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The necessary technologies
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this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2024
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The memes of the climate
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The climate of the memes of the climate!
Planet is on fire!
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I have a super mixed reaction here. On one hand, it's a good attitude as an individual to do what you can. OTOH, is it apathetic to realize that one billionaire's private jet adds more pollution than a thousand vegans can offset by being parsimonious with their consumption?
To keep a livable Earth, we need high-level systemic change to move the needle on that dial, not just a few thousand people making extreme sacrifices (tradeoffs? I shouldn't talk about being vegan as a sacrifice, lol) in lifestyle.
Edit: I'm thinking partly of celebrities booking commercial flights instead of flying private jets, but I'm also thinking about multinational corporations doing stupid things. CVS printing mile-long receipts, Amazon (or others) shipping tiny things in ginormous boxes, or hey, the expectation that every product on a retail shelf must be shrink-wrapped.
You're right, the effects of individuals or even a decent sized group often pale in comparison to the effects of large scale corporations. And, I guess this is where my views probably differ from a lot of people's, I don't think that's a good enough reason to not do the right thing as an individual, or at least attempt to.
I saw some Swifties do the math on how many of them going vegan it would take to offset her private jet emissions and I have no idea on the accuracy of this and honestly the whole thing sounds silly to me but it was like 70,000. That probably sounds discouraging to a lot of people but to me it's just like small differences add up.
And I think 70,000 voices are a lot easier for a government or corporation to hear. Think of it as votes and suddenly it sounds like a pretty big deal. Big systemic changes come from lots of people rejecting the status quo, and I'd rather be one of the people rejecting it, you know?
You have to think practically: When has systemic change ever happened without individuals choosing to make a change? Never!
It's the same for voting, or boycotting or unionizing or even guillotining. The french kings head didn't spontaneously fall off, it involved many individuals making a choice, risking their life and even dieing.
Yes, that's true. I do think we need a two-pronged approach: On the individual level, do what you can. Every little bit helps.
On the systemic level, lobby for some meaningful reforms.
But in the meantime, I think it's rather grotesque to fantasize about murdering people. Guillotine parties have ways of spiraling out of control.