billionaires you once again claiming that technology will save us. a interview released on Monday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that by the end of this decade, we all expect to have access to virtual reality glasses that will have let us feel like we’re teleporting to other people’s houses and out into the city. In turn, this could help reduce travel greenhouse gas emissions.
“Obviously, there will continue to be cars and planes and all that. But the more we can teleport, not only do we personally eliminate shuttles and things that are a kind of obstacle for us individually, but I think it’s better for society and the planet as well, “Zuckerberg told the news. .
Globally, the transit sector is one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis, and in the US, pollution in the transit sector constitutes the largest share US greenhouse gas emissions. There is no doubt that this needs to change.
But will virtual reality glasses help us reduce carbon emissions? May be. Studies of VR technology’s greenhouse gas production are limited, but it’s true that carbon emissions associated with an individual call on Zuckerberg’s future smart glasses could be lower than those associated with a nationwide air trip. , e.g. Currently, however, we do not have enough information to know for sure.
“Video conferencing already [reduces travel-related carbon emissions] To a limited extent, but I don’t think anyone can say in advance if VR will be cool enough to make people give up on leisure trips. Replacing business travel and meetings will be a positive thing, ”wrote Jonathan Koomey, an energy and climate researcher who runs sustainable IT consulting, although he added that“ there are so many unknowns about it that it’s hard. to say something definitive. ”
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Also, VR does not replace in-person jobs that require face-to-face interactions and work, from construction to food services. Millions of people employed in this industry will continue to commute. To do a bit in business travel, VR technology should probably be used quite widely in other sectors. And when it comes to traveling for fun, Koomey doesn’t think he has too many photos.
“I doubt people will choose to use VR instead of going on a tropical vacation,” he said.
Of course, not everyone in the world goes on tropical holidays. Actually, found a recent study that only 11% of people around the world have traveled by plane and no more than 4% of the world’s population has taken international flights. The study found that the global elite flies without abandonment. Only 1% of the global population was responsible for half of the world’s commercial flight emissions that year.
If flying in airplanes is bad, getting private jets is much worse. There can be only one PJ flight in the whole country almost double the entire annual production of greenhouse gases for an average American. However, Facebook covered close 3 USD million in the private jet costs for Zuckerberg in 2019, according to federal disclosures. In addition to the business flight, Zuckerberg also has one $ 100 million mansion in Hawaii. It’s hard to imagine him giving up trips there to stay home on VR headphones.
In a sense, however, this is not entirely Zuckerberg’s fault. We cannot expect people with his extreme level of wealth to simply act in good faith and make better personal decisions for our collective future on Earth! In other words, we cannot simply depend on people who choose to buy new, fanciful technologies to remedy the climate crisis. Climate scientists around the world say we need a high level of governance regulations to counter pollution from aviation, cruises, machinery, and other polluting sectors.
Zuckerberg, however, remained firm anti-regulation. But, of course, he has to do that – his job is to make money on Facebook. Making VR glasses the next important thing could be great for Zuckerberg’s quest to enrich Facebook and himself company stake in technology. And marking the glasses as green could help him do that.
In any other sense, however, there is little evidence that VR glasses will really do that much. So if Mark Zuckerberg really cares about reducing global warming emissions, maybe he could start with more robust solution to combat climate denial, focusing on ways to deniers to publicize lies, and in general not funding them or their events in the first place.