this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
1916 points (94.6% liked)
Memes
45728 readers
973 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
It doesn't have to be an extreme like that. It would send a strong message If every gas station had to replace their LCD screens every week, or the windows of their headquarters.
But I guess non-action and bootlicking while we wait for our thoroughly bribed politicians to do nothing is better.
Gas stations are not the place to make a difference. It's at the very end of the supply chain.
Especially when gas stations are often individually franchised... Burning an Exxon down doesn't actually hurt the Exxon company all that much.
A large number of gas stations are franchises. Breaking the LCD screens hurts the local franchise owner, not whichever fossil fuel company they're working with.
More to the point, breaking LCD screens accomplishes absolutely nothing. Most people don't drive because they love driving, they drive because of zoning, sprawl and a lack of reasonable alternatives. If you get rid of fossil fuel infrastructure without fixing the underlying car dependency, they'll be stuck at home.
The people downvoting you clearly haven't lived anywhere with shitty public transportation.
I do, and I get it. We used to have the infrastructure, but it was lost as our communities became more car-centric. Personally, I own a cheap used fuel efficient car that I only use when I have to drive long distances.
I also know a lot of people who own gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs who don't need them, and people who choose to live in expensive suburban areas because they fancy themselves too good to live amongst us "poor people" in "bad neighborhoods" because we're supposedly dangerous. Also, a lot of people who think they have to drive everywhere they go, even a few blocks from their home. Those people can fuck right off.
I'd rather be inconvenienced by losing my car than continuing to subsidize the type of people I see driving every day.
Breaking those LCD screens might just convince them to stop installing them, stop playing those fucking ads while I'm trying to refuel.
The problem with gas stations isn't their LCD screens.
Nation-wide action, of course, is best. Something like the green new deal or even a market-based solution like cap-and-trade or a carbon tax.
On a local level, though, there's a lot of action that can be done.
Nation-wide, the biggest category of carbon emissions is transportation, at 28% of all emissions. Over half of all transportation-related emissions are from cars and trucks.
The amount people drive is closely tied to local urban design, which comes down largely to local zoning regulations and infrastructure design. Those are primarily impacted by the people who show up at town meetings and vote.
Advocate for walkable, mixed-use zoning, improved bike infrastructure, etc. Most people aren't "drivers", "cyclists" or "public transit riders", they're people who want to get from point A to point B as easily as possible and will take whatever is best.
You're the only one talking about non-action and bootlicking. I think you might be projecting a little.
And please realize that actions such as breaking lcd screens is going to increase the production of lcd screens. But if you wanna throw some bricks through some windows, i say go for it.
Just to point out, we're running out of sand to make those windows, as well. They're digging it up from the ocean floor, at this point, which isn't great.
I have no solutions, but I'll sure be quick to point out the problems...
True. But at least glass is non-toxic, unreactive, and will break back down into sand over time.
I'll take it as the lesser of two evils.
Good point.
Anything other than writing strongly worded emails is going to cause some form of economic damage, even just peaceful protesting with signs.
It's about being heard and forcing the governments to ignore the billions in oil bribes they have already received. You can't do that by sitting at home and making angry faces.
At what point did I give a shit about economic damage? Throw bricks, occupy refineries, do what you want. Just don't dump an inordinate amount of toxic material into our environment just to try prove a point about protecting the environment.
"You can't do that by sitting at home and making angry faces." Agree 100%, never said we could, glad we're on the same side here.