I think some of it is the activism vs practice question. Who does more to curb climate change: someone protesting about it a lot, or someone who sits down and does the hard work of getting, say, a renewable energy engineering degree and designs next gen wind turbines? There's a decent argument for the latter - which is also a quiet, behind the scenes role that doesn't have the benefit of making you famous at the same time. There's a certain "Look at me" energy to all activists that can be pretty offputting. Just some thoughts.
There's a certain "Look at me" energy to all activists that can be pretty offputting
Please tell us how she and activists generally should be doing it properly.
or someone who sits down and does the hard work of getting, say, a renewable energy engineering degree and designs next gen wind turbines? There's a decent argument for the latter
Lie. Misjudgement rather. Current gen wind turbines are fine, the pols lack the will to deploy them.
Also, Exxon has known about global heating since the 60s. The issue has been the messaging and culture war game, not our lack of engineers.
The other thing is, current wind gen turbines + Solar are only fine because of all the improvements those quiet engineers have been making for decades.
Why have we seen an explosion in global renewables uptake in the past handful of years? Sure, there have been some political shifts due to global emissions treaties etc. But the vast majority of the change is because now the technology is so good that it outcompetes fossil fuels.
It more than doubled 2022-2025, and is still going crazy. Because around that time we reached a key inflection point where it became the best economic choice. As much as motivation by abstract ethical goals is important, actual change occurs when material conditions support it.
The real proof of this? China. They are a totalitarian state completely immune from external (or internal) activism. And they are leading the charge on renewables installation.
It's the engineers at Tesla and BYD making electric cars that are as good or better than ICE cars that have made them successful, not because people were shamed into buying them.
We're not going to solve the problems of climate change by sheer political will. Yes, politics and messaging have an (important) role to play, but the biggest changes come from the hands on, practical, unglamourous, difficult work of finding real solutions that work in the world. We're gonna solve the problems of climate change by making the renewables transition economically desirable.
I've never read a more braindead glorification of the salaryman life than this silly paragraph of yours.
As if there was glory in doing paid labor. The engineers at Tesla are good people but they're just doing a job. They're paid handsomely for it. If money was offered for them to do something else, they'd do something else. That's how it works with paid labor for most people. There's no shame in that but also no glory.Â
I'm am engineer myself, also paid handsomely, and in no way would I ask for people to glorify my everyday work over the work of activists who actually face adversity and plenty of hostility for what they do.Â
You also grossly underestimate how powerful the astroturfed activism against green energy can be. If there were no public consciousness about climate change (which is largely stimulated by activists!!) then the established fossil industries, with their huge money, would have a much easier time smothering any attempt to put green technology into the markets through negative PR, political lobbying and lawfare. Which is EXACTLY what they do in other countries where consciousness about climate change doesn't exist, like Russia.Â
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u/PanickedPanpiper 5d ago
I think some of it is the activism vs practice question. Who does more to curb climate change: someone protesting about it a lot, or someone who sits down and does the hard work of getting, say, a renewable energy engineering degree and designs next gen wind turbines? There's a decent argument for the latter - which is also a quiet, behind the scenes role that doesn't have the benefit of making you famous at the same time. There's a certain "Look at me" energy to all activists that can be pretty offputting. Just some thoughts.