That decision was out of self interest. The US will do whatever it can to try to stop Iran succeeding in their strategy to raise the price of oil.

So no. Not proved wrong in my opinion.

Well here's hoping they don't decide to take the US approach to 'living nicely': an absolute sense of entitlement to other people's resources all so they can have bigger vehicles and airconditioned forecourts to refuel them in. It's honestly disgusting - especially when you consider how they go about obtaining those resources. War. Fuck war and those that push for it all so that they can 'live big'.

We don't want your disgusting lifestyle. We want you to stop being so bloody infantile and greedy.

Apologies for the strong words but the current state of things has me pissed off.

And then look at how little distance you need to travel to produce 1kg of CO2.

People drive because it is convenient. If there are fewer parks it becomes less convenient and fewer people will drive. Why do we prioritise the convenience of those that want to park a car over those that need a place to live?

Quite possibly because they don't want to become the US and Israel's useful idiots - contributing to calls for war that could easily lead to the deaths of millions if past experience is anything to go by.

If the US were serious about the well-being of Iranian people they'd stop trying to screw the economy and foment violent unrest, but of course that is not what they are interested in. They want war. They want regime change. They want balkanisation.

I'm beginning to feel this way about the US. Much more comfortable with Chinese foreign policy at this point. At this point, going on the past 50 years or so, it would take something quite extraordinary on China's part to convince me they are going to abuse their power as much as the US has so far. Hopefully I'm not simply being naive.

You need to pay better attention. I hate what Trump is doing to US foriegn policy - but it is still better than China, and there is hope that things will change in the future as elections continue. China doesn't even have that hope.

China is clearly supporting Russia in Ukraine. China is clearly making plans to invade Tiawas (that alone makes them just as bad as the US, even if it hasn't happened yet).

Unless you start a denazification project and start shooting MAGA cultists en-masse, the US is not recovering. This is a rot that goes beyond one man and one party.

Your empire is decaying and it's going to keep lashing out up until it's completely gone.

> We have been trying to fully automate lettuce harvesting for almost 64 hours, but we have not succeeded yet.

Years, obviously. But it gave me a chuckle.

If only. Given how power and influence works currently, I would guess that those that have real control over these currencies would most likely use that power as they do now - to further their exploitation and pillaging of the earth with environmental considerations coming a distant second (or third, fourth, whatever...)

I was under the impression that there have been multiple large extinction events in the past caused by excessive anaerobic decomposition underwater that led to the oceans becoming swamps and giving off nasty toxic gasses.

These plankton blooms happen naturally and are part of the biosphere already. There's a whole food chain that the guy breaks down in the podcast.

He was saying that this is usually kicked off by whale poop I think but because of the low numbers of whales, it happens way less now.

Drive less.

CO2 output per person in the US (all sources including industry, etc): ~13-14,000kg

Average distance driven per year per capita in the US: ~20,000km

Average CO2 output of current private vehicle fleet: ~250g/km

Therefore, over one third of total CO2 output per person is personal vehicle use. Considering only CO2 output due to personal choices driving has to be well over half.

Most people don't - or refuse - to consider the obvious choice to take personal responsibility. Drive less.

Driving isn't realistically a personal choice. Roadways designed for cars extend from every single point in the country to every other. The support for alternative methods of transportation varies greatly by area, but is generally poor.

Riding a bike or taking the bus is objectively the worse option for most people. That's not personal choice, that's policy.

Reversing course for a car-culture country like the US would take 50+ years. If it's even possible, which I personally don't think it is — the US is too far gone.

To an extent I agree with you. Some places and lifestyles (e.g. means of earning a living) don't make cutting back on driving a viable choice.

However, these things can and do change (introduction of public transport and saner planning allowing local shops and the possibility for children get to and from school autonomously for example).

One problem as I see it is that many people that don't have a viable choice other than driving everywhere are politically opposed to structural change. Adopting this political point of view is also a personal choice.

love how a completely valid point gets downvoted becuase the average person refuses to believe they are part of the problem "no! its those big corporations and airline industry! my daily commute has no input at all!"

and this is why we'll never solve the problem

I guess returning to the office isn't so great. Pointy hair bosses rage everywhere.

But beyond driving less, surely eating further down the foodchain helps as well. Plants and shellfish are efficient. Cows are not. Eat fewer burgers and a few more lentils and mussels. Unless you are RFK Jr then of course please eat lots and lots of fatty cow, tallow, butter. Go full on Atkins please and follow right behind him.

My point is that in terms of personal responsibility nothing comes remotely close to driving but a vanishingly small proportion of people are willing to consider this.

A few decades ago we explained that personal responsibility isn’t the solution.

Please catch up. Why we’re having a conversation from the year 2000 now is beyond me.

I also suggest reviewing the “nuclear isn’t part of the solution. Besides it takes a decade” discussion.

> A few decades ago we explained that personal responsibility isn’t the solution.

I've never seen that argued persuasively. All the arguments I've seen are the usual hopelessness for democracy, lack of agency, and victimhood.

Lots of people acting in the same way is the foundation of democracy.

How does cultural change happen?

I would say it's often because people see individual examples in action. Some people follow those examples. Then more do. You are more influential than you think.

What I've read is that diet can do more, though of course it depends on what you currently eat and your current transportation.

Flying is much higher than driving.