Four Exhaust Pipes in a Climate Crisis

At the lights, Climate Conscience Man sits on his eCargo-Bike. Helmet on. Groceries in the front storage bucket. He's bit sweaty, a bit proud. A magpie just dive-bombed him. He's doing his bit.

Next to him? A gleaming Mercedes, BMW or Porsche SUV with four chrome exhaust pipes and more horsepower than a country town needs. Brand new. Loud. Idling.

He glances over. Leather seats. Polished chrome. Someone in activewear scrolling their phone while the engine hums. The emissions pump out, quietly wrecking our future.

And for a moment, Climate Conscience Man feels it. Anger. Despair. Frustration. A sense that everything he’s doing - the eBike, EV, compost heap, the veggie garden, the meat reduction, the heat pump, the constant low-key climate guilt - might be a drop in an ocean of apathy.

And here’s the thing: if you’ve got the money to buy a $200,000 car, surely you’ve got the brainpower to understand what it’s doing to the planet?

But then… he catches himself. Judging isn’t helpful. Not really.

So he takes a breath, watches the lights, and lets go (well, he tries to). Maybe they saw him there. Calm. Capable. Not smug, just doing what he can. Maybe they saw the "Climate Action Now" sign on his eCargo-Bike.

Maybe they’ll notice the difference. Maybe they’ll feel a nudge. Or a glitch in the Matrix. Maybe they’ll wonder what it would feel like to drive something just as powerful but much cleaner. More aligned with the world they want their kids to inherit.

Climate Conscience Man knows he can’t change everything. But he can show up. He can model something better. And he can keep riding his eBike.

Climate Conscience Man at the lights on his bike behind the four exhaust-pipe luxury SUV.