The wily plans of the oil companies – also known as survival plans – will have to contend with similar instincts from everyone else, and the latter are more aligned with the survival of current civilization rather than corporate survival. FTN News has a report on EuroStar, the company that runs the rail line between Paris and London via the Channel Tunnel:
Targeting a 50% reduction in plastics by 2020
Reducing waste is central to Eurostar’s Tread Lightly programme which is focused on minimising waste on board and identifying innovative alternatives to traditional packaging. Over the next three years, Eurostar has committed to halving its consumption of plastics and usage of paper tickets.This drive to remove plastics has been launched with the elimination of plastic straws onboard Eurostar trains and in its business lounges which is the first in a series of planned initiatives.
Sami Grover on Treehugger notes the short time allocated to this goal of 2020 being important, and this:
It’s also worth noting that achieving such goals is no longer pie-in-the-sky ambitious. The falling cost of renewables, electric vehicles and other such technologies means that companies that really set their minds to it can move very quickly towards sizable carbon savings. I’m willing to bet, also, that they’ll do pretty well out of it in terms of cost savings too.
And, I’d add, along with adding to the cessation of demand for plastics, adding to the demand for renewables and greener technologies will motivate the markets to provide them, and at cheaper costs. This should help sooth those who are outraged at the thought of Big Oil going away – most likely the elected government representatives Big Oil has bought, rather than the libertarian free marketers, who are a little more pure in their devotion to markets and capitalism.
