Do I Make Good Climate Choices?
This is a really difficult question to answer and it raises a lot of ideas by asking it. I would say that I make okay, but not great, climate choices. The main ways that I live a climate conscious lifestyle are in my clothing and in my eating. I have been vegetarian for a long time and try to eat as sustainably as possible. I also like to buy and eat local food and most of my food comes from local places. However no one can be a perfectly climate minded consumer. I also don’t buy many new clothes which helps reduce clothing waste and the emissions from new clothing. I ride my bike all the time but I drive, too. While these things make a difference it is really minuscule in comparison to the climate crisis as a whole. I could be the most climate conscious person ever but it really would not make a huge difference.
This is the point where this question gets really interesting to me. Does it even matter if we go vegan, thrift, or use energy efficient travel methods? I think it does but it leaves out several important parts of the climate equation. The first is collective action. If everyone is climate conscious it might actually make a difference. Just because I personally won’t reverse climate change doesn’t make my efforts futile nor does it mean I shouldn’t try. We all have to do our part. Secondly, the question leaves out the impact of the huge corporations that got us in this mess. We won’t be able to get out of this mess without them. They will have to cut their emissions and stop polluting our planet for anything to change. So perhaps the most climate concise thing I can do is to not support the big companies who don’t support our planet.
I do think that the question you pose in your second paragraph is a hard one to answer, and I do think you answer it (or at least deeply consider it) well. However, I think that your two points you use to answer the question are vastly different ones- which isn't a bad thing, just an observation. I think what you're getting at with your two points is the fact that while we do have to be grounded in the reality of climate change and make our best effort day-to-day, we also have to be conscientious of the bigger picture that we're effectively fighting alongside with our small acts of service.
ReplyDeleteMadeleine, I agree. I believe that corporations hold the most power in this situation and the only way we can really effectively combat climate change is with corporate support and action. It can easily feel like as human beings, our actions are so miniscule in the bigger picture and they hardly make a ripple that matters in the long run. I think the importance in small environmental acts doesn't lie in "making ripples", it lies in inspiring others to become more environmentally conscious. So yes, at the end of the day even the tiniest efforts are valuable.
ReplyDeleteI think doing your part and making lifestyle choices like yours are extremely important. While it can feel like we as individuals have no power or that alone our actions don't make an impact, they do. There's the stereotype about vegans always talking about their diet, but that's how you raise awareness and spread information! Going vegetarian and talking to your friends and family about plant-based substitutes is a great way to spread a movement and at least cut some meat out of other people's diets. As for corporations, I totally agree with you. They need to be held accountable for their impact on the climate.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is very frustrating to feel that you are not responsible for the major carbon emissions in our world, especially when the corporations that are most to blame do not address or even attempt to adjust their policies and carbon emissions. It is really easy to get into the frame of mind where you feel that you're fighting a battle that you will always lose. I think that your choices that you have made in your personal life do have an effect, though! Your actions and state of mind do have an impact on those around you, whether you see it. I've seen that in my choice to become vegetarian has inspired and encouraged some of my friends to become one as well. So even if it's not a colossal change, I think that your climate choices are still very important and have small ripples in Champaign.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog post! I definitely agree with the point you make about how it can be confusing or even frustrating to think that if you as an individual are making great climate choices, is it really making a difference. I try to be very conscious about my climate choices, but it can be discouraging when I think about how insignificant my efforts may be in the grand scheme of everyone else and their attempts. It is great that you bring up the point that YES, your efforts matter because your efforts are still one more attempt at bettering the environment. I am glad you wrote this because people need to know that if everyone has the mindset that no matter how small their platform is or how insignificant their efforts feel in comparison to others attempts, they can still make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI chose the same prompt and felt similar frustrations. So often on social media I feel like we are guilt tripped into thinking our actions are to blame for large scale climate change which simply isn't true. Like you say, it's still important to reflect on our own decisions to be as environmentally friendly as possible, but it's just as important to hold large corporations accountable for their own actions.
ReplyDeleteYou second paragraph raises a great question. It is so easy to feel stuck while trying to help. It is frustrating to see so many things that you cannot change happen in front of you. It shows how important it is to be climate friendly as a consumer, but to also put pressure on the companies who are big polluters.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the points you make in this post, and I have personally often asked "well what difference does it make" when eating a burger or throwing out something I could've recycled. It's a pretty convenient excuse to get out of being a more conscientious citizen. But as you said, saying stuff like this defeats the purpose of collective action.
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