Breadless NorsemanJul 7, 2023
Brendan Jones

Still can’t get over the fact that an editor of the Financial Times said that we need to do away with #capitalism in order to deal with the #climate. If that’s not a sign of mainstream economics/finance finally waking up to the reality of the situation we’re in, I don’t now what is.

edit to add link (thanks Boud): https://archive.ph/2023.06.29-113742/https://www.ft.com/content/86d71297-3f34-48f3-8f3f-28b7e8be03c6

Jul 7, 2023 at 2:10pmWeb
Show threadBrendan JonesJul 7, 2023
Goes hard:
"If we want oil companies to stop selling fossil fuels we should consume less of them and we should vote for governments that make them more expensive, not less. Yes, our physical infrastructure has been built over decades around petroleum use. Yes, oil companies have lobbied forever to preserve this arrangement and slow down alternatives. But no one is compelling those of us in the rich world to fly so much, drive Escalades, devour so much meat, or buy so much stuff.
…”
Show threadBrendan JonesJul 7, 2023

“[…] Oil demand will hit a new record high this year, with almost half of it still burnt in the rich 38 countries of the OECD. Don’t fly across Europe for your skiing holiday or business meeting and then complain that the poor world isn’t doing enough on climate and that BP is still making jet fuel.”

Damn straight. On another note, I can’t wait for the European sleeper train network and high speed train network to expand and get cheaper (than flying).

Show threadDavid BellJul 7, 2023

@Brendanjones Great thread 🧵 Brendan.

Australia has lousy rail and we just can't get to other countries without flight. Oil has conquered the tyranny of distance but at a cost. All suggestions appreciated.

Show threadJohannes HentschelJul 8, 2023
@dbell2100 @Brendanjones buuld rail now, lots
Show threadBrendan JonesJul 9, 2023
@dbell2100 yeah Australia is basically the worst place in the world for sustainable transport. Only a few other places like it - Russia, Greenland, Canada come to mind. Internally it’s got vast distances, low population density, some rugged terrain, and cities designed purely for automobiles. Externally there’s a bloody great ocean in all directions. You could make better rail between cities but uptake will stay low when you often need a car at the other end 😕
Show threadBrendan JonesJul 9, 2023
@dbell2100 at least there are amazing natural resources ready to power transport renewably …
Show threadJoe  Jul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones , exactly, fulfilling personal responsibility, not just paying lip service, is a big part of the solution!
Show threadLoad of Shananigans 🦥 ✍️Jul 7, 2023

@Brendanjones
On the rhetoric of 'it's not individual consumption, it's systemic' ...

If it's not the individuals who are consuming, who is behind this 'systemic' consumption?

Truly the problem is both but shall we throw up our hands and say, "Oh well," and get on a flight to our holidays?

Damn right we have to be willing to change the way we live.

It sure rankles though, when I'm ground-bound, waving off Hawaii-bound friends.

Show threadQBAS81- learn #degrowthJul 7, 2023

@shans @Brendanjones

Behind systematic consumption are marketing and sales specialists who work tirelessly to increase sales, banks and finance which provide credit to increase sales, laws which encourage cheap air travel (there is no VAT on jet fuel) etc.

Individual choices are important but the system has to change.

Show threadLoad of Shananigans 🦥 ✍️Jul 8, 2023
@qbas81 @Brendanjones You know what, that's a good point.
Show threadBrendan JonesJul 8, 2023
@shans @qbas81 now that’s a phrase I don’t think I ever saw uttered on Twitter 😆
Show threadQBAS81- learn #degrowthJul 9, 2023

@Brendanjones @shans

In the good old days some people used to agree there! :)

Show threadQBAS81- learn #degrowthJul 9, 2023

@shans @Brendanjones

Here is a good article along these lines:

https://www.mic.com/impact/forget-your-carbon-footprint-lets-talk-about-your-climate-shadow

Forget your carbon footprint. Let's talk about your climate shadow.

To truly evaluate your impact on the environment, you have to go way beyond recycle bins and energy bills.

Mic
Show threadQBAS81- learn #degrowthJul 9, 2023

@shans @Brendanjones

Compare with cigarettes smoking - good people knew that they are not healthy and didn't smoke - but still had to breath smoke as it was common policy to allow smoking everywhere.

Only pressure of activists and court cases forced changes in laws, bans, reduction of sales - top down approach.

Smoking in public reduced greatly.

We need a similar situation here - pressure to have top down changes enforced.

BTW the same people who advised the tobacco industry advise fossil fuels industry...

Show threadDarwin WoodkaJul 8, 2023
@shans @Brendanjones It's certainly helping with my vacation envy this year to realize I'm not out there helping burn up the planet. We moved this year to a walkable area near transit and near hubs work so we would drive less, there are weeks I don't even take my car out at all. Rented our house in the burbs to the kids who mostly work at home and don't drive much. I'm sick of excuses.
Show threadLisPiJul 8, 2023

@shans @Brendanjones Infrastructural consumption would be "systemic".

Governments & corposcum get pissy when you tell them to get fucked and start building your own infrastructure.

Show threadLisPiJul 8, 2023
@Brendanjones Normalizing WFH (with due affordances for networking limitations) would also allow for normalizing sail & solar based ocean crossing, which are much slower but magnitudes more sustainable than flights will ever be.
Show threadJoseph Nathan CohenJul 7, 2023
Those debates over absolutist conceptions of capitalism v socialism were settled around WWII.
Show threadSeiðrJul 7, 2023
@jncohen And then Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher (may both rot in hell) took a huge dump on them.
Show threadScott MatterJul 7, 2023

@Illuminatus @jncohen

With a lot of help from a group of fundamentalist economists

Show threadOmurettuJul 8, 2023

@scottmatter @Illuminatus @jncohen that then went on to help dictators and fascists globally.

Fuck the Chicago boys,

Fuck Milton Friedman. Fuck everything about him, his stupid fascist economics.

Fuck Reagan and Thatcher who inspired an entire generation of mediocre politics that we still have to deal with today, whether it be Boris Johnson and the Tories in England, Macron in France, the damage done by Schroeder in Germany.

Fuck all of them.

Show threadSellaTheChemistJul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones @kerstinsailer Do you have the original link? This isn't Martin Wolf is it?
Show threadBrendan JonesJul 7, 2023
@sellathechemist @kerstinsailer I don’t remember unfortunately, and DuckDuckGo is not helping me find it again :/
Show threadProfessor Kerstin SailerJul 7, 2023
@sellathechemist @Brendanjones
It seems to be by Derek Browser, see:
https://www.ft.com/content/86d71297-3f34-48f3-8f3f-28b7e8be03c6?sharetype=blocked
The energy transition will be volatile

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

Financial Times
Show threadProfessor Kerstin SailerJul 7, 2023
@sellathechemist @Brendanjones
Ecosia for the win then! 🙃
Had to use the full title of the subsection to find it though
Show threadSellaTheChemistJul 7, 2023
@kerstinsailer @Brendanjones Maybe it’s time for me to move from DDG.
Show threadsnowboundJul 8, 2023

@sellathechemist @Brendanjones @kerstinsailer

Found the original article, it's part of the "Energy Source" newsletter they do:

https://www.ft.com/content/86d71297-3f34-48f3-8f3f-28b7e8be03c6

Client Challenge

Show threadGraydonJul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones It's amazing where being fact-driven will take you.
Show threadthe truth is what isJul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones You see, folks at the Financial Times tend to be intelligent. That's why :)
Show threadMa Quest Jul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones #ClimateDiary
Show threadChilly Dee WilliamsJul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones Earlier this year I read an FT article that basically said US automakers need to stop making big trucks for the safety of the road and for the good of the environment. Blew me away, so I wrote to the author and said how surprising it was to read an article like that from FT.
He wrote back and no lie, his first line was like, "Why would you be surprised by that?"
I my perception of something is off here but I'm not sure what it is.
Show threadMartin HowittJul 7, 2023
@rogerriddle @Brendanjones I got an FT sub out of curiosity as a friend said to try it and basically it seems to me that these are people who are interested in the long term (30+ years) sustainability of investments. No environment, no returns. That's the thinking. They want govt to help ensure that. It makes them take quite a lot of relatively left wing views on a range of topics.
Show threadChilly Dee WilliamsJul 7, 2023
@martinhowitt @Brendanjones That makes a lot of sense.
Show threadMaxi 12x 💉Jul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones Why no link?
Show threadBrendan JonesJul 7, 2023
@frumble because I didn’t have it any more. Edited to add thanks to another commenter.
Show threadkechpajaJul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones That's not what they're saying, though. What they're saying is that solving climate change will require "big government" (broadly defined), instead of leaving it to the private sector exclusively. Large chunks of that government spending would presumably go to private companies who could deliver the results needed. That's not even social democracy, that's just government action.
Show threadJasmineJul 7, 2023
@kechpaja @Brendanjones
Show threadNemo_bis 🌈Jul 8, 2023

@kechpaja It's not about "big government", it's about collective action. #XR for example is careful not to blame/punish individuals.

«So we now need to overcome our shame and our fears about our own contribution to our damaged system and focus our time, energy and efforts on driving collective change.»

https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-truth/the-emergency/part-7/#Why-individual-action-isn%E2%80%99t-enough

#ClimateCrisis
#SystemChangeNotClimateChange

@Brendanjones

Part 7: Act now… So what do we do? - Extinction Rebellion UK

How long do we have and is it already too late? Every action matters. Every bit of warming matters. Every year matters. Every choice matters. IPCC YouTube video, based on the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C “The good news is that the window for action is still open, if not for much […]

Extinction Rebellion UK
Show threadKirilovJul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones it’s funny until you realize that the replacement will be eco fascism
Show threadlike jam or bootlacesJul 7, 2023

@Brendanjones

(an aside for a style observation:
"tech bros" as two words)

Show threadkira :3Jul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones this is one of my favorite late stage capitalism phenomenon, financial analyst types who are objective about their work realizing that none of this shit is going to work
Show threadTeomanJul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones Capitalism itself isn’t bad. What makes modern capitalism bad is that it promotes competition, exploitation of labor and exploitation of natural resources. It creates unequal society where each individual competes for better living conditions and money. Governments need to step in and promote production and use of clean sustainable energies. Lower prices of electricity obtained from sustainable sources or make discounts. Capitalism should be combined with socialism.
Show threadAnonymousTrollJul 7, 2023

@Brendanjones

Odd as the republican chair of the Senate environment committee proved global warming is “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people” by brandishing a snowball.

Thank you Oklahoma Senator Inhofe & the entire republican party for your service to the nation and the world.

Inhofe's words (& republican policy):
“Honk If You Love Global Warming”

Show threadQuantumOrgasm~Jul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones It blows my mind that finally someone at this level is admitting the ugly, inescapable truth. The western nations riding high and mighty on their Capitalism chariot have brought the planet to the brink of human extinction; to say nothing of other life. Capitalism is the vehicle of GREED. Take away capitalism from the equation and greed's hands and ability to express its destructive doings are bound. BRING THE CHANGE! 💯💙🩵
Show threadJRJul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones Laughable, Socialists are the firemen of capitalism.
Show threadOneEyedAlienJul 7, 2023

@Brendanjones I'm pretty sure what WallSt.Speak translated to English is:

"Anything you do about it is gonna cost you, not me."

Show threadSyllus GreenJul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones I expect we're all totally fucked then
Show threadStargeezer SmithJul 7, 2023
@Brendanjones
I would think capitalism is a good product producing system, but it needs government oversight to direct it and keep it honest. It only looks bad now because one of our political parties has been bought and paid for by successful and unscrupulous capitalists, damaging government oversight and guidance significantly.
Show threadJohannes HentschelJul 8, 2023
@stargazersmith @Brendanjones don't know about the usa but globally speaking it's a shitshow, call it what you want
Show threadFemale-presenting nipplesJul 8, 2023
@Brendanjones Also sounds to me like “we broke it, now you fix it”
Show threadWoolwich 1886, an Arsenal siteJul 8, 2023
@Brendanjones the belief in endless, infinite growth will have to end someday. At some point, we'll have to find a way to reach some kind of equilibrium/stasis rather than constantly, mindlessly expanding.
Show threadCoop Of EverythingJul 8, 2023
@Brendanjones There is so much deception in that one statement, it begs belief that anyone would take it seriously at all.
Government more competent than Corporate? Government create more debt (for us) and more profit (interest) for Banks, to save us .... LOL.
Govt & Corporate are one and the same . Nothing new.
Show threadt_masto_077Jul 8, 2023
@Brendanjones 🙃
Show threadSane ThinkerJul 8, 2023
@Brendanjones I just published about this subject. Capitalism and, even worse, neoliberal capitalism must go. We must demand #Degrowth. It's our only chance. https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/degrowth-the-vision-we-must-demand
Degrowth: The Vision We Must Demand

We Must Learn Less is More

Sane Thoughts for Insane Times
Show threadBrendan JonesJul 8, 2023
@gdeihl excellently written 👌