When I was in elementary school, the cafeteria switched to disposable plastic trays because the paper ones hurt trees. Stupid, I know… but are today’s initiatives any better?
Today’s initiatives are theater.
100 companies are responsible for 71% of the worlds emissions. The rest is also mainly companies. The idea of a carbon footprint is propaganda invented by BP (this sounds like a conspiracy but I swear it’s true, look it up). Before anything you personally can accomplish can make any difference, we would first have to significantly change society.
It’s just not true that we can’t make a difference though - it’s just easier for people to think that. Even if corporations, China, people on private jets etc. are damaging Earth and its inhabitants, our habits still make a difference also. You know, we can do what we can do personally at the same time as voting, campaigning and protesting for the change we can’t control.
There is no sustainable consumption under capitalism. Most have already cut down on their personal emissions, less meat, less flying. Good luck on trying to overcome the system by participating in it.
What can help is direct action and direct democracy, building resilience in your community. Which is hard.
I don’t think enough people have made enough effort to cut down (or preferably stop) meat, and animal products, and still see incredible amounts of waste, SUVs etc. Admitedly it’s old data, but a minority of surveyed Americans were eating less meat in year 2020 - https://news.gallup.com/poll/282779/nearly-one-four-cut-back-eating-meat.aspx. - not sure if the outlook is any better.
I totally agree with direct action and democracy, though I do maintain that the number one change people can make is to go vegan, as the lead author of the biggest meta study of its type concludes https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2018-06-01-new-estimates-environmental-cost-food
Importantly, I still agree that you are spot on that voting, complaining to companies and advocacy is incredibly important, but I just also feel that it is people who can choose not to buy the most damaging products (e.g. animal products) from those companies to accelerate more sustainable markets.
Personally, we can save a bit of resources, provide tiny relieve spots for a wild animals, insects, etc. Its a fact. Physical reality. Just because its not enough by itself, does not mean, we should not do that.
Naturally, not doing anything on a personal level, because “its not enough” is a very much approved way of living by the corporations. Having unhappy, consuming population? Chief’s kiss.
However… its not a good thing, when tiniest acts in the right direction demotivate people to do more. “I am doing my part!” - yes, that is nice, but we need more.
Those companies produce the goods WE buy. If we didn’t buy them, the emissions wouldn’t be accounted to that company that sells you the good. Oil, electricity or something else that you use.
Anyways, being fatalist about all that gets us nowhere.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Get informed
- Join organization that aims for change
- Put in work
Or that would have been it if we still had time to prevent catastrophic climate change. We can still try but I’m fairly certain we missed the train and I wish nothing else but me being wrong. I’m still vegan tho and use bicycle.
About footprints. William Rees wrote about ecological footprint in 1992 and carbon footprint was commonly used after 2000. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/095624789200400212
Those companies pollute to produce goods and services that individuals buy.
What does holding corporations accountable look like if not refusing to give them our money while advocating for regulation?
Individual change is changing society.
Throwing your hands in the air, doing nothing to change your destructive habits and just saying “but corporations” isn’t gonna help anything.
