I feel like a backup generator is the last place where I would make my decisions based on the environment. I mean how long is it actually going to be active? Also batteries aren't exactly environment friendly either.
That may well be how you feel, but lately I feel like any burning of petrol is just disgusting (though I still do it as I cannot afford alternatives at the moment). I want to completely divest from fossil fuels, even for intermittent use. That's as much for the social value of saying "yeah I don't use fossil fuels and it's great" as it is for the environmental impact. I want to try all this tech to be an early adopter and help people prove it out to the rest of the world.
> that may well be how you feel, but lately I feel like any burning of petrol is just disgusting (though I still do it as I cannot afford alternatives at the moment).
LOL. that's some serious self-delusion. some of the best i've ever seen in the wild.
the alternative to fossil fuels is free -- just don't use them. your feet are free. bikes are almost free and subsidized in many cities.
the reason you use it is not because you "can't afford the alternative" but because you find the convenience and utility quite high, i.e. WORTH THE COST, compared to walking your ass around town and going cold in the winter, just like everyone else.
fundamentally this is a problem of economics, not of really really really wanting to do the right thing.
You might want to reevaluate any moral position you have where a significant basis of your values is the ability to brag about them. I would be fairly disgusted if someone said a significant amount of the reason they're so devout in their religion was so they could boast about it with their peers.
I didn't read the GP comment as "bragging" so much as wanting to be an existence proof that it's possible to live a modern life without (directly) burning any dinosaurs.
How do you think every data center in the world is backed up for power? Diesel generators. You'd have to quit using the internet until a different power backup method is adopted.
Fumes from backup generators are problematic without the environmental considerations: they're seldom-run and often minimally maintained, and there are exhaust-gas fatalities most winters.
