To ask how drivers of massive SUVs square it with themselves in terms of climate change?

[Bleepingtons]

Same goes for those who go long haul on the regular? Buy loads of cheap, disposable fashion? Etc etc? Do you just not worry about climate change?

I know I sound sanctimonious but I am genuinely baffled by people driving massive diesel SUVs like there isn't a major issue.

@lazylinguist

It baffles me how people assume we have a God given right to still be here in 10,000 years time.

Who's saying that?! I don't think most people give much thought to what will be happening in 10,000 years' time tbh. And most of them probably don't believe in god either.

It’s a reasonable assumption to be honest. The planet is 4.5 billion years old and humans have existed for 300,000 years. A mere drop in the ocean. We are destroying the planet at an alarming rate. But to be honest I would be glad if the human race died out. We have destroyed this planet and it won’t get any better if the population keeps growing.

@hettie

I "square" many things with myself that would possibly have you quivering with anxiety OP - because I'm a thinking, reasoning adult more than capable of making decisions based on what is best for my situation & circumstances.

The above is in a nutshell why people drive SUVs, and but fast fashion, but plastic covered crap etc essentially we all think we are good at thinking and make " rational decisions " but we are crippled by cognitive bias. www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-bias.html
Essentially crappy errors in our thinking that make us make poor decisions in many circumstances.
Put simplistically we are smart enough to be the dominant species but not smart enough to understand how we're fucking hopeless at making good long term decisions...
We are probably doomed

We are also the only species that makes a virtue out of self hatred.

Easy - it's the "do as I say not as I do middle class disease" sacrifices like not eating steak, not holidaying in the Maldives, not getting ubers, are always meant to be the business of someone else

It’s a reasonable assumption to be honest. The planet is 4.5 billion years old and humans have existed for 300,000 years. A mere drop in the ocean. We are destroying the planet at an alarming rate. But to be honest I would be glad if the human race died out. We have destroyed this planet and it won’t get any better if the population keeps growing

The planet is not getting destroyed. It’s been a sweltering planet of belching volcanoes and an ice-encrusted snowball.

We are still in an ice age, as the presence of glaciers is really only possible during an ice age.

Most of earth’s history is absent of glaciers, our cognitive bias is the earth as it is at present is supposed to be how earth is at all times.

We don’t drive SUVs, but we both have petrol cars. Pre covid, we flew several times a year - long and short haul. We’ve got long haul flights booked for the new year. We eat meat, we buy loads of clothes.

I’d say we’re typical of our friendship group in the ways we live. We don’t consider the environment as much as we should, but we certainly don’t feel guilty over it.

Did you see the cars that the leaders arrived in Glasgow in OP? (well the ones who didn't opt to fly in private jets?). I I don't drive an SUV but until these people change their actions and care how what they are doing looks to the people they are preaching at then why the hell should the rest of us? Talk about all talk and no action. Their one big chance to show they were making a difference and they blew it.

Some interesting responses here.

My interpretation is that the OP was talking about SUVs in London or big cities - I live in London and the amount you see is ridiculous, often 1 driver and a kid…Having a SUV in the countryside, towing trailers, etc is a completely different issue. There are massive issues that need resolving around electric cars, and finances need to be worked on to help people to buy them as replacement cars.

However, there are some people on here with three SUVs, with ones that have V12 turbocharged engines, etc, which seems a bit unnecessary.

Yes, the environmental cost of COP21 is crazy, yes big business is by far the biggest polluter, but the people saying they can’t change anything themselves are wrong - if millions of people change their behaviour that will have a change, and people can force big business to change its behaviour - look at how many companies are disinvesting from fossil fuels because of consumer pressure.

We have a 4x4 as our workhorse. We live in a very rural area and have to contend with mud and rutted tracks in the winter also ice on lanes that are rarely gritted. Our regular car is a 20+ year old BMW. We do care about climate change and have made some lifestyle changes. We have not replaced our tumble dryer, we only eat meat 3 times a week and put on extra clothes rather than turn the heat up. Most of my clothes are classic styles and are 10 years old plus. Howeve r, until Governments and big corporations change their ways our efforts are basically useless. Also, our planet has always suffered cyclical violent climate change and perhaps there is nothing humans can do to stop it although we may be able to slow it down.

I have a diesel car, bought when that was what the government wanted us to do. Although old it has been utterly reliable ( thank you bmw) and is low mileage. I’m retired now and can’t afford to change it unless the govt make a contribution to its replacement.

We have stopped buying bottled fizzy water and got a sodastream instead. The gas cylinders are rechargeable so I hope this is, over time, going to be a positive move,
Ultimately I believe climate change is inevitable, but to endure out survival we must try to not accelerate it.

*ensure

@KayKayWat

To be completely truthful, I secretly enjoy picturing the eco-Karens twitching over their bean salads as I drive past in my enormous black truck with all its bars, light array, and huge double straightpipe exhausts. 🤣 Makes my day!

Eco-Karens? Oh dear.

They don't care because most of us really don't need a 4x4. I believe they see it as a status thing but actually it will turn on them and they will be looked down upon for driving such fuel guzzling monsters - give it a few more years.
In the meantime I ensure that when needing to pass along a narrow lane that they are the ones that have to go up the verge and into the hedge - more environmental destruction on their conscience.

@Pottedpalm

We have stopped buying bottled fizzy water and got a sodastream instead. The gas cylinders are rechargeable so I hope this is, over time, going to be a positive move, Ultimately I believe climate change is inevitable, but to endure out survival we must try to not accelerate it.

We did this and then found out about the sodastream boycott!

Could you define "a massive suv", or even what an suv 8s. 4x4? No, many so called suvs ste 4x2. I have a Discovery 4. I tow a horse trailer or a caravan, and feel no guilt whatsoever. It is far safer towing with the correct vehicle. I subsidise drivers of smaller cars, paying more road tax and fuel duty. In a few years we won't have cars in the same way we do now. Electric cars will never be a suitable or green alternative.

@Heartdogs

It's takes a special type of oblivious obnoxious person to drive a big SUV. It's not just the environment damage which is the big thing. In a high speed crash with another car the likelihood is that they will be grand and the passengers of the other car will be crushed. They take up more than a normal sized parking space so you can't use the spaces either side of them.. You can't see past them at junctions. They are bad for the environment, make the roads more dangerous and should not be legal.

I agree. Also why the entitled poster would need two large SUVs is also a puzzle to me. Maybe one, but the whole family isn't out in both at once - and if you own a small electric vehicle too then surely one is enough?

@starlight13

They don't care because most of us really don't need a 4x4. I believe they see it as a status thing but actually it will turn on them and they will be looked down upon for driving such fuel guzzling monsters - give it a few more years. In the meantime I ensure that when needing to pass along a narrow lane that they are the ones that have to go up the verge and into the hedge - more environmental destruction on their conscience.

I'm struggling to see how my 14 year old battered and scratched 4x4 could be seen as a status symbol.

My interpretation is that the OP was talking about SUVs in London or big cities - I live in London and the amount you see is ridiculous, often 1 driver and a kid…

Interesting. My interpretation is " let's have another one of those threads where we pile on slagging off people with SUVs like a load of ignorant villagers with torches and pitchforks" - but you might be right, it could have been intended as an inner city only pile-on.

I'm struggling to see how my 14 year old battered and scratched 4x4 could be seen as a status symbol. Yeah, me too - mines 15 :) but hey ho, as long as the poster you were replying to insists on driving down the middle of rural roads in her spotless Prius to force me into the dithc so I think about what I've done, eh?
There are a lot of straight out nasty people on this thread, and it's mostly not the SUV drivers.

@starlight13

They don't care because most of us really don't need a 4x4. I believe they see it as a status thing but actually it will turn on them and they will be looked down upon for driving such fuel guzzling monsters - give it a few more years. In the meantime I ensure that when needing to pass along a narrow lane that they are the ones that have to go up the verge and into the hedge - more environmental destruction on their conscience.

Your last sentence is a shining example of pathetic behaviour, IMHO.

@Heartdogs

Most of the complaints you level at SUVs in relation to size also apply to vans - are going to ban vans as well?

I have a newfy, try fitting him in a nissan leaf

But to be honest I would be glad if the human race died out. We have destroyed this planet and it won’t get any better if the population keeps growing.

I'm not particularly fussed at the prospect of the human race dying out, but neither do I understand this attitude of sacrificing ourselves for the planet. It's just one of many big rocks. There are 21,600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets in the observable universe and many times that outside of it.

The person complaining about SUV's but chose to have kids....
The one weeping about avocados in a shopping trolley but happy to use the supermarkets....

The finger pointing doesn't work, everyone knows what they should/shouldn't be doing to help but it's only relevant when it suits them.

Do your part op, that's all you have control over.

@KayKayWat

But to be honest I would be glad if the human race died out. We have destroyed this planet and it won’t get any better if the population keeps growing.

I'm not particularly fussed at the prospect of the human race dying out, but neither do I understand this attitude of sacrificing ourselves for the planet. It's just one of many big rocks. There are 21,600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets in the observable universe and many times that outside of it.

It’s looking after the planet.

Tbf if the human race destroys itself the Earth will still be here.

I guess it’s about thinking of our impact and how much compromise we are willing to make to protect our lives.

Big companies though must do their part.