That first picture is depressing
The city is maybe car-free but certainly not asphalt-free
Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades:
How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world:
Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:
Anti-science, inactivism, and unsupported conspiracy theories are not ok here.
That first picture is depressing
The city is maybe car-free but certainly not asphalt-free
Ok but Phoenix is shit. Just a terrible “city” even for US standards. Why would anyone wanting to live car free live in Phoenix?
I'd argue cars are more necessary in Phoenix than most places. It is way too hot to walk more than a couple of blocks, so unless you can build dense enough to justify a public transit stop on every other corner...yikes.
Cars don't 'solve' a climate being 'hot'. Tons of cities have existed for thousands of years in arid environments. You build the city respecting the environment, with more density and walkability, shade and vegetation.
The urban heat island is no joke and it's due to cars. Phoenix is a monument to humankind's stupidity and ignorance of a place's environment.
I spent two weeks in a cheap OrangeTree Resort booking and got groceries, took a tour of ASU, and went to a bunch of restaurants using only a week-long bus pass which also covers metro. It was way nicer than living in buttfuck nowhere Dakota where I have to drive 30 minutes to pick up groceries. I plan to move to the area at some point.
Scottsdale was annoyingly a big block of houses, downtown Pheonix near the airport had tons of litter and the occasional homeless person, never went further towards Mesa, but overall everything was an improvement from where I had come from.