I do believe the biggest impact would come from regulating large companies and billionaires, but it’s not one or the other.
I agree with a lot of people that suggest voting and holding your representatives accountable and the mass pollutors responsible will be the most important part but I also think there’s no reason not to lead by example in this situation. Reduce your carbon usage when you can by buying fewer consumer goods, eating less meat, avoiding single use products, and more frequently using public transportation, walking and cycling to get around.
Don’t fly.
Yeah fuck birds. Cunts
Vote for better policies and laws that force companies to be better as well.
Even if we improve ourselves as much as possible: We still need the products of big corps which only improve because of (1) laws or (2) when losing money.
Also, let all your politicians know in advance that this is what you will be doing.
We need them to know this is what we want.
In the US, yes. In Germany, Switzerland and every other country with a good election system there are many different parties so you can just vote for the greenest (or the literal “Green party”).
I’m actually in New Zealand, where we have MMP proportional representation and a Green Party.
But I still let all the politicians in my electorate know that this is a voting issue for me.
We need to move that Overton Window. The more politicians know that this is what we want, the better.
If you’re in a country with a good system, you probably have times where you need your political parties to work collaboratively to pass legislation and solve issues. It’s good for them to know that we support them on this.
Wear a condom.
There is nothing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint that comes even close to having no or fewer children.
You can get rid of your car, stop eating meat, recycle as much as you can and so on, but the impact of that together is a fraction of the reduction you can achieve by simply not creampieing your gf/wife.
You’ll also save a ton of money and you don’t have to deal with any annoying kids so it’s a win/win all around.
Hmmm yes I will make sure to stop having sex with my great abundance of girlfriends
Yup, this is a fantastic side benifit to my absolutely not ever having kids.
Read anarchist philosophy
Sink a cargo ship. Burn a mansion. Fly a drone into a jet intake.
In minecraft of course
Anytime you have a chance to vote, take it, and vote for whatever option will be most likely to reduce the overall emissions. In most cases, this will probably mean voting for programs/parties etc that oppose conservatism.
In the US, neither party is serious about stopping climate change. They are both controlled by big oil, big car, etc.
There is ideological diversity within the democratic party, especially at the local level. As part of a representative democracy, the electorate needs to be engaged with their representatives. You should start looking closely at your most local representatives.
I agree the the democrats are not nearly serious enough about stopping climate change, but the republican party is actively hindering efforts and definitely worse for the plant in the long run.
Neither party being serious does not mean one isn’t way worse than the otherYou still need to hold the Dems feet to the fire. Just handing them your vote as the least worst option just means you’ll never be offered any good options. Make them work for it.
And what do you mean by that? What specific actions are you talking about?
You can get involved in protests to try to make them pay attention. You can write letters to your representatives and prospective candidates. You can ask good questions at town halls. You can campaign for good candidates.
Voting is the least important thing you can do. Ultimately you have no choice but to vote for the least worst option but if that’s the only thing you ever do, you’re helping to bury all of us.
Can’t disagree with that
Oh imagine a majority of people consistently doing that. We could go somewhere with our efforts.
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Eat vegan, the more local and the less processed the better.
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Opt for cycling, walking, or public transit rather than owning and driving a car.
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Shop secondhand (thrift stores, FB Marketplace, Kijiji, yard sales) whenever possible, especially clothing and electronics.
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Re-examine your consumption habits, we probably don’t need (nor really even want) like half the stuff we buy.
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Vote.
Wisely.
This is the biggest one. Activism on the side would be good too, but that might not be simple depending on how far you go with it (a simple lawn sign does count!).
It’s for the simple reason that most people will not deliberately sacrifice to decrease carbon footprint themselves, and need it to be legislated.
I don’t think it’s fair to put the blame on individuals not reducing their carbon footprints. It’s big industries that are fucking the climate. (Oil being likely the biggest one.) And the solution isn’t to incentivise individuals to bicycle more. It’s to regulate industry to stop taking oil out of the ground.
The idea that the individual citizen is the problem and and the solution to climate change and other environmental issues is propaganda invented by industry to get the focus off of them. “We oil companies aren’t the problem. You need to drive less.” “We plastic manufacturers didn’t put tons of plastic in the oceans. You need to recycle more.”
“Voting with your dollars” is similarly a con.
The reason you vote (with your… you know… votes) is so that the administration that isn’t going to gut the EPA gets the next term. And maybe they’ll enforce regulations on special interests that actually make a positive difference in emissions.
Yeah, but don’t forget industry exists to sell things to consumers. I wouldn’t put the onus on an individual person, that is a scam, but everybody collectively I sure would.
The way to make everyone collectively do something is through legislation.
The reason you vote (with your… you know… votes) is so that the administration that isn’t going to gut the EPA gets the next term. And maybe they’ll enforce regulations on special interests that actually make a positive difference in emissions.
Friendly reminder that we’re not all Americans here.
Friendly reminder that we’re not all Americans here.
Ah! Sorry about that. I’m trying to be better about that.
This is the only suggestion that will make any difference
This and reducing flying is the best ‘bang for your buck’ in terms of individual actions imo. Even just starting by not eating beef is better than nothing.
Voting is broken in US IMHO…
Corporations lobby and drive policies…We the people clearly don’t matter to the US of A … We’re just huminerals to them ; especially the “middle class”…
No disagreemnt, but at the same time, voting can still make the difference between “pretty fucked” and “totally fucked.” And that’s not nothing.
The middle class, during my lifetime, used to mean one income supported a family of four.
Now, even DINKs struggle.
Eat your nearest billionaire.
Ooh, ooh, I get their toes and lips!!
This is your only option. Managing your carbon footprint sounds like a great idea in concept, but the entire concept was created and promoted by oil companies to distract us from where the real damage comes from. Worrying about your own impact is noble but if you’re doing it to save the world you’re on the wrong track.
Tacking onto this, I recall a Climate Town episode where he discussed which bank you decide to use matters. Oil companies’ biggest donors are banks that get to loan out your money.
BP Oil telling people how to be more environmentally friendly has got to be the most hypocritical bullshit I’ve ever heard of.
Way to take some responsibility for your own impact.
Agreed. What people don’t realize is that if they were to actually follow those recommendations, then oil companies wouldn’t be responsible for as much pollution. We can say it’s the corporations that are doing it, but it’s all of us that are keeping these corporations in business and buying the products that pollute. If we all took personal responsibility, the corporations 'level of output would decline. This is ALL about personal responsibility and it is infuriating to watch people say “well it’s the corporations” all the time.
The average billionaire lifestyle of extravagance creates about as much pollution as a business of reasonable size. Their year exceeds a hundred average lifetime carbon footprints. Thousands of lifetimes if you include construction’s environmental impact.
Calm down there actual cannibal Shia LaBeouf.
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Just don’t brag about it after; or else…
No, do brag about it. Be the change you want to see in the world.
Ok , go and brag about Your canabalising the wealthy… See how far that gets…
Eat vegan.
Where to find said vegan and will let me eat it or should I hunt the vegan?
Please stop listening to corporate propaganda on this subject. You have absolutely no personal responsibility to solve this problem. The idea that you have to is an invention from business. A way to make it a personal responsibility and not something businesses have to solve.
No corporation will change if you’re still buying shit from them.
While I agree that businesses have way more direct impact and responsibilities, “it’s about sending a message”. If we as consumers put more priority on goods / foods that have less of a bad impact on climate change, corporations will follow that trend as well as that’s where the money is.
We still have to hope that we’re not misled by marketing teams too much, but if the global trend is in a specific direction it has more of a chance to contain better options. Just be aware that possibly most of your climate enhancing actions might still be bad/misled/hypocritical in hindsight, but it’s better than if we don’t take any action at all.
The only thing we can do is raise our chances.
If no person does anything nothing changes.
Of course your own choices in isolation don’t change much. But that’s like saying voting doesn’t do anything because a single vote doesn’t matter. We all can make choices that add up through all of society.
I 100% agree with you. All the carbon I save in my lifetime cannot compare to what’s emitted by an airline company flying empty planes just to reserve their airport terminals. https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2022/04/the-scandal-of-ghost-flights-are-empty-planes-haunting-our-skies
That said, I can’t save the world, but I can save my tiny corner of it. Maybe I’m just a yard fence against a dam breaking flood, but something in me compels me to try. I’m not gonna lose sleep over the tiniest shred of plastic I trash instead of recycle, but I will do my best.
OMFG
no raindrop feels responsible for the flood
Although you might feel like you don’t have an impact, you are not blameless, when you buy and rely on things that harm the environment you create demand for them, and you make the companies that pollute more successful
Nah sorry. We are past that. Every company that provides good, affordable products causes more damage to the environment than we ever will.
We depend on elected officials to prevent this problem for us. We have organizations who’s specific job is to do this for us. See But now they are all in the pocket of the polluters.
We lost. It’s over. It’s never going back. Just enjoy your life while you’re here. Humans are shit. Have a drink and go to bed.
Public transport and bikes to avoid overusage of cars. Many people seem to make a big deal out of this but to me it seems reasonably simple.
This isn’t really an option in the US. The fossil fuel and car industries colluded heavily to kill or limit public transit options through the country. Same with bike friendly infrastructure. We really do have to break up all the big corporations and tax, imprison, or eliminate the billionaires and multi multi millionaires to force them to change their behaviors.
Yep. My area technically has a county bus service, but it only visits each stop 3 or 4 times a day. Throw in the fact that even if you’re lucky there’s a “bike lane” that’s about a meter wide and all the cars completely ignore. Just not at all an option
I’ve read somewhere that it’s become quite dangerous to be a pedestrian/cyclist over the last few decades in the USA
Where I live we have a major intersection and the drivers looking to make a right turn are looking left to see if any cars are coming ( at 40 mph ) they’re not looking right where a person is standing waiting for the walk sign to come on. When the walking sign comes on , the drivers make the right turn and only notice that a person is walking then; they swerve around you in shock and disbelief… IK this because it’s happened to me numerous/countless times…
If only we could all rely on each other n our communities ( to share food and water ) , n if we could all go on a massive strike / protest all at once … Maybe then we could get the government to listen to us… But that ain’t happening… We’re all too divided to act as one
And now with mass surveillance and AI; I figure we really don’t stand a chance when 🪧 protesting…
I’ve no hope that things will get better… For Us or Them (other countries)… Global inequality is growing each year quickly
Biking involves exercise so it’s good for your health too.
Better for your mental health too.
I had a parking issue and ended up using a scooter to commute the last mile to work everyday. I would show up for work happy and leave with a big stupid grin on my face. Knowing you can leave work and instantly do something fun put me in a great mood.
I often want to use public transport but the timetables and prices make it an absolute nonstarter.
Honestly, I believe a big negative social reaction to yachting and private flights for the wealthy would have the most impact. You can’t necessarily force people to not do things but you can create a negative backlash.
The biggest effects will come from reducing your carbon footprint. Think about what activities generate the most CO2 and what you can cut. For example, meat production is a big CO2 producer. Reducing/eliminating red meet from your diet will reduce your carbon footprint.
Obviously, driving is another CO2 producer. If you can bike or walk as much as you can.
Home cooking/heating is another big source of carbon emissions. You can wear sweatshirts/blankets in the winter and keep your house cold (64-68 F?) and use fans in the summer instead of AC.
Reusing/recycle also comes up as a possible way to reduce CO2 emissions, but I’m not familiar with the net effect on your CO2 of recycling. Reusing makes sense though.
Is red meat worse than pork or poultry?
Pork counts as red meat as well iirc. It has more to do with how much feed the animals need to grow mature enough for slaughter.
Cows > pigs > chickens in that sense.
So chicken is the least environmentally damaging source of meat.
Is it about the size of the animal? Is there a large animal that produces enough meat to offset the environmental damage per serving? Chickens seem very gross and labor intensive for one family meal (unless you count eggs) where a cow seems happy to eat grass and produce a lot of meals. I realize most cows are disturbingly fattened and I’ve started trying to buy farm meat from local butchers. I think i read that Chipotle uses better (happier?) meat than most other restaurants. Also, i just started leaving about Temple Gramdin’s work for humane animal farming.
