Volts community thread #12
Open to all free & paid subscribers.
David’s Notes
1. Last week, my family said goodbye to Forest, our beloved canine companion of 13 years. We’ve had him for most of the kids’ lives and my memories of him are all tangled up with my memories of them, so it feels cruel but somehow appropriate that he is leaving us just as they are leaving the house to go live their own lives. I am not ready for that, or for any of this, but everything in life ends, whether you are ready or not.
2. Speaking of things that end before you are ready, the week before that my fellow Americans elected an aspiring fascist strongman who is likely to degrade or destroy, whether by malice, misrule, or some combination, many of the things I value about this country, including many of the laws, departments, and initiatives I’ve covered here on Volts. I suppose I should have something clever to say about the election — everyone else seems to have had their hot take ready — but my heart is clouded with too many kinds of grief to make any sense of anything. Maybe later.
3. In somewhat brighter news, New York City Governor Kathy Hochul has reversed herself on congestion pricing. (I covered her decision to suspend the program in June.) She now aims to implement the program, albeit at a rate reduced from $15 to $9, before Trump takes office. Hochul is awful — she has made this whole thing twice the political headache it needed to be — but this is about the best outcome possible at this point. Republicans are still ramping up their opposition.
4. It’s been fun going to events like DERVOS and running into subscribers like Anna who got tickets thanks to a Volts giveaway. Imagine getting to see my awkward selfie smile in person, for free! Just one of the many perks enjoyed by paid subscribers around here. Sign up today!
5. ✅ Community comment of the month: I made an offhand remark about meat during my pod with Rewiring America’s Ari Matusiak. MuricanIdle (and others) did not love it:
“People should stop eating meat” prompts you to say “Ugh, I guess?” I am actually heartened by the fact that the general public has made the connection in their minds between animal agriculture and climate change. I can’t fathom why you would be so dismissive of this. Animal agriculture is responsible for between 10 and 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. For comparison, transportation accounts for almost 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. If you convinced all Americans to eat significantly less meat, that would have more of an impact on climate change than if you convinced all Americans to stop traveling by commercial airliner.
I agree! The “ugh” was less about the substance than the prospect of attempting to convince Americans to eat significantly less meat. It’s difficult to convince Americans of anything, even to upgrade their cars to better cars, much less this. We can’t even convince them not to elect fascists!
6. Don’t forget to leave questions for this month’s mailbag in the comments.
Monthly Thread
This is your monthly opportunity to share! Use the comments section in this community thread to:
CLIMATE JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES: Share climate jobs/opportunities
SHARE WORK, ASK FOR HELP, FIND COLLABORATORS: Share your climate-related work, ask for help, or find collaborators
CLIMATE EVENTS & MEETUPS: Share climate-related events and meetups
EVERYTHING ELSE: Discuss David’s Notes or anything else climate-related
MAILBAG QUESTIONS: Ask a question for this month’s mailbag episode (anyone can ask a question but mailbags are a paid-sub-only perk). Volts has a form for those who are shy, but David prioritizes questions posted in this thread.
🚨 To keep organized, please only “REPLY” directly under one of Sam’s headline comments. Anything inappropriate, spammy, etc may be deleted. Be nice! Check out our Community Guidelines.
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