[MCN] Lifestyle of the [ financially comfortable ] customer has dominant role in both renewable and fossil energy economy

[Lance Olsen]

“The most penetrating criticism I’ve seen of renewable energy is that it’s being promoted at massive scale to reassure us that we can go on as before, with little if any change of lifestyle, no move beyond our comfort zones. And yet, it raises a big and uncomfortable question. Do we mine, baby, mine, to ensure no reduction of living standards, no uncomfortable change of lifestyle?”

“There’s no doubt that we need to build and buy the machinery needed to generate renewable energy from solar and wind.

“But there’s no denying that much of the demand is driven by striving for a comfort zone well beyond meeting anything that deserves the name of need. Recognizing this uncomfortable reality, 50 non-governmental organizations have recently scolded the World Bank for its Climate-Smart Mining proposal—which focuses a lot on how much mining would need to increase and not at all on how we need to reduce consumption <https://miningwatch.ca/news/2019/5/1/over-50-organizations-urge-world-bank-boost-recycling-circular-economy-non-mining>.

“All things considered, I have to agree with the irony in 16-year-old Greta Thunberg’s crisply eloquent, ‘We live in a strange world. Where we think we can buy or build our way out of a crisis that has been created by buying and building things.’ ’’

The Paradox Of Building America's Green Lifestyle Grid
Lance Olsen
https://mountainjournal.org/renewable-energy-solves-one-problem-but-creates-another <https://mountainjournal.org/renewable-energy-solves-one-problem-but-creates-another>

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Dealing with climate grief - interview with youth activist Luisa Neubauer

“ … we know all that, what’s going on, and somehow everyone just continues to go their ways. Am I the only one feeling that?”

“It is the power of the climate crisis that forces us be very, very honest with ourselves …. What is my role in this? …. Am I part of the problem?” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3aZq4uWREA

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A study led by Susan Solomon found that the CO2 we add to the atmosphere every day remains there for centuries, “so that atmospheric temperatures do not drop significantly for at least 1,000 years.”

<<https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/106/6/1704.full.pdf>> 

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"What would happen to the climate if we were to stop emitting carbon dioxide today, right now? Would we return to the climate of our elders?

"The simple answer is no.”

https://theconversation.com/if-we-stopped-emitting-greenhouse-gases-right-now-would-we-stop-climate-change-78882

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Why are we still using super-greenhouse gases in our home air conditioners? <https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEBzqsTA580LkZd-29HCj_vEqFggEKg0IACoGCAowlIEBMLEXMNCAlgc?uo=CAUibWh0dHBzOi8vdGVjaGNydW5jaC5jb20vMjAyMi8wMi8xNC93aHktYXJlLXdlLXN0aWxsLXVzaW5nLXN1cGVyLWdyZWVuaG91c2UtZ2FzZXMtaW4tb3VyLWhvbWUtYWlyLWNvbmRpdGlvbmVycy_SAQA&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
TechCrunch <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBggKMJSBATCxFw?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>

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 <https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-takes-step-towards-banning-gas-powered-leaf-blowers-by-2024>
Vancouver Sun <https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-takes-step-towards-banning-gas-powered-leaf-blowers-by-2024>
Vancouver takes step toward banning gas-powered leaf blowers by 2024Last October, California passed a bill banning the sale of gas-powered landscape equipment, which includes lawn mowers, chainsaws, leaf blowers,... <https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-takes-step-towards-banning-gas-powered-leaf-blowers-by-2024>
. <https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-takes-step-towards-banning-gas-powered-leaf-blowers-by-2024>
Napa Valley Register <https://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/napa-city-council-hears-report-on-climate-action/article_a2d7e5fe-c709-51b7-ac1a-c8e654b42130.html>
Napa City Council hears report on climate actionHe said the leaf blower ban is going to be more difficult for the city ... businesses that depend on gas-powered leaf blowers in the city. <https://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/napa-city-council-hears-report-on-climate-action/article_a2d7e5fe-c709-51b7-ac1a-c8e654b42130.html>

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Federal judge halts Biden admin from using social cost of carbon <https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiZGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmF4aW9zLmNvbS9qdWRnZS1ibG9jay1zb2NpYWwtY29zdC1jYXJib24tYmlkZW4tYTNlODZlYmYtODg4Yi00ZTIyLWE0ZjEtNzZmYzExMTYzY2UyLmh0bWzSAWRodHRwczovL3d3dy5heGlvcy5jb20vanVkZ2UtYmxvY2stc29jaWFsLWNvc3QtY2FyYm9uLWJpZGVuLWEzZTg2ZWJmLTg4OGItNGUyMi1hNGYxLTc2ZmMxMTE2M2NlMi5odG1s?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
Axios

What they're saying: "This injunction is extraordinarily broad," Max Sarinsky, an attorney at the Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU Law School, told Axios. "I think it will receive very, very close scrutiny on appeal."

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