This "percent" narrative is part of the problem. I'm working on a piece about this, but in the meantime, just ask, "90 % of what?" as in - if you do everything on the demand side, all the efficiency, all the lifestyle change, all the electrification, how much energy will you need to run the sector - and therefore, how many new zero carbon powerplants will you need to run it (be they solar panels, wind turbines, nuclear reactors, wave tech). The "First Gigawatt Down" challenge. This one crazy metric. It's an illuminating exercise. More than an exercise - it's pretty much essential if you want to be climate solution literate in any way. We've done the breakdown for states, but have yet to do this for each industrial sector. Here's a video on the states: https://youtu.be/8--VSh0JUT0 #FirstGigawattDown
Ah, yes! And what comes after "peak 'make money online'"? After peak "growth for growth's sake"? Maybe time to shift from the phony economy - https://harpers.org/archive/2008/06/our-phony-economy/ we are all in thrall of. The one with built in obsolescence where we're always chasing another sale and trying to monetize everything just to survive. And on to a genuine economy of problem solving as needed. #RenegotiateTheEconomy #BasicIncome # all kinds of things to explore. Here's some food for thought for the negotiation: https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/05/16/basic-income-not-basic-jobs-against-hijacking-utopia/ And here's another great essay from back in 2013 on the situation that is apparently more widely felt today: https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/the-end-of-quiet-music/ It's time to organize already. The fault is in our economy as currently designed, and all its misincentives.
And here's a great comic strip that says it all: http://recycledcomics.manawaker.com/comic/robots
On a related note, we are urging people to pay close attention to all solutions and talk candidly and clearly about every option to see what each community can rally around. And in addition to greenWASHing, you need to look out for greenWISHing - really think through those solutions all the way to zero carbon and beyond. To help with that, check out our #FirstGigawattDown metric. And join the First Gigawatt Down Campaign!
"Young People Want Brands to Empower Action on Climate Change"
I think what you mean is, "Brands Want Young People to Want Brands to...." etc.
Young People, what do you want?
Great post! I like the "Upstream-Downstream" distinction. I've also heard this called the Preventable Problem Paradox https://medium.com/@shreyashere/why-our-leaders-fail-us-and-then-save-us-the-preventable-problem-paradox-872614ec3293 , illustrated with a Superman clip.
