condo which needs replacement and will be over $11,000. my roof could have solar , has small attic. What do you recommend.The "heat pump is located on the roof up 3 stories. (Oregon)
I have a one story rental in Ca with old (1988 outside AC , gas furnace..... Slopped roof.
Also you make a good point about how renewable energy can help us not fund these autocrats abroad. Perhaps also worth considering that the de-nuclearization of Germany post Fukushima perhaps contributed to European over-reliance on Russian fossil fuels and thus subsidizing Putin's military.
Also such a strident title! You doin' OK Bill? Maybe take a break from the news from time to time, it's good for the soul.
I would disagree that Biden is doing a good job in this Ukraine crisis. Yes he hasn't sent us to direct war with another nuclear power, but thats a pretty low bar for a president. This whole conflict was avoidable if Biden has simply declared Ukraine off limits to NATO. It was a hard line for Russia, Biden refused to cave, and now here we are.
Here is a viewpoint and interview you would never hear on liberal media.
Colonel Douglas MacGregor: "But I'm also very concerned that we find a way to avoid a conflict with Russia. And the first thing we've got to do is acknowledge that Putin's basic point, not just his point, the Russian government's point, which they've made for 25 years, is valid. They don't want US forces and missiles and NATO's troops immediately across the border in eastern Ukraine. Absolutely.
We didn't want them in Cuba. He doesn't want them in eastern Ukraine. We should acknowledge that. Stop pretending that's a non-issue. It is a major issue for them. Let's acknowledge it, and let's get down to business and then tell them. Fine, our our concern at this point is we don't want you to proceed west towards the Polish border over the Dnieper River in Ukraine. In other words, you're going to go into eastern Ukraine. That's pretty obvious. That's what the troop disposition suggest. We understand it. We would prefer not. But ultimately, we do understand your point. We acknowledge it.
We are ready to neutralize Ukraine. Ukraine doesn't have to be a NATO. Neither does Georgia. And we can discuss those terms of neutrality. Now, If you will accept those terms. Then let's talk about the other things that are important. The INF treaty making that relevant again. What about where troops are near borders and when they're not near borders and how they will exercise? We can sort through all of that. We have refused to do this, and because we've refused it, we're going to watch as one hundred and thirty one hundred and forty thousand troops go into eastern Ukraine in the next few days. And there's not a damn thing we can do."
Thank you. Very eloquent.
Just one modest quibble. EVs are not the silver bullet.
Critically important, yes. But no analyst seriously thinks there is any way to turn over the fleet fast enough to bring our climate emissions down as far as we need as fast as we need - much less to drastically cut our dependence on oil from soulless autocrats this year.
But we can make big progress in cutting down both climate change and Putin if we simply Get. Out. Of. The. Damn. Car. for every trip that we can. That may be hard to imagine going far in rural Vermont, but most Americans live in places where there average car trips are about 4 miles. For a big chunk of the year that is a simple distance to go on a bike. As a bonus you won't be in danger of participating in the slaughter of 40,000+ people that car drivers kill each year in the US.
Got too much to carry? Don't want to arrive in sweat? E-bikes are a game changer. The bike for people who hate to bike. And incredibly efficient. 1000-4000 MPGe. Twenty times as carbon efficient as the best electric cars. Worried about lithium for batteries? E-bikes get 30-100 times more miles per pound of battery than electric cars.
And e-bikes are safer than pedal bikes, particularly where the bike paths are not the best.
Best of all they make you feel bionic and are incredibly fun.
Please, Bill, make getting out of the car - and on to e-bikes - part of your rap.
https://www.climateaction.center/ebike
After Pearl Harbor, American ambivilance to WWII rapidly evaporated. We rebuilt the ships lost in the attack and many more. Factories ran 24/7 to build aircraft, tanks, to manufacture uniforms and helmets and so much more. Gasoline? Well, it was rationed. Like sugar and other comodities where supply and demand played a role, the first need was the war effort. After that, families could use ration coupons that allowed them to purchase their allotment of gas for their cars.
Putin is little different from Hitler. In many regards he is playing a similar hand. We cannot be naive to think that he will stop with Ukraine.
A small sacrifice that each of us can make to defend the wellbeing of our nation and those of our allies, is to understand that this war in Europe will effect the lives of everyone in the US and likely everyone in the world in one way or another. Decreasing our demand for gasoline and other petroleum products will help to reduce price increases. It will also reduce demand for a product that largely drives the Russian economy. We can make a difference.
Americans have lost all conception of the ideals of sacrifice and community. If we couldn't collectively work toward eradicating Covid, a danger to very lives, then I have great doubt about our ability to tighten our belts to help a democracy under unimaginable threat. That said, I cannot understand the inability of Democratic leadership to explain (for the past 5 years) to explain the dangers of authoritarianism. Vast numbers of our countrymen believe that nothing will change if American democracy dies...they'll simply have license to freely use their guns, racial slurs, and misogyny, etc. They don't understand that their freedoms will be drastically slashed. Until we break through the bubble of denial, nothing will change. As an aside, if Biden pushed out DeJoy and insisted upon an all electric postal fleet, it would send an important message. Why isn't this happening?
When I was a kid (I'm on the cusp of Generation X and Millenial), I saw the Tiananmen Square protests on TV and in newspapers. I vividly remember seeing the photo of the protester standing in front of a line of tanks and thinking to myself how brave he was. My parent's told me that the protester only wanted what we Americans have and take for granted, the right to vote and freedom of speech. I took that lesson to heart and it upsets me when people don't vote because they think it doesn't matter - it does.
Years later, I took a humanities course in college. The instructor was this cliche of what people complain about when they talk about academia. He thought he was smarter than everyone else, and he was especially condescending to a student from Yemen who wore a hijab. One day during a reading, he mentioned that he didn't think anything was worth dying for. The student in the hijab replied, "Well, then I guess you don't really believe do you?" That shut him up.
The person who stood in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square believed, and he was willing to die for what he believed in.
It's unfortunate that our wealth and standard of living have made us so complacent about what we have and care so little about what other's don't have. We think that wearing a mask or getting a vaccine somehow impinges on our freedom. Sadly, I don't think that most Americans have any idea of what freedom truly is, and what it costs.
As for "biogas", that's comprised of methane and CO2, both of which are greenhouse gases, with methane being far worse for climate change than CO2. By switching from fossil fuels to biogas, aren't we just jumping from one frying pan to another?
I have a gas furnace heat pump combination in my condo which needs replacement and will be over $11,000. my roof could have solar , has small attic. What do you recommend.The "heat pump is located on the roof up 3 stories. (Oregon)
I have a one story rental in Ca with old (1988 outside AC , gas furnace..... Slopped roof.
Also you make a good point about how renewable energy can help us not fund these autocrats abroad. Perhaps also worth considering that the de-nuclearization of Germany post Fukushima perhaps contributed to European over-reliance on Russian fossil fuels and thus subsidizing Putin's military.
Also such a strident title! You doin' OK Bill? Maybe take a break from the news from time to time, it's good for the soul.
I would disagree that Biden is doing a good job in this Ukraine crisis. Yes he hasn't sent us to direct war with another nuclear power, but thats a pretty low bar for a president. This whole conflict was avoidable if Biden has simply declared Ukraine off limits to NATO. It was a hard line for Russia, Biden refused to cave, and now here we are.
Here is a viewpoint and interview you would never hear on liberal media.
Colonel Douglas MacGregor: "But I'm also very concerned that we find a way to avoid a conflict with Russia. And the first thing we've got to do is acknowledge that Putin's basic point, not just his point, the Russian government's point, which they've made for 25 years, is valid. They don't want US forces and missiles and NATO's troops immediately across the border in eastern Ukraine. Absolutely.
We didn't want them in Cuba. He doesn't want them in eastern Ukraine. We should acknowledge that. Stop pretending that's a non-issue. It is a major issue for them. Let's acknowledge it, and let's get down to business and then tell them. Fine, our our concern at this point is we don't want you to proceed west towards the Polish border over the Dnieper River in Ukraine. In other words, you're going to go into eastern Ukraine. That's pretty obvious. That's what the troop disposition suggest. We understand it. We would prefer not. But ultimately, we do understand your point. We acknowledge it.
We are ready to neutralize Ukraine. Ukraine doesn't have to be a NATO. Neither does Georgia. And we can discuss those terms of neutrality. Now, If you will accept those terms. Then let's talk about the other things that are important. The INF treaty making that relevant again. What about where troops are near borders and when they're not near borders and how they will exercise? We can sort through all of that. We have refused to do this, and because we've refused it, we're going to watch as one hundred and thirty one hundred and forty thousand troops go into eastern Ukraine in the next few days. And there's not a damn thing we can do."
Dr. McKibben, Sharing a reference with you for a new report on climate from Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/economic-cost-climate-change-turning-point.html
Thank you very much for this. A friend forwarded it to me saying, "I think you two would be friends."
-Matt Ball, One Step for Animals
Solar and wind are real energy independence.
. 👍