American Climate Corps

https://www.whitehouse.gov/climatecorps/

by toomuchtodo • 3 years ago

50 9 3 years ago

https://apnews.com/article/biden-climate-corps-conservation-... ("Biden uses executive power to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps")

Steltek2• 3 years ago

Comments in here are not what I was expecting at all.

I was expecting to hear the zeitgeist of Gen-Z climate doomerism that it doesn't matter what everyday people do (recycle, drive less) and pollution is entirely the fault of billionaires and corporations.

Not to dismiss the hard work of billionaires and corporations in destroying the planet but I do get annoyed with thinking everyone else is off the hook for a solution or the consequences of their actions.

clnq3• 3 years ago

10% of the richest have about the same energy carbon footprint as the other 90% of people [0]. So an average person within the top 10% emits 9x more than an average in the 90%. Call it doomerism, get annoyed, etc - these are the facts.

We could regulate the emissions of the billionaires and corporations who have the resources to go carbon-neutral, and reach the 1.5C target just with that. Or yeah, the whole rest of the world could recycle, cycle instead of using a car, go with rail instead of air travel, reuse, buy ethical premium products, heat less in the Winter, AC less in the Summer, and I'm sure we'll get part of the way to 1.5C. If only everyone would do their part, we could save the rich the trouble!

Being climate-conscious is important, but it's a very weak climate change lever to pull for the 90% of us. Let's not pretend it isn't, in light of all the evidence to the contrary.

[0] https://www.iea.org/commentaries/the-world-s-top-1-of-emitte...

tfehring• 3 years ago

For reference, 90th percentile income globally is about $19,300 USD per year according to [0]. If you're in the top 10% by income, it's likely that you're also in the top 10% by emissions.

[0] https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org/how-rich-am-i?income=...

Steltek2• 3 years ago

The 10% "richest" people in the world actually includes a lot of pretty poor folks who, in their respective countries, are barely making rent and probably drive a beater car to their crappy job. Even the 1% global "richest" is a salary of $60k-80k in the US. Which, while providing a comfortable lifestyle, is not a pay grade associated with private jets and yacht parties. You dress it up as class warfare against the rich but nothing could be further from the truth.

These are the actual facts so yes, I will get annoyed with a false excuse that we're all off the hook for our own actions "because of the rich".

tuatoru• 3 years ago

Here's your sidebar comment that you were possibly also expecting, that climate change is only the cherry on the top.

Soil exhaustion, salination and erosion, fossil aquifer depletion, rainforest (biodiversity) destruction, and general forest destruction, hunting pachyderms and large cats to extinction, followed by most other large wild animals and birds, extermination of ocean fish via overfishing, pollution with microplastics, pesticides, etc., etc., death of coral reefs via Nobel fishing (dynamite),mountain-top removal mining, mine tailing pollution, and on and on... climate change is just the cherry on the top, really. The mint wafer at the end of Mr. Creosote's dinner.

clnq3• 3 years ago

It's a substantial step in the right direction.

thelastgallon• 3 years ago

Could've done something like -- DoD[1], no more fossil fuels, you have 5 years to get off. This would've spurred innovation and put America at the forefront of all energy breakthroughs. Like, Silicon Valley: http://www.infocobuild.com/education/public-lectures/enginee...

Or could've put Corps of Engineers to work. The US Army Corps of Engineers built lots of infrastructure. I'm sure they can deploy solar and wind faster and cheaper than anyone else. They've done lots of projects for water, why isn't energy thought of in the same way?

Germany is putting up solar panels along autobanh[3]. No reason Army Corps of Engineers can't do the same on US Highways. Federal Govt owns this land, land is all clear and ready to go, no pesky issues of working with landowners.

[1]"The US Department of Defense is also the single largest institutional fossil fuel user in the world. Since 2001, the military has been responsible for 77 to 80 percent of federal energy consumption": https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2022/10/pentagon-cli...

[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Corps_of_En...

[3]https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/04/11/german-highway-pv-cou...

American Climate Corps

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