Previously politics were mostly busy dealing with pseudo-problems¹… then some real problem came for a visit and said: "Booo." in 2020. Now, in 2022, SOME REAL PROBLEMS appeared and shouted: "BOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!"
I will try to not really get political here (see footnote). I'll just present my findings. If you find any contradictions: I found a lot as well.
"Our lifestyle isn't sustainable. We have to change something."
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Everybody agrees… and continues using the car for everything that could be done by walking, using the bicycle or taking a bus. While typing the first lines I could here the mothers driving their kids to elementary school. Lately I've seen two elderly women enjoying ongoing chattering. Why this is certainly not extraordinary and nothing problematic as such, I want to emphasize that one of them was sitting in a car blocking the narrow road with the engine humming away. What the f…? I told her that gasoline obviously wasn't already expensive enough and she looked at me as if I was from mars.
The news are full of end time messages preparing people for catastrophic shortages. Many people won't be able to pay their heating and/or electricity. Giant housing societies announce limiting heating and warm water… and everybody continues as normal. One car after the other, excess light (wohoo, we have LED now, but illuminate five times as much as before). TV (or Netflix and the like) on 24/7 – no matter if somebody is watching. Streaming is hip. No plastic discs → that is environmentally friendly (cause I don't see the giant clusters working for the world-wide streaming).
Heating in winter to >25°C and cooling down with air condition in summer to <20°C. Makes perfect sense. For some people at least.
A new smartphone every year was a slogan by Vodafone some years ago. I think it made a great impression. Having a >1000€ iPhone stops people from having money for a protective flip cover (and nobody would see the Apple logo)… but they paid for insurance. Hey, if it shatters on the floor, I'll get a new iPhone sooner.
Fashion: I've never seen (hope they exist) any systematic studies about the ecological footprint of fashion. Wasting billions of clothes each year because they are out of style. Seeing brand new stuff, wrapped in foil, being thrown into cloth recycling
Battery-powered everything. Cables are so inconvenient! From the headphones to vacuum cleaners to power tools: Batteries for the win! Cordless, wireless, modern, hip!
Worldwide cryptominers: That is the most sensible usage of electric energy I've ever seen! Producing shortages in the GPU sector, wearing down the GPUs and keeping a lot of power plants busy just for Bitcoin and friends).
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Again: Everybody agrees that something has to change. Just not their own lifestyle. Nobody wants to start him/herself. I've been doing my best in this regard since I can think. I feel made fun of when hearing I should conserve more energy in the news.
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¹ I will no mention what, since many GBAtemp member would… disagree in unfriendly manner. After all my blog isn't the politics section.
I will try to not really get political here (see footnote). I'll just present my findings. If you find any contradictions: I found a lot as well.
"Our lifestyle isn't sustainable. We have to change something."
==================================================================
Everybody agrees… and continues using the car for everything that could be done by walking, using the bicycle or taking a bus. While typing the first lines I could here the mothers driving their kids to elementary school. Lately I've seen two elderly women enjoying ongoing chattering. Why this is certainly not extraordinary and nothing problematic as such, I want to emphasize that one of them was sitting in a car blocking the narrow road with the engine humming away. What the f…? I told her that gasoline obviously wasn't already expensive enough and she looked at me as if I was from mars.
The news are full of end time messages preparing people for catastrophic shortages. Many people won't be able to pay their heating and/or electricity. Giant housing societies announce limiting heating and warm water… and everybody continues as normal. One car after the other, excess light (wohoo, we have LED now, but illuminate five times as much as before). TV (or Netflix and the like) on 24/7 – no matter if somebody is watching. Streaming is hip. No plastic discs → that is environmentally friendly (cause I don't see the giant clusters working for the world-wide streaming).
Heating in winter to >25°C and cooling down with air condition in summer to <20°C. Makes perfect sense. For some people at least.
A new smartphone every year was a slogan by Vodafone some years ago. I think it made a great impression. Having a >1000€ iPhone stops people from having money for a protective flip cover (and nobody would see the Apple logo)… but they paid for insurance. Hey, if it shatters on the floor, I'll get a new iPhone sooner.
Fashion: I've never seen (hope they exist) any systematic studies about the ecological footprint of fashion. Wasting billions of clothes each year because they are out of style. Seeing brand new stuff, wrapped in foil, being thrown into cloth recycling
Battery-powered everything. Cables are so inconvenient! From the headphones to vacuum cleaners to power tools: Batteries for the win! Cordless, wireless, modern, hip!
Worldwide cryptominers: That is the most sensible usage of electric energy I've ever seen! Producing shortages in the GPU sector, wearing down the GPUs and keeping a lot of power plants busy just for Bitcoin and friends).
==========
Again: Everybody agrees that something has to change. Just not their own lifestyle. Nobody wants to start him/herself. I've been doing my best in this regard since I can think. I feel made fun of when hearing I should conserve more energy in the news.
__________________________
¹ I will no mention what, since many GBAtemp member would… disagree in unfriendly manner. After all my blog isn't the politics section.