Rio de Janeiro — “Hey, don’t you have a car?”
My mom has been asking this question for the last 15 years, probably once every two months.
For her, owning a car is freedom and looking into the infinite future from the comfort of her driver’s seat. It’s also about having her assets, something worth keeping.
For me, a car is a 2-ton problem that eats up money and needs regular repairs. Yes, it’s an asset, but it loses value as soon as you move it off the dealer’s premises.
The lifestyle choices at the heart of this mother-daughter generational divide matter. Because, as you probably know, the fossil fuels that power most cars are burning our planet down. High gasoline prices are now hitting drivers around the world.
Until now, electric vehicles You can not use it To most people around the world, including here in Brazil. Also, as my colleagues reported from Chile and Congo, the extraction of the minerals needed to make them is not good for the environment either.
But there are more Almost 1 car per person in the United States. And the number is increasing around the world, especially in emerging economies.
Many cities are built in such a way that cars are unavoidable, and in many rural areas public transport is non-existent. do you want?
The answer depends on many factors and how you look at them. For example, my mother, Nidia Aguilar, thinks her attitude towards cars is a generational thing that stems from how we were raised.
She is a 67-year-old lawyer who prides herself on being a hiker. Born in a low-income suburb of Rio de Janeiro, she was the daughter of Portuguese immigrants who dreamed of seeing their children go to college.
She recounts nightmarish memories of being trapped in a packed bus in the sweltering heat as a college student. Her having to hitchhike during her beach vacation (including riding in a tractor bucket to do some stretches) is a fun story she’s happy to leave in her past.
“The location never reached me,” she said. “I needed to buy time”
I am a product of my mother’s achievements. I was born in an upper middle class neighborhood in Rio. The bus I take is also crowded, but the travel time is much shorter. I can take the subway often, which she couldn’t do when she was young. And with increased safety regulations, bicycling is no longer as dangerous as it was then.
It is clear that younger generations are most concerned about the environment. However, my experience has taught me that the decision to buy a car is highly dependent on your choices. I have options, my mother didn’t.
For most people in the United States, a country made to work by car, on foot, or by bus isn’t really a reality.
But the choices we make, such as where we live and who we vote for, can also affect the options available to us.
As we were discussing this essay, my mom remembered a conversation I had when I was a teenager. She drove me to school, but we were stuck in traffic. At the peak of her frustrating teenage years, she claimed this was all because of elite people like her who drive everywhere.
My reasoning was that if people like her took the bus and used their social and political clout to demand better public transportation, things would change.
“At this point in my life, do you really think I’m going to jump on a full bus and complain? I’m too old for that,” she recalled saying. worked hard to get the right to own a car.”
But public transport doesn’t have to be terrible (although the Inflation Reduction Act remarkably thin on measures to build and improve public transport).
Maybe, if circumstances were right, the car would be a less powerful symbol of freedom and prosperity for my mother.
This brings us to another issue that hides in the car discussion. This is beyond the energy transition that the Earth needs.
A car is about an individual, but public transportation is about a community. And while individuals can make a big difference in the world, learning how to thrive as a local or global community is often much more powerful.
My mother felt the power of working collectively. In her twenties, she joined the revolutionary movement and helped overthrow a military dictatorship that killed and tortured thousands of people while stifling the freedoms of her generation.
“I did my part,” she told me. “The solution to the climate problem is for your generation to solve.”
Are there generational differences in climate in your family?
It’s not just cars. Climate change could reveal many other generational differences within families.
Perhaps you are old enough to witness climate-related changes in your own community. Or maybe you’ve banged heads with relatives over climate issues. Whatever your story, we would love to hear it.
We are asking our readers: What are the generational differences on climate change in your family? If you would like to participate, please complete this form. We may use your responses in future newsletters.
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Important news from The Times
Biden remakes his climate team: The President has appointed John Podesta to oversee $370 billion in spending. Biden’s national climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, is stepping down.
CALIFORNIA GOES AHEAD: State legislators passed legislation that includes $54 billion in climate spending, limits on oil and gas drilling, and mandates net zero by 2045.
Threats to drinking water: Jackson, Mississippi shows how floods and other extreme weather events are crippling America’s aging water systems.
No shade, no water: Global warming is making the already grueling Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,600-mile (2,600-mile) hike from Mexico to Canada, even more challenging.
off the grid: A solar power company is seeking permission from California regulators to install a microgrid to power residential areas without relying on established utilities.
Lessons from Portugal: The country has long been cut off from the European energy grid. Its system, based on renewable energy and imports, could become a model for Russia’s gas-hungry people.
Zero waste clothing: Designers around the world use traditional techniques to create garments that don’t waste fabric.
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Before You Go: Bags of Bags and Bags of Bags
Some people in New Jersey unwittingly hoard bags. This is an unintended consequence of his May adoption of a draconian new state law banning single-use plastic and paper bags in supermarkets. Problem: The courier service has switched to heavy, reusable bags. But since they go online shoppers, those bags pile up in cupboards and closets.