A fixation on system change alone opens the door to a kind of cynical self-absolution that divorces personal commitment from political belief. This is its own kind of false consciousness, one that threatens to create a cheapened climate politics incommensurate with this urgent moment.
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Because here’s the thing: When you choose to eat less meat or take the bus instead of driving or have fewer children, you are making a statement that your actions matter, that it’s not too late to avert climate catastrophe, that you have power. To take a measure of personal responsibility for climate change doesn’t have to distract from your political activism—if anything, it amplifies it.
Congrats. Now get 100% of the worlds population to do the same.
Then you will have reduced less than 14% of the emissions needed.
That’s why BP paid a marketing firm to get the public focused on their individual carbon footprint. So you waste your time trying to get 100% of the worlds population to change their individual carbon footprint.
Instead of focusing on getting the majority of voters to protest and vote.
So you waste your time trying to get 100% of the worlds population to change their individual carbon footprint.
That is the plan. How else are you going to get to zero, but to change the everybodies carbon footprint.
Instead of focusing on getting the majority of voters to protest and vote.
To do what? Ban combustion engines to force everybody to change their individual carbon footprint? Any sort of actually massive climate legislation is going to impact a lot of peoples life directly.
To do what? Ban combustion engines to force everybody to change their individual carbon footprint? Any sort of actually massive climate legislation is going to impact a lot of peoples life directly.
You’re arguing that we shouldn’t vote for legislation to prevent climate change because it is going to impact people’s lives?
And instead we should just hope that 100% of the worlds population just does the right thing?
Remember when we tried to get people to wear masks during the pandemic?
That appoach doesn’t work. That’s why the fossil fuel industry is paying marketing firms to convince the public to focus on their individual carbon footprint.
