this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2024
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The article discusses this, yes - along with how the carbon footprint is a good metric for individual consumption even if corporate propaganda abuses it.
I agree with you that political action is vital. I don't agree that it's necessarily more significant than personal action. Feminists used to say "the personal is political", and it's still true. How you act in private demonstrates your commitment to the values you endorse in public and gives your voice more weight when you speak your values.
If you reduce your personal footprint, but never talk about it or encourage other people to do the same, your impact is limited to yourself. If you reduce your personal footprint, and make your actions contagious by talking about them with people you know and encouraging them to do the same, you can impact many more people, encourage them to follow your lead and reduce their footprint, and then they can encourage others to reduce their footprint, and so on and so forth.
Limiting the damage from climate change takes collective action. And collective action requires a community, and a community requires communication.
If you assume you are a lone individual and your personal decisions have no effect on anyone else, it's easy to imagine reducing your personal footprint is meaningless. If you see yourself as part of a community, and by reducing your personal footprint you encourage others in your community to do the same, you can see how much larger your impact can be.
@stabby_cicada @UsernameHere I'm afraid I take the darkest view. That is that BP etc gave the public the full option to care about their carbon footprint, and the public decided not to.
At that point why should BP or politicians force it upon them?
Who exactly would be the "we" in that process who knows better? If it is some informed and passionate minority, that is not actually democracy.
It is a collective action failure.
Think of it like this - companies are contaminating everything with lead, because it's slightly cheaper for them
People get concerned for good reason
So some companies pay to make lead free products and sell them at a premium. They put it all over the packaging
Other companies see this, and start putting it on their packaging, despite still having an unsafe lead content
All of them do media campaigns and lobby the government, further confusing the issue
People need to buy food, and are working with limited information. They don't have the time to educate themselves over every purchase - you'd need experts dedicated to testing and compiling the data
So, for the good of everyone (the companies included) we made that. You can go to the grocery store and buy food, confident it doesn't contain large amounts of lead.
People definitely care, but systematic problems can only be solved systematically
@theneverfox I just commuted across Los Angeles. I saw every sort of car, but far more gas guzzlers than hybrids or EVs. These are free choices, by people who might say "they care" or "someone should do something."
The person who buys a Mercedes Maybach SUV, 16 MPG, certainly has other options.
They would probably tell you they care.
That's it exactly. You're asking why they didn't pick a greener car. I'm telling you the problem is that you need to drive across Los Angeles
My mom likes the idea of hybrids, but is scared to even rent an electric car because she's heard things like "range anxiety" and doesn't understand the technology. I've explained the technology, the availability of charging stations, and the options for charging at home. We ended the conversation with her saying she's had her car for a decade, and doesn't see the need for a new car - I told her "absolutely, your car has good fuel efficiency and safety features, there's no reason to get a new car"
The waters are muddy by design, but the true problem is car centric infrastructure. Electric cars aren't a solution - they're a lesser evil. My mom cares - not because she understands, but because she trusts me and my siblings to understand things she doesn't. We all are much more passionate about health and climate change, she just does the best she knows how. When we all told her "it's bad to eat meat everyday, let alone every meal", she listened. If I took a stand and told her to get an electric car, I could wear her down - but driving her car into the ground is better. She recycles less because I've taught her what can't be recycled - recycling is a lie, "if in doubt throw it out" is good public communication
Our choices are limited. People overwhelmingly care - they also have to live their lives. Choices won't make a dent in climate change - it's a systematic issue that must be solved systematically