While the mass adoption of AI has transformed digital life seemingly overnight, regulators have fallen asleep on the job in curtailing AI data centers’ drain on energy and water resources.
Google ghg emissions in 2023 are 14.3 million metric tons. Which are a ridiculous percentage of global emissions.
Commercial aviation emissions are 935.000 million metric tons by year.
So IDK about plastic straws or google. But really if people stopped flying around so much that would actually make a dent on global emissions.
Don't get me wrong, google is a piece of shit. But they are not the ones causing climate change, neither is AI technology. Planes, cars, meat industry, offshore production... Those are some of the truly big culprits.
Capitalists have captured regulation and to a large extent democracy in the US. So finger pointing towards them is entirely useful. Especially given they spend good money to point the finger at us.
Capitalists serve customershoard wealth through reckless profiteering irregardless of the costs to the rest of human society and do not operate in a vacuum.
FTFY. I do agree with your last part, though. The political racketeer establishments that enable them and the fascist security institutions that protect them are equally as culpable as they are.
I still believe there are other priorities over one trip every couple of years. Flight is one of the greatest achievements of humanity and I firmly believe it is important to visit other cultures.
I gather from your comments that you live in Spain, right? You guys suffer from all the 20€ flights going there from other European countries. At those prices you'll mostly encounter human trash (I know this because I'm from Germany and the the majority of Germans visiting Spain are morons), so I feel with you. These cheap flights need to stop. I'd like to see the kerosene taxed fully for European flights. Have the prices be something to think about.
I can't either. My wife is a teacher and we have a child. We can't vacation in the off-seasons. We both have great jobs. So if we get to fly, it's something special. And I don't want that taken away to be honest. Using airplanes like taxis however (e.g. Ryan Air)? That's just not a good thing to do to the environment.