Amazon's 'Climate Pledge' Commits To Net Zero Carbon Emissions By 2040 and 100% Renewables by 2030 (techcrunch.com) 40
In Washington today, Amazon announced a series of initiatives and issued call for companies to reduce their carbon emissions ten years ahead of the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement as part of sweeping effort to reduce its own environmental footprint. From a report: "We're done being in the middle of the herd on this issue -- we've decided to use our size and scale to make a difference," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and chief executive, in a statement. "If a company with as much physical infrastructure as Amazon -- which delivers more than 10 billion items a year -- can meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early, then any company can." Bezos' statement comes as employees at his own company and others across the tech industry plan for a walkout on Friday to protest inaction on climate change from their employers. Amazon's initiatives include an order for 100,000 delivery vehicles to Rivian, a company in which Amazon has previously invested $440 million.
LOL (Score:2)
Amazon's initiatives include an order for 100,000 delivery vehicles to Rivian, a company in which Amazon has previously invested $440 million.
Talk about monetizing virtue signalling.
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Amazon's initiatives include an order for 100,000 delivery vehicles to Rivian, a company in which Amazon has previously invested $440 million.
Talk about monetizing virtue signalling.
When you propose that a $440 million investment and an order for 100,000 electric delivery vehicles is laughable and mere "signaling" I curiously wonder what size of commitment would reach to the level of a moderate size investment in electric vehicles for amazon? How many vehicles do you think they need?
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Learn to read, retard.
He said they're monetizing virtue signaling. They're buying a shitload of electric vans for their own delivery service, which they profit off of (on the backs of the drivers).
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Last thing I remember, buying something from a company you've invested in doesn't mean that you get paid for making the purchase. At best, that's the equivalent of getting a discount because some of the money you pay comes back to you in investment returns.
You might find yourself being more persuasive if you substituted a clearer explanation of what your problem is, for your present uninformed obnoxious attitude. Just a suggestion.
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Learn to read, retard.
He said they're monetizing virtue signaling. They're buying a shitload of electric vans for their own delivery service, which they profit off of (on the backs of the drivers).
I'm confused as to what you mean by "virtue signaling". I just assumed that something done as a LOL and virtue signaling was lesser than a moderate investment, perhaps you can help me clarify?
You simply cannot profit from paying money to yourself, this is easily verifiable.
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Rivian makes some great electric trucks. My fave is their offroad bush truck
100%? Also: Renewable =! actually renewed. (Score:1)
Nice and all ...
But I want to see the first one who actually manages perfect stable cycles. Everything taken from nature is replaced, every damage reversed and all waste recycled. Like everything in nature that actually has a chance of, you know, not going under at some point.
Because everything else is just stupid half-assed prolonging of the inevitable. To earlier than one expects, due to the exponential nature.
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Nice and all ...
But I want to see the first one who actually manages perfect stable cycles. Everything taken from nature is replaced, every damage reversed and all waste recycled. Like everything in nature that actually has a chance of, you know, not going under at some point.
Because everything else is just stupid half-assed prolonging of the inevitable. To earlier than one expects, due to the exponential nature.
"Perfect is the enemy of good". Nature will make sure everything will be recycled in the end, it's just that the timescale isn't really attractive for humans.
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Because everything else is just stupid half-assed prolonging of the inevitable.
Yes. You are going to die.
Because robots! (Score:2)
Robots don't need to breathe like those dirty carbon producing humans.
We'll just fire all the humans and replace them with robots.
Aren't you glad we are such a conscientious company?
By the way, Jeff Bezos is 150,000 times richer than a millionaire.
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Robots don't need to breathe like those dirty carbon producing humans. We'll just fire all the humans and replace them with robots.
If you stuck windmills/solar/tiny nuclear reactors on the top of the warehouses to power the robots, technically this would work pretty darn well.
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Hollow Words. (Score:3, Interesting)
Let's make one thing clear here. Rampant Consumerism is largely responsible for helping destroy the environment. The only way Amazon could do anything at "100%" is if they shut down.
Rest assured the words "100% carbon free" will be just as hollow as "organic" is today. Bullshit and window dressing will be exactly how companies like Amazon become "compliant" by 2040. Hell, Amazon is THE mega-corp. Even if they're not compliant with the Paris agreement, they'll bribe their way into a new definition of compliant with Congress. They already pay zero taxes. Zero emissions on paper shouldn't be hard at all.
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True, They should just make no effort at all, It would be better for the environment that way.
One cannot measure effort when it's wrapped in lies and bullshit. The effort (or lack of) is not the problem here. Lying about it, is. Oh, and also the "punishments" when corporations get caught.
Wouldn't matter if we caught Amazon lying their asses off about being compliant 20 years from now; we're not going to actually do anything about it. We already know any fines levied will be a joke.
Mega-corps can lie, cheat, and steal and will get away with it. I mean after all, they're Too Big To Fail now.
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And there was me thinking that it was, if anything, a somewhat ludicrously easy goal to achieve. Neutral by 2040? It's going to take them 21 years to find some unused land they can grow trees on? That's literally all they have to do. 100% renewables is a more difficult goal, but it also seems like an issue everyone is working on, so not exactly hard to do in the timeframe they've given.
In order to actually make something renewable, you have to be willing to recycle the damn thing. My local recycling program has more fine print than a Microsoft EULA. I have to refer to a chart I glued to the top of the recycling bin lid to see if I can recycle stuff that is obviously recyclable. They flat out stopped taking glass, and we stopped charging bottle deposits in this country decades ago. And now we have other countries refusing to take our recyclables. Tell me again how anyone's statement o
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And there was me thinking that it was, if anything, a somewhat ludicrously easy goal to achieve. Neutral by 2040? It's going to take them 21 years to find some unused land they can grow trees on? That's literally all they have to do. 100% renewables is a more difficult goal, but
it also seems like an issue everyone is working on, so not exactly hard to do in the timeframe they've given.
In order to actually make something renewable, you have to be willing to recycle the damn thing. My local recycling program has more fine print than a Microsoft EULA. I have to refer to a chart I glued to the top of the recycling bin lid to see if I can recycle stuff that is obviously recyclable. They flat out stopped taking glass, and we stopped charging bottle deposits in this country decades ago. And now we have other countries refusing to take our recyclables. Tell me again how anyone's statement of one-hundred percent renewable is actually going to be executed, because I see nothing but bullshit claims on pretty much every level.
I encourage you to take your gripes with your local recycling program to your local government rather than argue as it seems, that if you can't figure your recycling bin amazons stated recycling efforts are all lies because it's impossible.
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Totally agree with you on the troubles with Rampant Consumerism, but let's not pretend that that problem rests solely on Amazon.
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Even if they're not compliant with the Paris agreement, they'll bribe their way into a new definition of compliant with Congress.
Have a look at https://blog.aboutamazon.com/sustainability/the-climate-pledge [aboutamazon.com] and https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/ [aboutamazon.com], it looks like Amazon is pretty serious about real solutions to real problems, and not just buying carbon credits.
They already pay zero taxes. Zero emissions on paper shouldn't be hard at all.
That's not true. They pay no Corporate taxes, mainly because (1) Amazon makes very little profit because they aggressively re-invest, and (2) all permanent employees are remunerated in part (quite a large part) in stock. Thus, what a lot of other companies would pay in corpor
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As a counterpoint, investment into the economy is generally a good thing. This includes buying things. When people don't buy things, it typically hurts the economy more than it helps and that tends to be bad for most people. The biggest source of environmental damage that I'm aware of is heavy industry, only some of which is focused on consumer goods. I think rather than suggesting a massive fundamental change to the way our economy and culture works, a better place to start might be better oversight and regulation of heavy industry.
Humans still suffer from the Disease of Greed, and therefore automation and AI will work to decimate human employment. After that, all this talk of economies and goods and services will go out the window. You'll be barely living on UBI (a.k.a. Welfare 2.0) just like the rest of the unemployable, and you'll buy what you can to survive.
If you think this won't come true, then please tell me exactly how it will not.
Start you own delivery business! (Score:2, Interesting)
One way Amazon accomplishes this is by shoving their most wasteful activities under the cover of a shell corporation.
Amazon.com may get to be carbon free, but only because Amazon Logistics is a different corporation and last-mile deliveries are done by "other businesses" driving trucks with amazon painted on the side.
I wonder if California's new gig law allows Amazon to continue to call its delivery drivers "contractors" when they are clearly employees.
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One way Amazon accomplishes this is by shoving their most wasteful activities under the cover of a shell corporation.
Amazon.com may get to be carbon free, but only because Amazon Logistics is a different corporation and last-mile deliveries are done by "other businesses" driving trucks with amazon painted on the side.
I wonder if California's new gig law allows Amazon to continue to call its delivery drivers "contractors" when they are clearly employees.
I'm quite sure they intend to use the 100 000 electric vehicles mentioned in the article in their own distribution, if you have a link that says otherwise do share.
Sounds like a win to me (Score:2)
Chalk up another win for the real engine of human progress for 90%+ of humanity: Collective worker action.
What will happen (Score:2)
What will happen, unfortunately, is that the share of renewable in the other power grid users near Amazon's locations is going to fall.
The same amount of renewable energy is going to be produced, but instead of being 30% renewable for everyone, it's going to be 100% for Amazon and 29% for the rest.
The climate change problem is not going to be solved by individual or corporate actions like this.
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What will happen, unfortunately, is that the share of renewable in the other power grid users near Amazon's locations is going to fall.
The same amount of renewable energy is going to be produced, but instead of being 30% renewable for everyone, it's going to be 100% for Amazon and 29% for the rest.
The climate change problem is not going to be solved by individual or corporate actions like this.
Have some nice pictures to illustrate how the european countries have changed their energy production https://www.theguardian.com/en... [theguardian.com]
(And if you can bother to read the article, amazon have committed to investment in energy production and reforestation as well).
No one is to small to make a difference.
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What works is the public policies (as well as international agreements and targets). What doesn't work is waiting on corporations such as Amazon to solve the problem or wait for the problem to solve by itself.
Also what doesn't work is being part of the problem (Trump).
No one is to small to make a difference.
While technically true, in practice, relying on that won't work and is highly inefficient. Normal people don't know what pollutes the most and what are the best ways to reduce their footprint. The solution is to put a price on carbon (one way
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The solution is to put a price on carbon (one way or another) and let people make the right choice.
I'll just agree on that as a good idea and it's currently done in the EU and known as carbon credits (it's not perfect by any stretch, but a good effort).
Having your electric company specify the pollution caused when generating your electricity is another one.
Did the "little guy" do this? I bet so (Score:2)
Applause for the many who risked getting into trouble by organizing this walk out. Kick ass!@
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They will be missed?
Taxes (Score:2)
Now if we can get them (and Bezos) to pay taxes on all the profits they've accumulated.
IDK, maybe redirect some of that money into conservation, or better yet, enforcement of emission controls.
Step 1: Keep employees in poverty (Score:2)
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Some of the biggest ticket carbon footprint items are air travel and buying new cars. Ensuring that its 700,000 employees cannot afford to do these things already offsets the environmental cost of individually shipping everything it sells. Bravo Mr. Bezos!
Hopefully not intentional, but your statement reads like you insinuate that the living standard of workers ought to be determined by the charity of the corporate owner.
Should it be the case you might want to reconsider your approach.
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I don't see a solution until the american workers start unionizing, and I'm happy to see the signs of that.
This whole gig economy doesn't seem like something entirely new, working at the docks only a few generations ago would have put you in a similar situation.
Do they still teach photosynthesis in schools? (Score:2)
In plants, photosynthesis converts light energy from sunlight into chemical energy (glucose). Carbon dioxide, water, and light are used to make glucose and oxygen.
The overall reaction is:
6CO2 + 6H2O + light = C6H12O6 + 6O2