I’ve said quite a bit about EVs in recent days. I’m not anti them per se.
My saying the things I have is because people are over-attached to them as some sort of panacea and *woefully* unreflective or just plain ignorant about how they come to market and what cultural paradigm of endlessly recurring private ownership they sit within
…Our context:
“We are not only energy blind, we are many of us consumption blind. We don’t emotionally feel that the average American consumes over 150 times the physical goods and service as the average human did two centuries ago. We take it for granted.
We’ve taken peace for granted. We’ve taken the international respect of our nation for granted. We’ve taken the six-continent-just-in-time supply chain for granted. We’ve taken the ecological function of the Holocene for granted…
…“We have many of us taken it all for granted …
There’s certainly nothing I could say that would be both honest and also make you feel better other than maybe that you are not alone. We are not alone. And there are many humans in many countries around the world that are waking up to our systemic situation and want to contribute to better futures than the default. And that’s the work”
In this episode, Nate offers a personal reflection on the unfolding geopolitical tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, beginning with an examination of how disruptions to fossil fuel flows propagate through the global economy, but with a time lag. He points out how many of the world’s countries rely heavily on imported fossil fuels, as well as the potential impact on California’s already high gas prices. Nate also contrasts the relative insulation of those in the United States with the far greater exposure of those living in Asia, Europe, and Africa, outlining how second- and third-order effects are already emerging in the form of conservation measures, rationing, and shifting daily behaviors. Alongside this structural analysis, Nate turns to the lived experiences of people navigating changing conditions in real time. He shares stories from listeners on this platform, highlighting how proximity and awareness shape the ways in which individuals and communities respond to the more-than-human predicament.…
Jonathan Schofield