Is NZ too small to make a difference on climate change? - eviltoast

Now the climate crisis is self-evident, a common argument by those who STILL defend polluters is that “NZ is too small to make a difference, and so shouldn’t have to stop intensive dairy farming or driving Ford rangers to school in Auckland”

Rod Carr destroys it in this mic-drop moment.

  • jeff11@lemmy.nz
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    1 year ago

    “we are one of the richest nations in the world”

    It doesn’t feel like that to me.

    If climate change is real, and it’s caused by cow farts and 1300cc cars being driven 3 times a week, how come the government won’t build affordable apartments, that way we can make better use of walking, cycling and public transport? I own a bike but I can’t ride it, because my landlord doesn’t let me store it anywhere. If I want a place that has a shed, I’ll have to pay an extra $150 a week or more.

    It’s incredibly stupid that some countries will ban petrol cars by 2030, when Mazda 2 and Toyota Corolla use almost no fuel. I don’t drive very often so I re-fuel every 3-4 weeks LOL

    Where will the farmers work instead, if dairy farms are shut down by the government? Will farmers move into the city, live in a prison-size bedroom, in a boarding house with a dozen indians, and stack shelves at Countdown at 3am? Somehow I don’t think the dairy farmers will like that.

    The climate change agenda is supposed to get us cycling and catching the bus more, and living in higher density apartments, near to our workplace. But when was the last time anyone saw an apartment go up in Christchurch? Only in the CBD or nearby areas. If I live anywhere else, I must drive a 10 year old ICE car, because landlords don’t provide a garage for an EV, and employers expect me to have reliable transport. I suppose I should just buy an EV that costs 3x more than a regular car, and then pay one of the other tenants to have the cable hang out of their window to reach my car? Fat chance.

    How about we start local manufacturing and stop importing from China? What about a restriction on how many migrant workers can fly here on a co2 emitting plane? We could cut international flights by 20% and half the amount of work and study visas being approved. That’s another way to cut our carbon emissions. Stop globalisation, stop having so many flights and stop the import of foreign products. At least reduce it.

    Climate change policy just means we’ll have more poverty, less taxes being paid and a worse society over-all. We won’t get the utopia that the greens are promising. Show me 6 storey apartments on Riccarton Road, that have EV charge parks at no additional cost, and bike storage at no additional cost (must have power, lighting and protection from rain at all angles so my bike chain doesn’t rust). If they can’t do this, then I’m against “climate action” because it’s a threat to my meagre existence. I live just above the poverty line and people like Rod Carr obviously have millions of dollars, so they don’t even know what it’s like to be part of the working poor.

    • bradmoor@lemmy.nz
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      1 year ago

      Did I miss this copypasta? I’ve never seen so many straw man arguments presented at once

    • BalpeenHammer@lemmy.nz
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      1 year ago

      What makes you think we can manufacture everything or even most things we need let alone more efficiently than china?

      You realise that we don’t have the natural resources to manufacture shit right? That all the raw materials and fuel will need to be imported.