It’s not either/or; I can both work to decrease my personal impact and also push for systemic changes. It’s just a recognition that responsibility does fall on the individual as well. If one cares about this issue, they should make changes in their life to minimize their impact. I understand that we can’t solve it without a systemic change, because even from what I see all the time, right here, people who presumably care about the situation coming up with every excuse in the book to avoid assuming even a modicum of responsibility. Can’t imagine how long it would take to get the current deniers on board.
The reality is that any change that is going to be top down is going to be slow; it’s not coming for a while. Right now, you can make changes in your personal life. And even then, it’s not all or nothing. You can just keep grabbing the low hanging fruit over and over again to minimize your personal impact.
And on top of that, any change coming from top down is going to affect the individual: things will get more expensive and less convenient. So you might as well get a head start on it.
Married with two kids, we both work full time, cook dinner almost every night, i have multiple hobbies, regularly exercise, and I usually go out once a week with buddies to get a drink.
It’s overwhelming if you treat it as all or nothing. I get that. I just started by grabbing the low hanging fruit, and when I realized that wasn’t all that hard, I just reached up and grabbed the next. And then the next.
What if you took all the time you spend suggesting that consumers unilaterally pollute less, and invested it towards suggesting systemic change instead?
Is the goal here social status, or to maximize your impact?
"Every time climate discussion comes up and i point out that we can do things to decrease their own impact, i’m met with anger and relentless defense that they have no responsibility and it’s all corporations.
So I have little faith that any worker revolution will solve the problem."
Because we all need to start doing shit now, not wait for other people to do it for you. I’m not punching at all, just being honest. You’re just grappling with the cognitive dissonance of claiming to care, but also not wanting to inconvenience yourself by doing anything about it.
It’s not either/or; I can both work to decrease my personal impact and also push for systemic changes. It’s just a recognition that responsibility does fall on the individual as well. If one cares about this issue, they should make changes in their life to minimize their impact. I understand that we can’t solve it without a systemic change, because even from what I see all the time, right here, people who presumably care about the situation coming up with every excuse in the book to avoid assuming even a modicum of responsibility. Can’t imagine how long it would take to get the current deniers on board.
The reality is that any change that is going to be top down is going to be slow; it’s not coming for a while. Right now, you can make changes in your personal life. And even then, it’s not all or nothing. You can just keep grabbing the low hanging fruit over and over again to minimize your personal impact.
And on top of that, any change coming from top down is going to affect the individual: things will get more expensive and less convenient. So you might as well get a head start on it.
Do you have unlimited time and willpower?
Married with two kids, we both work full time, cook dinner almost every night, i have multiple hobbies, regularly exercise, and I usually go out once a week with buddies to get a drink.
It’s overwhelming if you treat it as all or nothing. I get that. I just started by grabbing the low hanging fruit, and when I realized that wasn’t all that hard, I just reached up and grabbed the next. And then the next.
What if you took all the time you spend suggesting that consumers unilaterally pollute less, and invested it towards suggesting systemic change instead?
Is the goal here social status, or to maximize your impact?
"Every time climate discussion comes up and i point out that we can do things to decrease their own impact, i’m met with anger and relentless defense that they have no responsibility and it’s all corporations.
So I have little faith that any worker revolution will solve the problem."
Right, and focusing on that personal responsibility is a waste of everyone’s time.
No one is saying to focus on it, just stop pretending it doesn’t exist.
Why? You’re wasting everyone’s time by even bringing it up. Punch up.
Because we all need to start doing shit now, not wait for other people to do it for you. I’m not punching at all, just being honest. You’re just grappling with the cognitive dissonance of claiming to care, but also not wanting to inconvenience yourself by doing anything about it.