Building a renewable, circular, planet-compatible and equitable future requires to scale green technologies. Simultaneously, technologies on this red list have to either go
Extinct (ex): no future in a renewable, equitable, sustainable world
become
Critically endangered (ce): may survive in niche applications
or have to
Mutate (mu): must transform to serve sustainability
This is an art project. The list is not intended to be a concrete agenda, but should provoke critical thinking and raise awareness. If you have any suggestions, additions or critique, direct it to contact(at)redtechlist(dot)life.
Life is not exciting enough? You just volunteered for a peace keeping mission!
Make love, not CO2 (and war)
Public transport is just so much more efficient, and you can read a book or make new friends. For those few, who live so remote that a public transport system makes no sense environmentally, private cars will survive. Also they will be available for shared use. Just not to endanger life in cities and beyond.
Electricity can come so much more efficient from solar and wind; but we still need them during the transition to provide energy for building renwable energy infrastructure
Mutate for storing excess atmospheric carbon over geological timescales
(Picture source)
Go to a shop and bring your own containers, whats so difficult about it? There may still be some special cases, e.g. for medicines, for it.
2 tonnes vehicle to transport 80 kilograms of live weight is just insane
(Picture source)
So much land, water, fertilizers, pesticides, energy, etc. so that a few rich snobs can have some pastime?
(Picture source)
Carrying lots of amunition for some crazy men's dreams, fast and loud, they have to go to rest once and for all. The future needs cooperation, not an eye for an eye taktic of mutual disbelief.
The snow is melting, but ski lifts can be put to use for urban transport
(Picture source)
In Earth overshoot, we don't need to stimulate demand but encorage reduction
(Banksy, Picture source)
Girls best friends should be better from flesh and bones
Using a flame of >1000°C to heat water up to 60°C has just never been a wise idea; and because of the CO2 probems they created, there is simply no future for them
Electrify, best with overhead lines
Who burns, wastes. Always.
But of course, sometimes it is nice to sit around a fire place and have a chat. It reminds us of our humble origins.
We know, they are a dead end.
Anywhere is beutiful, but only if there are not too many to enjoy.
There is more important stuff to mine now.
Risks of accidents, risks of proliferation, risks of terror attacks or war threats, and who knows where to store all this highly radioactive waste for >100 000 years?
Convert them to sail ships for public overseas transport
We can't afford the rich anyways
96% of all mammals on Earth are humans and our lifestock
We can very well do without; make some jam when they are in season
When there is no snow anymore, than this is our own fault
The bus is not the problem, only its engine is. So through it out and fit an electric engine instead.
Almost all uses of ICEs can be better achieved by electric motors. There may, however, still be the one or other case, where they may have some niche refuge, for example for biogas-to-electricity plants
Leafs do fall since millions of years and refertilize the soil, but intelligent man (yes, masculine) thought he needs to cover the ground in asphalt and concrete and invent noisy stinky blowing machines to clear the annouying leaves away. Can we do better?
Stinky, neighbour-anoying, insect-killing monster; better keep some sheep if you need a lawn.
Not good for the farmer, not good for the soil, not good for biodiversity, only good for big business (in the short term, of course)
Feeding 10 billion people within the means of our deteriorating planet is already challenging enough, so use only what is left over from food production and not necessary for regenerating soils
We have eaten up enough land from the biosphere
Gold is not an essential element for society, but causes major environmental (and social) impacts
Synthetic fuels need just too much energy and are too valuable to be burned again. Use the same technologies to produce valuable materials out of atmospheric CO2.
Using a flame of >1000°C to heat water up to 60°C has just never been a wise idea; and because of the CO2 probems they created, there is simply no future for them
Better protect real life
There is no real option to make them fly climate neutral, because burning anything, even H2, in the upper atmosphere has a climate heating effect.