To think that cars are the biggest cause of climate change?

[malificent7]

I didn't learn to drive till I was 30 as I was concerned about the effects of cars on global warming. Everyone thought I was mad...however now that climate change is a hot topic i wonder how many people still feel that driving isn't damaging to the planet?
Then there are the car accidents, roads are an eyesore.
I mean I drive as I live in the country but I kind of hate it too.

Also - the all or nothing attitude often comes up. People saying as long as you still do this polluting thing then it's not worth stopping or reducing a different polluting thing, or you are a hypocrite for eg. If you don't fly for the environment but still drive.

It makes no sense. Doing less harm in one area is always better, even if you are still doing harm in another. Flying + driving is worse that driving alone. I never understand it.

Over population is the biggie surely.

Then you see threads on here should we have a third or fourth DC 🤦🏼‍♀️

They have to live somewhere, eat something, use resources.

What if every DC in a 4 child family had 4 DC each...this is the problem.

Cars are the best thing since sliced cheese. It's all very well walking/cycling when you have the time, the strength, don't have too much to carry, and the weather's nice. In those instances, walking/cycling is actually my preferred mode of travel.

But when you're knackered, or in a rush, or carrying lots of shopping, or - the worst - when it's pouring, cars are a boon. One day future generations will look back at ours and mock the zeitgeist of giving up such a convenience in favour of virtue signalling.

One day future generations will look back at ours and mock the zeitgeist of giving up such a convenience in favour of virtue signalling.

Agreed including the teenager who accused up of robbing her future whilst flying crew on long haul flights to sail her home on a "carbon neutral" yacht.

Nothing but a virtue signal right there

@EmeraldShamrock

Apparently wild boar feral pigs release more C02 than over a million cars.

What per boar? I cant believe that, sorry

There are probably a billion cars in the world though.
So the head line is "wild boars cause 0.1% as much C02 as cars"

I have just had the best news that my 9mpg hummer is fixed after a terrible injury. I don't think me using it to walk my dogs on the beach 3 times a week will murder polar bears and I am overjoyed

Not sure if those pigs fly as presumably not but some cars can - The AirCar

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/30/new-era-transport-convertible-flying-car-completes-first-airport/

In case any one is interested and a fellow car enthusiast - the new GMC Hummer EV looks interesting but I suspect this eco warrior electric tank will not be imported in the UK market any time soon.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMC_Hummer_EV

Many new electric and hybrid Chelsea tractors including Land Rover Defender P400e, Range Rover PHEV and even Volkswagen Audi Group Bentley Bentayga Hybrid which uses the same powertrain combination as fitted to the Porsche Cayenne hybrid

www.drivingelectric.com/news/1804/new-hybrid-and-plug-in-hybrid-cars-2021

So it's not all old school Chelsea tractors that pollute the air anymore but fresh air thinking possibly driving forward.

Still think the bottom line is people ie too many and especially if they all want to live first world lifestyles and drive a new eco Chelsea tractor - perhaps sharing and not ownership economy may take off as with aviation where only the hyper rich operate their own aeroplanes and now spacecraft.

@ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia these cars don't make themselves, they have to be produced and that in itself causes pollution

Steel and concrete production are major contributors to CO2 production. But we can't stop that due to ever growing populations.

People ultimately need to stop producing more people. But that's an inconvenient truth lots of people don't want to face.

Upstreamswimmer - so cars are vital incase of rain? Umbrella? Raincoat?

Chocolate orange- yes and we need to stop producing more people with addiction to cars

@Macncheeseballs

Chocolate orange- yes and we need to stop producing more people with addiction to cars

No,we just need to stop producing more people. Cars or not, more people are using other resources, causing pollution in other ways, etc. Not to mention the giant ponzi scheme of needing more people to pay for and look after the ever increasing elderly population, caused by more people a few decades earlier.

Given that the worldwide fertility rates are decreasing, population levels are due to start declining, so poss the people alive now could think about making some lifestyle chsnges

@Macncheeseballs

Given that the worldwide fertility rates are decreasing, population levels are due to start declining, so poss the people alive now could think about making some lifestyle chsnges

No hope of any significant "voluntary" changes. People are too selfish. They expect everyone else to make changes, but won't do it themselves, because they have "special" reasons for continuing to do what they want.

Just look at covid. Voluntary precautions simply didn't work. We needed some pretty harsh laws etc to stop people spreading it around. Look at masks - the sheer number of people who were "exempt" for their own reasons.

Climate change etc will be the same. Something big will happen (or many things) that forces governments across the world to start taking pretty draconian actions that won't be popular with the people. But it's the only way to change behaviour at high enough levels.

^Given that the worldwide fertility rates are decreasing, population levels are due to start declining, so poss the people alive now could think about making some lifestyle chsnges^

No hope of any significant "voluntary" changes. People are too selfish. They expect everyone else to make changes, but won't do it themselves, because they have "special" reasons for continuing to do what they want.
Afaik European birth rate are decreasing. The majority have 1 or 2 DC. There isn't many big families anymore.
My parents are one of 10, they had 5, we all have one or two DC.
A huge percentage no longer eat meat and shop consciously.
Although human birth rate is decreasing, the canine birth rate is increasing continuing the process for cheap meat for dog food.
It is all very confusing and backwardness.
I only hope if I get old we've enough people to continue looking after the circle of life.
Unless the dogs evolve enough to pay tax and work.

This is not specially about cars, but it is about the climate change issue because I heard a new angle on this recently and I'd be interested in people's opinions:

Basically, Britain caused this: we had the industrial revolution first starting in the late seventeen hundreds. Factories, trains, pollution... it all started here AND we became a very rich country off the back of that.

Is it right that we now deny the poorer counties, the developing countries, the same opportunity to generate wealth this way, even if it has a negative effect on the planet? Who are we to be so high and mighty, that after three hundred years of industrialisation generating such wealth & luxury compared with so many other parts of the world, we now say STOP IT?

@patkinney

This is not specially about cars, but it is about the climate change issue because I heard a new angle on this recently and I'd be interested in people's opinions:

Basically, Britain caused this: we had the industrial revolution first starting in the late seventeen hundreds. Factories, trains, pollution... it all started here AND we became a very rich country off the back of that.

Is it right that we now deny the poorer counties, the developing countries, the same opportunity to generate wealth this way, even if it has a negative effect on the planet? Who are we to be so high and mighty, that after three hundred years of industrialisation generating such wealth & luxury compared with so many other parts of the world, we now say STOP IT?

Britain "caused" nothing. If the industrial revolution hadn't happened in Britain, it would have happened elsewhere. Lots of other countries were "developing" technological advances around the same time. Some of the technical advances came from other countries and helped Britain's industrial revolution. Other countries followed Britain very quickly and did the same.

And wealth is never "generated". It is simply moved around. "Money" doesn't exist, it's just a representation of what it stands for and is very fluid as to what you can use it for, i.e. it's "worth".

People wanting developing countries to increase their wealth are basically saying they want to transfer wealth from the developed countries to the developing countries.

@patkinney

This is not specially about cars, but it is about the climate change issue because I heard a new angle on this recently and I'd be interested in people's opinions:

Basically, Britain caused this: we had the industrial revolution first starting in the late seventeen hundreds. Factories, trains, pollution... it all started here AND we became a very rich country off the back of that.

Is it right that we now deny the poorer counties, the developing countries, the same opportunity to generate wealth this way, even if it has a negative effect on the planet? Who are we to be so high and mighty, that after three hundred years of industrialisation generating such wealth & luxury compared with so many other parts of the world, we now say STOP IT?

Might be surprising to some but not everything is the fault of Britain🙈

@Badbadbunny

And wealth is never "generated". It is simply moved around. "Money" doesn't exist, it's just a representation of what it stands for and is very fluid as to what you can use it for, i.e. it's "worth".

People wanting developing countries to increase their wealth are basically saying they want to transfer wealth from the developed countries to the developing countries.

Uh ... no. Wealth was not transferred to China. Much of it was generated by the blood and sweat of the Chinese people. Is it their fault that their products are so in demand?

Sounds like you want people in developing countries to continue to live in poverty. More productive they are, the better life is for everyone.

What about flying around the world for pleasure ? Hardly a necessity. Cars take people to their places of work and out to buy food etc.

We need to curb population growth. The knock on effects would be hugely beneficial.

Cars are a big contributor but not the biggest. Having an electric car helps a bit but not loads.

The biggest contributor is deforestation for meat grazing. Probably the most important thing we can all do is reduce meat intake, esp beef

@ConsuelaHammock

What about flying around the world for pleasure ? Hardly a necessity. Cars take people to their places of work and out to buy food etc.

Agree that cars have all kinds of essential purposes but people need to stop driving their cars for pathetically short distances.