The argument is a little silly, but you can kind of wrangle a sensible point out of it. An important thing to consider is the length of the carbon cycles, or in other words the time frame of different carbon reservoirs. As long as we keep pumping carbon from the very long time frame underground reservoirs, how we end up putting it in the short-term reservoirs matters relatively little. And corporations keep pumping it because it is profitable, and it is very profitable (top 5 industries), to the point where consumer choices seem to only plausibly affect the schedule of the pumping. They aren't shutting down productive oil wells because there isn't enough demand.
The sad part is that most people making the argument seem to be advocating for some vague kind of state intervention, which is equally unlikely as everyone doing their individual part.
The real solution is, as always, to educate, agitate, and organize.
The argument is a little silly, but you can kind of wrangle a sensible point out of it. An important thing to consider is the length of the carbon cycles, or in other words the time frame of different carbon reservoirs. As long as we keep pumping carbon from the very long time frame underground reservoirs, how we end up putting it in the short-term reservoirs matters relatively little. And corporations keep pumping it because it is profitable, and it is very profitable (top 5 industries), to the point where consumer choices seem to only plausibly affect the schedule of the pumping. They aren't shutting down productive oil wells because there isn't enough demand.
The sad part is that most people making the argument seem to be advocating for some vague kind of state intervention, which is equally unlikely as everyone doing their individual part.
The real solution is, as always, to educate, agitate, and organize.