Wake up babe, the world is rapidly falling apart, but I got us some paper straws, so we should be okay…
The plastic straws thing drives me up the wall.
They had to choose the smallest of possible plastic items to replace with the smallest impact (compared to things like plastic plates/cutlery or something). But paper/cardboard straws SUCK. Smoothies/thick shakes/juices/cocktails, its mush before your done or just straight up bends and snaps when you try to stir the drink after a couple minutes of bing in there. Plastic straws disappeared immediately but the lids for coffee cups and soft drinks are only just getting phased out now? Its like they did the absolute least possible and went “look at us saving the environment!”. At least bamboo straws and other biodegradables hold up the whole way through the drink.Indeed, the whole paper straw thing is ridiculous. But let’s not forget that poor sea turtle that they pulled a plastic straw out of its nose. Yeah, that was a random one-off, not very likely to happen again anytime soon. If anything, they need to be more worried about fish, dolphins and turtles getting hung up in lost fishing nets…
Back to the stupid straw thing, someone on that other site that we don’t tend to speak of mentioned a perfect solution. Use a Twizzler candy, they’re hollow and edible once you’re done!
and why not a beef jerky six pack holder for your beer
Well now I want a pack of beef jerky straws…
Is that even a thing yet?.. 🤔
The grid needs to be decentralized. More solar on rooftops and neighborhood backup batteries. This would help level out demand.
In other parts of the world this is fairly affordable. In the USA its astronomically higher. I speak from firsthand experience. When installed its wonderful, but is really pricey up-front, and just a small fraction of Americans are both homeowners, and can afford to buy these systems. The Inflation Reduction Act brings the price down from 10x the cost of other nations to just 7x the cost. Its an improvement, but not enough to make these systems widely available to all household budgets.
Rooftop solar panels should be offered for free by either the local government or the power company at this point.
Power companies are beginning to force costs and fees onto solar users because they don’t make any money off of them and are still required to maintain service to the residence. It’s kind of a slap in the face considering how many governments are trying to entice citizens to add it, but C.R.E.A.M. and all that…
local government = revenue from taxes. If the home owners don’t have the money to buy solar, being taxed enough by the local government to pay for solar isn’t going to work either.
power company = nearly all are either co-ops (owned by the consumers) where you’d get the same problem with taxing, or private companies which are for-profit driven industries.
I’m wondering how many residential solar panels our current oil and gas subsidies could fund. Wishful thinking I suppose.
If you’re actually interested in affecting change, you’re going to need to do more than say “someone else should pay for it”. Even more if you’re saying “something I don’t support is getting money, and I want that money to go to the thing I support instead”. Unless you happen to be an authoritarian dictator where your will is law, you have to work within the system if you want change. So far I’m not seeing what you’re posting as a path that will become reality.
If I’ve mistaken your intentions and you just want to have someone else solve the big problem without addressing any of the smaller problems that creates, then I supposed your work is done. Carry on.
Power grids are failing. Sounds like a great time to add millions of EVs, to the mix.
There are so many problems with that article it isn’t even funny.
Here are a few:
- It references the UK. The US and China are the biggest polluters. Meaning most cars are charged using fossil fuels and coal.
- The article states it is a challenge to convert the DC from the car to the AC if the grid.
- It seems to completely forget that a car has to be charged before it can discharge. The author seems to think thinking can solve it all.
- A car that is used to charge the grid is LOSING the charge it needs to drive, which is the primary purpose of the car.
- No matter how you slice it, some car owners simply can’t use an electric vehicle. People who live in apartments for instance.
The answer isn’t electric cars. The answer is LESS cars.