There are still people out there who seem to believe that fighting the climate crisis is somehow in opposition to progress. That it will hold the economy back. The exact opposite is the case. Fighting the climate crisis is the most pro-progress program we can embark on.
Driving an EV is a superior experience to driving a car with an internal combustion engine. I say this as someone who has driven a great many high end German cars.
Using modern heat pumps combined with solar can save many households in the US one to two thousand dollars a year compared to their existing solutions. Also, with the right setup your house or community will no longer be dependent on some big utility company.
Indoor farming when done right produces intensely flavorful salads, tomatoes and other vegetables year-round. Unlike the stuff that was harvested pre-maturely, so that it could be trucked all the way across the continent.
All of the above also has the potential to create a large number of interesting new jobs, much of it in local employment (eg solar and heat pump installation).
The case against this rests on flawed assumptions about cost and feasibility. Never mind that it of course completely ignores the extreme cost of not acting which will ultimately be the death of millions if not billions of people.
Oh, and before someone objects with “but what about the global South,” suggesting that this somehow would prevent progress from occurring in poor countries, it is even more true there. For example, would you rather create heat and light at night by burning fuels such as wood or kerosene in your abode inhaling smoke that causes deadly lung disease? Or would you prefer a solar panel plus battery? Of course the latter is far superior and constitutes massive progress. The same goes for mobility and internet access. Electrification are making these more accessible everywhere and solar is leading the way for that.
And yes, it is utterly affordable already today because of the extraordinary progress that’s been made with solar and batteries as can be seen in these two charts
A decarbonized world will be an amazing world and one we should work towards at full speed. I consider this the ultimate win-win: avoid extinction and make progress.
