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Yes, of course i agree that having the right infrastructure in place can make the best choice the default.
However, we run into a problem.
Take your example, "If your local grid is powered by renewables + storage, then no personal choice or sacrifice is needed."
In order for that to happen, a massive investment needs to be made, the right government (who supports the idea) needs to be in place, people need to be willing to pay more (for the implementation and cost of this greener tech), and the public needs enough reason to demand it.
In your other example, "Same goes for cycling when there's a good city-wide network of protected bike lanes vs mixed traffic.", we run into a similar set of issues, plus a twist:
Certain infrastructure, especially cycling infrastructure, doesn't get built because there's no demand. But there's no (current) demand because such infrastructure doesn't exist.
I've been to enough city planning meetings to know that this is a very real roadblock, and it's hard to convince municipal planners to spend taxpayer dollars building cycling infrastructure without this demand already in place.
In that case, you do have to make an effort (and often a sacrifice) in order to be the demand that planners are looking for. But I'll say that it's often very difficult to convince someone to ride on (current) dangerous infrastructure to make a point.
The same could be said for public transit. And if you manage to convince your local government that there's enough demand, it could be years or decades before the infrastructure is built.
I've looked at our region's active transportation plans from years ago, and much of the planned bike lanes never happened, despite there still being a need. It's incredibly frustrating.
But what about personal choices that can be made right now? Committing to a plant-based diet, making an effort to go plastic free, buying second hand when possible and not replacing things until they are broken, etc.
How do we convince individuals to make these personal choices, rather than have them wait for someone else to do something about climate change?
@Showroom7561 Again, with all due respect, climate change is fundamentally a systemic and structural problem.
It's a collective problem.
The air pollution, hurricanes, droughts, floods, and heatwaves don't just affect the people who burn fossil fuels. Or the people who profit off fossil fuels. Or the people who wastefully consume products with embodied carbon.
The rising floodwaters will not neatly flow around the home of Vicky the vegan while completely submerging SUV Steve's house.
In economic terms, the hurricanes, bushfires, floods, droughts, and heatwaves are a massive externalised cost.
Collective problems need collective solutions. Systemic problems need systemic solutions.
I have nothing against sustainable individual choices.
But.
Individual consumer choices in the free market ain't gonna fix this one. There needs to be policy change and infrastructure investment and public policy at the level of government.
Bad public policy — State investments in motorways and coal power plants, subsidies on fuel, helped create this mess.
The answer to bad public policy isn't individual action. It's good public policy.
There's a reason the likes of BP have spent billions promoting individual consumer responses in the free market and carbon footprints.
(1/3)
@Showroom7561 They know even if 70% of the population benevolently made compromises for the greater good, there's still a market for their toxic products.
And they know that if 51% of the public vote for candidates that implement good public policy — that invest in grid scale renewables and storage, that allow higher density mixed use zoning near public transport, that invest in rail and public transport, that implement taxes that capture fossil fuel pollution externalities rather than subsidise them — they're screwed.
At the grassroots level, building movements and organisations, raising funds, getting good candidates preselected and then elected is going to have far greater impact than individual consumer choices.
If the local council doesn't understand induced demand and chooses to induce more traffic with more lanes rather than build protected bike lanes, then they are not competent for public office.
They need to go.
If the state government wastes taxpayer money building more roads that induce more traffic rather than on improving bus and train services, they need to go.
And here's the kicker. Once the Infrastructure is in place, there is no sacrifice.
People choose to catch the modern automated underground Metro that runs every 4 minutes because it's quicker than being stuck in traffic.
2/3
@Showroom7561 There is no functional difference between powering your lights and your TV with grid renewables and storage electricity vs grid fossil fuel electricity.
Literally the exact same activities (turning on lights, using appliances) go from having a massive carbon impact to a negligible one, depending on if there's renewables or fossil fuels powering the grid.
I don't begrudge anyone who makes individual choices to lighten their environmental impact.
But understand that the core of the issue is systemic. It's bad Infrastructure and bad public policy.
The solution to bad public policy is good public policy.
The solution to bad Infrastructure is good Infrastructure.
And if our political leaders aren't doing the job, then they need to be held to account, and replaced.
3/3
I think we fundamentally agree to the same thing, and the things that need to happen for us to get there.
I'm probably more pessimistic because our elected leaders (with no foreseeable change happening any time soon) have been waging war on all things green and sustainable. As an example, our provincial leader recently suggested that we stop building cycling infrastructure to help ease traffic congestion. The public voted for him, then re-elected him, despite the massive damage he's caused our protected areas and the downgrade to transportation he pushes.
So, even when we know what needs to be done. How do we convince voters to make the right choice in their elected officials? And then convince every branch of government to follow suit with making the right decisions. :(
@Showroom7561 I take it you're talking about Doug Ford?
I don't follow Canadian politics closely, but from what I've read, he sounds like a nasty piece of work (and that whole family too, for that matter).
So I can certainly understand your pessimism!
Just remember there's always a long game in politics.
Keep advocating, keep organising, keep building connections, alternative institutions, and counterweights. Ford's reign will end.