[konschubert]

> For example, my partner and I no longer own cars, that's hopefully two whole cars off the road for practically a lifetime. Does this have zero impact ?

The impact is that you inspire others, which makes political change possible in the long run.

But beyond that... as long as oil is coming out of the wells, and it's legal to burn it, somebody will do it.

[javagram]

In fact by not burning the oil yourself, you reduce the demand for oil which can depress the price, causing others to use more oil since gas prices are lower!

[dTal]

Are there good reasons to think that the rate at which oil is extracted and burned is independent of consumer demand? It's not far-fetched, but it would be surprising.

[konschubert]

The rate might be affected by consumer demand.

But I think that the total amount of oil that will be burnt only depends on the price of extracting the next barrel vs the price of other energy sources.