gerrymcgovern

breadandcircuses , 4 months ago to random

Capitalism produces waste – billions and billions of tons of waste every year – with nearly all of that unloaded from the Global North to the Global South.

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No one knows exactly how many coats, jeans, T-shirts, and trainers are produced every year, which means no one knows how many garments remain unsold in warehouses, destined for landfill or destruction. Without this information, trying to reduce the fashion industry’s carbon footprint is a bit like trying to solve a puzzle in the dark.

The available statistics suggest that between 80 billion and 150 billion garments are made every year and that between 10% and 40% of these are not sold. So it could be 8 billion or 60 billion excess garments per year – an alarming disparity.

“Production volumes represent a really important opportunity to bring honesty back into the conversation,” says Liz Ricketts, the co-founder and executive director of the Or Foundation, an environmental justice charity based in Ghana. “It’s a data point that everyone has accessible to them. It’s just about companies being willing to share it.”

“The reason they don’t really like to talk about how much product they have is because it’s the dirty secret of the industry,” says Francois Souchet, a circular economy and sustainability strategist. “There’s likely to be a huge public backlash when people understand how much product is not sold.”

Overproduction is also symptomatic of an archaic manufacturing system that incentivises volume: the more T-shirts ordered, the cheaper the price for each garment. This is because the biggest costs of producing fabric and assembling garments are in the setup; the longer the assembly line runs, the more efficient it is. “On top of all that, brands are afraid of missing out on a sale, so they always order too much, rather than not enough,” says Souchet.

The exorbitant waste in the industry is a result of how disposable clothes are considered in wealthy countries. It is symbolic, too, of how well supply chains are hidden from and misunderstood by consumers.

But excess stock is not the only problem, says Ricketts: “We try to use the language of ‘oversupply’ more than ‘overproduction’, because we’re talking about the marketing mechanisms used to push oversupply on to consumers. Brands are manufacturing demand in the same way they manufacture too many clothes.” This demand is created through relentless marketing across social media, targeted digital adverts, email campaigns, and a seemingly never-ending cycle of discounts and promotions.

Of course, the other side of this coin is overconsumption. It’s difficult to say without knowing how much product goes unsold, but it’s clear that garments that are bought account for most of the industry’s carbon footprint. “If we say, conservatively, 60% to 70% of garments get sold, that’s where the bulk of the emissions are,” says Souchet.

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FULL STORY -- https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2024/jan/18/its-the-industrys-dirty-secret-why-fashions-oversupply-problem-is-an-environmental-disaster

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #Pollution

breadandcircuses , 4 months ago to random

If you believe that advanced technology, driven by free-market capitalism, has made our world a much better place over the last half-century, and if you’re convinced that future growth in even more exciting high-tech is the key to solving our climate and environmental challenges, then I invite you to follow Gerry McGovern (@gerrymcgovern) and study his posts.

Gerry is doing an amazing job of opening our eyes to the real costs of advanced technology, and big data in particular.

Take a look at this post as an example -- https://mastodon.green/@gerrymcgovern/111793980870779936

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual

gerrymcgovern , 5 months ago to random

The Green Transition will massively deepen the biodiversity crisis because it requires an explosion of mining in wilderness areas and in the deep seas. The Green Transition is killing the life it’s claiming to be saving.

In Australia, 144 species of mammals, frogs, plants and birds were added to the national threatened species in 2023. That was five times more than the yearly average and double the previous record year set in 2009.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/australia-threatened-species-2024-20240123-p5ezbw.html

gerrymcgovern , 5 months ago to random

As our environment explodes, we find the "Data Center Server Market Exploding". Is there a link? Of course, there is. Data is eating the environment.

Data uses massive quantities of toxic materials. It drinks huge quantities of freshwater. It eats massive quantities of energy.

But that is merely the tip of the melting iceberg. By far--by far--the greatest damage data does is that it is the oil that lubricates the engine of overconsumption.

https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/news/htf-market-intelligence/data-center-server-market-exploding-1521059834.html

gerrymcgovern , 5 months ago to random

Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

“Tackling the climate and air pollution crises requires curbing all motorised transport, particularly private cars, as quickly as possible. Focusing solely on electric vehicles is slowing down the race to zero emissions. Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities”
https://theconversation.com/cycling-is-ten-times-more-important-than-electric-cars-for-reaching-net-zero-cities-157163

gerrymcgovern , 5 months ago to random

Data growth is surging

Data is the new oil

Data will eat the environment

Most organizations have zero idea what data they're producing or storing

Data Center Construction Market Seeking Excellent Growth
https://tech.einnews.com/pr_news/681906505/data-center-construction-market-seeking-excellent-growth-holder-construction-aecom-whiting-tumer

Getting data centers ready for the AI boom
https://www.us.jll.com/en/trends-and-insights/workplace/getting-data-centers-ready-for-the-ai-boom

North America Containerized Data Center Market to Surge to USD13 Billion by 2028
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/01/19/2812091/0/en/North-America-Containerized-Data-Center-Market-to-Surge-to-USD-13-Billion-by-2028-Government-Sector-Shows-Promising-Growth.html

Data Center Automation Market to surpass USD 26.7 billion by 2032
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/data-center-automation-market-surpass-000000332.html

gerrymcgovern , 5 months ago to random

“OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday said an energy breakthrough is necessary for future artificial intelligence, which will consume vastly more power than people have expected. “There’s no way to get there without a breakthrough,” he said. ”It motivates us to go invest more in fusion.”
https://www.news18.com/tech/openai-ceo-sam-altman-says-future-of-ai-depends-on-nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-8743104.html

gerrymcgovern , 5 months ago to random

"Most pollution, most species extinctions, and most habitat destruction are not directly driven by global warming, but rather by industrial agriculture, urban sprawl, mining, overfishing and other forms of direct exploitation, and via other consequences of overshoot."

"Global warming is not the root problem driving ecological collapse. It’s one symptom of the Earth-destroying way of life that characterizes global culture today."

https://maxwilbert.substack.com/p/the-climate-movement-is-making-a

gerrymcgovern , 5 months ago to random

"OpenAI this week quietly deleted language expressly prohibiting the use of its technology for military purposes from its usage policy."
https://theintercept.com/2024/01/12/open-ai-military-ban-chatgpt/

It took years for Google to change their vision from "Don't Be Evil" to "Be Evil."

As with everything tech, the pace of moral innovation is relentless.

OpenAI took only months to openly embrace evil. Well done, tech bros, we always knew we could count on you to do the wrong thing

breadandcircuses , 5 months ago to random

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

gerrymcgovern , 5 months ago to random

I hate the word "degrowth"
We need better branding.

The world is going to hell in a mining car because of better branding.

For once we need some hard truth.

"We are often asked to consider a different framing: utopian futures, human flourishing, a good life for all, even doughnut economics. But all of those terms are like the false donation bin, or the eco-friendly walk-on-water charade. They communicate a story, but not the hard truth about our ecological situation."

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-01-10/degrowth-a-hard-truth/

gerrymcgovern , 5 months ago to random

Norwegians vote to practice ecocide

For years, I looked to Scandinavia as a model for the good society. Now, Norway, a country I have great respect and affection for, decides to destroy the deep seas with "sustainable" mining.

What a totally cruel and greedy oxymoron: "sustainable mining". Why can't Norway at least be honest for once. It's about greed. Greed. Greed is what it's about.

‘Really a sad day’ as Norway votes to allow deep-sea mining in Arctic waters
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/really-a-sad-day-as-norway-votes-to-allow-deep-sea-mining-in-arctic-waters/