Battered, pressed, attempted
We need more oil to get those prices down but don’t go producing more oil because climate.
Next up: fly us to the moon on gossamer wings.
Battered politically by high gasoline prices and pressed to increase oil and gas production, Biden nonetheless attempted to convince countries to keep pursuing policies aimed at combating climate change.
“We cannot, we cannot afford to let the critical goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius
toslip out of our reach,” the president said to leaders at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. “The science tells us the window for action is rapidly narrowing.”
And the news media and vox pop tell us we have to get those gas prices down.
As an environmental scientist, I encounter this every day. The most committed of climate activists will start to demand cheap oil when they can’t drive their SUVs around anymore because the price of gas is too high. (Yes, many of the students and faculty – most of them – in my doctoral program drove SUVs. A lot of them mocked my compact car that got 40 mpg.)
In order to fix anything we have to get off our but. There are excuses roaming around in the lower atmosphere, and presented with the need to actually change anything, one of those excuses will land on the head of the person not wanting to change. “Yes, I’d like to car pool, but….” “Oh, I’d like to reduce packaging, but….”
TIME TO GET OFF OUR BUT!
Well I had a CR-Z that I bought because it looked cool and had good MPG… then it got destroyed, the used car market went to shit, and now I’m stuck with this POS Hyundai Accent. That said at least I don’t idle if it’s possible (which is why I avoid drive-thru).
What economy car gets 40 mpg?
Good for you! I want one!
Unfortunately, I don’t have it anymore. Sigh. It lasted a long time, but I have bought another much like it – a Hyundai Elantra – but so far the highest mileage I’ve gotten on that is 38.4.
maddog, I have a Renault Arkana, an SUV coupe, getting 5.8 l/100km, or about 40.5mpg by US measures. 1300cc turbo charged engine with 7 speed dual clutch transmission. There is a hybrid version in Europe, but sold in AU.
Unfortunately, it requires a lot to change a marketplace. This goes extra for markets that were, like the modern car and gas market, created with heavy subsidies at all levels. The housing and market, right now, makes moving to high-density locations like cities and inner suburbs nigh-unfeasible for lots of people. Without high density, mass transit becomes difficult to implement. It’s going to take massive political will to change the background environment, and without that, expecting individuals to somehow come up with the resources for change is unlikely to work.