I do believe the biggest impact would come from regulating large companies and billionaires, but it’s not one or the other.
“Ethical consumption” is fine, but have a very low impact: Most of environmental damage is related to corporations, not by population.
Information is key: To solve any problem, we need to understand it the best we can. So how climate change works? How human action is driving it? Who is responsible? And what are our options? Look for science communicators that reflect the scientific consensus, not the opinion of a small group.
Be aware of/with any “solutions” that is proposed by or also benefits big corporations and the billionaires that owns it. There is a lot of green-washing shit around.
Vote for politicians that have a solid green agenda. Votes matter, but in capitalism, it is not enough. The capitalist system is built to maximize profit over everything else, that’s what will happen if there’s nothing stopping it to happen. So political education and engagement makes difference.
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.
100 companies/corporations are responsible for 71% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Unless the “simple changes” are “abolish capitalism and give these polluters the corporate death penalty” then there’s jack shit you can do to have any appreciable impact beyond not having kids and convincing everyone you know to do the same. Because if the human race goes extinct there will be nobody left to pollute.
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.
Eat less or no meat probably. Enough people drive down meat demand would eventually lead to cattle reduction and less land for grazing.
Eating local meat is also a good option, especially with many cattle farms beginning to capture methane and become greener.
Don’t forget about diary.
Edit: *dairy
I only drink dear diary. 🦌
You’ll take cheese and 2% cow milk from my cold dead hands.
You: “you’ll take cheese and 2% cow milk from my cold dead hands.”
Nature: “hold my beer.”
I mean, this is the problem. We all will be cold and dead soon if we don’t fix this.
This shit ain’t hard and people have been working on it for ages. Besides, dairy is a VERY small percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. No, milk doesn’t leach hormones into you. No, extra steroids and shit for feed doesn’t hurt anyone except MAYBE the actual farmer. Yes, better feed options are getting much more attention which lower N20 emissions. It’s a shame I killed my reddit comments because I’ve had to have this conversation at least 40+ times over there lol.
The U.S. dairy industry is responsible for less than 2 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the country. U.S. dairy, per gallon, has the lowest carbon footprint of any country in the world.
https://www.americandairy.com/sustainability/reducing-dairys-greenhouse-gas-emissions/
The dairy industry aims to be carbon neutral by 2050. Here’s what it means for farms
Of all GHG emission processes, the most studied and best under-stood is that of enteric CH4 emission. As illustrated, this is normally the largest GHG source on dairy farms.A need still exists for better understanding of dietary effects, and particularly for the effects of feed addi-tives that reduce CH4 production. Because this is a large GHG source, feed additives and diet may provide the greatest opportunity for mitigating dairy farm emissions and reducing the carbon footprint of milk.Relatively little is known about enteric N 2O emissions;this appears to be a small and relatively unimportant source, but more data are needed over a broad range in diets to ensure that a better model of this source is not needed.
https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(17)31069-X/pdf
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines has a few surprises – one of which was that children ages 4 to 18 are not eating the recommended daily intake of dairy products.
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/dont-forget-dairy-part-childs-healthy-diet/ via https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/
Want alternatives and reasons why dairy is important? There’s a reason why being Vegan is so much more difficult than giving eggs, dairy, and fish a pass lol.
https://extension.usu.edu/nutrition/research/dairy-in-your-childs-diet
Is the reason you are downvoting me because you want me to stop discussing this with you? Because if so, that’s ok, I can oblige.
I don’t live in the US. I live in New Zealand.
We don’t have a lot of your additives and our milk contains less sugar, for some reason. So I’m not bothered by that stuff.
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We are one of the world’s large dairy exporters (mostly to China).
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The dairy industry here is mostly grass fed, it’s a massive emitter of climate change gasses, leading us to be one of the high polluters per capita in the world.
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It has also destroyed our river ecology due to fertiliser run off and excrement.
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Culturally, domestically New Zealand is a massive dairy consumer (for reference an average household of 3 uses a 1kg (2.2 pound) block of cheese per week, 4 litres of milk and 500g (1 pound) of butter every week. Most Americans are surprised to hear we put butter on all our sandwiches).
I have no intention of becoming vegan.
But I have lobbied my representative for way more legislative curbs on the dairy industry and I have committed to eating less dairy myself.
I’m not au fait with your dairy industry but by 2050 we will look back on the wildfires and storms and landslides we’re having now as “the good old days”.
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He said diary. He would like to take away your schedule
He’ll need one to try to find a time when I’m not shoveling cheese down my throat hole while washing it down with milk.
Imagine feeling rebellious over consuming a baby’s nutrition from an animal 😂😅
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This. Since I gained access: I only buy local, hormone free, open pastured, humanly treated meat. It’s expensive as hell so I can only afford to eat smaller portions. It costs what it should cost.
It costs what it should cost.
Well said.
We’ve started doing this too. Tastes better and no leftovers that get thrown away.
Do you only mean beef or all meat?
Beef is the worst, but all meat really
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.
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.
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.
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
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…
Don’t fly.
Yeah fuck birds. Cunts
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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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Read anarchist philosophy
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.
Yup, this is a fantastic side benifit to my absolutely not ever having kids.
Hmmm yes I will make sure to stop having sex with my great abundance of girlfriends
Eat your nearest billionaire.
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.
BP Oil telling people how to be more environmentally friendly has got to be the most hypocritical bullshit I’ve ever heard of.
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.
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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…
Ooh, ooh, I get their toes and lips!!
Calm down there actual cannibal Shia LaBeouf.
Way to take some responsibility for your own impact.
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.
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 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.
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.
Wear a condom.
