I used to but now I do not anymore.
By that logic nobody has to do anything, because you can always find someone who has a higher impact that should start first.
- Why stop driving my petrol car, trucks or container ships have a much higher impact
- Why stop flying around the globe for no particular reason, Taylor Swift should stop
- Why should I start energy saving, cryptominers should stop
Don’t get me wrong, you leaving the shower on for 10s longer than necessary will not be the end of the world. It’s just this mentality of: I am pro climate change (policies) as long as I don’t have to change anything about my own life, that you can hear way to often.
We need to save the planet, that’s why you need to put a giant plug up your ass! Why? Well you see, Methane is a serious greenhouse gas, and despite your farts being miniscule compared to the massive releases from factory farms and other industries, eVErY liTtlE biT HeLps!!
You should really just not question it and live your life with this painful inconvenience because we all need to start somewhere. If everyone across the nation were to just start wearing a big butt plug at all times, we could reduce methane emissions by a whole 0.1%! And no, before you ask, the factory farms and other industries won’t be doing a damn thing to reduce their emissions. So lube up that bussy honey, you gotta get into that green mentality, it’s for the planet!
Hey you show me the meaningful impact, and I’m all for it. For example the reduction of single use plastics in communities near coasts and waterways. It measurably reduces coastal waste. Great, let’s do it and the consumer can help.
Anything that has no measurable impact is just performative green guilting.
I just won’t be pressured into carrying the guilt of industry I don’t even profit from while I’m soaping my balls.
That is not the point I was trying to make. As I said, it is not the end of the world just because someone leaves the shower on for a few seconds longer than necessary and there are obviously way more important topics we need to address.
To be honest when I saw the question I haven’t thought about climate at all. I turn it off for as long as I can remember and was curious how others are doing it. But everytime something comes up that has to do with saving energy/ressources there are people saying: I don’t change because my personal impact doesn’t matter. To exaggerate my point one person changing one tiny thing of course doesn’t make a difference, but if 8 billion people change 10 tiny things it can have an impact. At some point we have to start making a change.
However, I totally get your point about the industry polluting our planet even though they knew better decades ago. And now everyone has to suffer from their mistakes or rather greed.
It’s more that yes, of every person on earth turned the water off while soaping, religiously, it STILL wouldn’t even be a drop in the bucket.
I acknowledge that community improvement requires everyone to chip in in ways that aren’t immediately tangible.
Unfortunately the magnitude of industrial use and loss is so vast that residental budgeting on this topic doesn’t move the needle.
That doesn’t mean residential changes aren’t ever possible.
For example improved insulation and heating and cooling tech can meaningfully reduce grid spike demand.
Flattening demand into a more consistent, distributed curve means we can transition to green energy sources with greater confidence, and decommission coal and gas power more successfully.
So that’s a topic I’m all for making changes on, and I have. (Updated south facing windows, with facing window awnings, plus updated attic insulation and a mini split heat pump)
My home is more comfortable, more resilient and more aligned with future community goals.
So it isn’t that I’m not willing to try (and spend) to do my part. It’s that I’m very critical of green guilting to shift blame.
