OTTAWA – A large majority of Canadians are worried about climate change and believe it is the reason for an increase in extreme weather, a new national poll suggests. But the Leger poll says onl...
How many of those 7 out of 10 are eating a plant based diet? Avoid using motor vehicles? Avoid flying and cruises? Buy secondhand goods whenever possible? Use clean energy?
We can all be “worried”, but inaction at an individual level isn’t helping the problem. Blaming corporations who pollute is only shifting blame, but we are all responsible for what’s been happening, and what will happen, to our climate.
That’s the same argument as arguing as Canada doesn’t have to do anything about climate change because China and India can fix it on their own with their bigger population. We have to make some changes on the individual level to be good role models and to pressure those same corporations
I disagree with the “blame all the individuals”, but those O&G companies are destroying the planet because they have customers. Somebody buys the gasoline, the fertilizer that becomes cattle-feed, the airline-tickets that consume the fuel.
At the same time billions of people live paycheck to paycheck and they can’t afford to vote for the future with their wallets, because they have to vote for their survival right now. Demand pressure is essential but we can’t rely on just that.
Edit.: Not saying that you’re implying otherwise, I just think it’s important to add that any demand drop will be mild at best in the short term, negligible at worst, and we need to go fast so policy is necessary.
Right. I’m not prescribing how the supply should look. Whether it’s a mass deregulation and turning the entire green belt into a trailer park and importing a crapload of mobile homes, or whether we go top-down and start building Khrushchyovkas, or we invent a complicated system of co-ops, or we nationalize every hotel in Canada, whatever strategy that we take: we need a crapload more rental housing, and at least some of it will need to specifically target the most vulnerable because it’s going to take time to properly drive down rents system-wide and there are people for whom this is an emergency.
Yes, some companies are just awful, but we are supporting them with our lifestyle. Our choices affect their bottom line, and often force them to do better (or worse) depending on how we spend our money.
Yeah, the method for those 8.1 bil to organize together to affect meaningful change exists already — it’s called countries passing laws to stop corporations.
Covid and the vaccine was a microcosm for societal behavior. A small percent of the population just won’t give a fuck. The majority will do a thing based on self preservation. A small percent will do a thing for the collective interest.
The tough thing about climate change is there isn’t an immediate and tangible threat. There’s no virus in your face. It’s a long slow erosion of the living planet. In that sense it’s very difficult to convince people to act out of self preservation. There’s no queuing for an inoculation and you’re done. You saved the world too. Give yourself a pat on the back. The species as a whole has to modify its behavior with out immediate personal gain. That’s a tough proposition.
Especially for us. The part of the world that exports its pollution from both ends. Manufacturing exists out of sight out of mind. Disposal exists out of sight out of mind. We’re the global NIMBYs.
Being worried does nothing at all.
How many of those 7 out of 10 are eating a plant based diet? Avoid using motor vehicles? Avoid flying and cruises? Buy secondhand goods whenever possible? Use clean energy?
We can all be “worried”, but inaction at an individual level isn’t helping the problem. Blaming corporations who pollute is only shifting blame, but we are all responsible for what’s been happening, and what will happen, to our climate.
Action at the individual level does a great fuck-all when O&G companies are raping our planet for shareholder value at an accelerated rate.
That’s the same argument as arguing as Canada doesn’t have to do anything about climate change because China and India can fix it on their own with their bigger population. We have to make some changes on the individual level to be good role models and to pressure those same corporations
I disagree with the “blame all the individuals”, but those O&G companies are destroying the planet because they have customers. Somebody buys the gasoline, the fertilizer that becomes cattle-feed, the airline-tickets that consume the fuel.
If demand dropped, so would their profits.
At the same time billions of people live paycheck to paycheck and they can’t afford to vote for the future with their wallets, because they have to vote for their survival right now. Demand pressure is essential but we can’t rely on just that.
Edit.: Not saying that you’re implying otherwise, I just think it’s important to add that any demand drop will be mild at best in the short term, negligible at worst, and we need to go fast so policy is necessary.
Right. I’m not prescribing how the supply should look. Whether it’s a mass deregulation and turning the entire green belt into a trailer park and importing a crapload of mobile homes, or whether we go top-down and start building Khrushchyovkas, or we invent a complicated system of co-ops, or we nationalize every hotel in Canada, whatever strategy that we take: we need a crapload more rental housing, and at least some of it will need to specifically target the most vulnerable because it’s going to take time to properly drive down rents system-wide and there are people for whom this is an emergency.
Individual x 8.1 billion = significant change.
Yes, some companies are just awful, but we are supporting them with our lifestyle. Our choices affect their bottom line, and often force them to do better (or worse) depending on how we spend our money.
Yeah, the method for those 8.1 bil to organize together to affect meaningful change exists already — it’s called countries passing laws to stop corporations.
Stop them from doing what? Providing goods and services to 8.1 billion people?
lol
a collectivist environmentalist, a practical environmentalist, and someone clueless about pollution and extractivism walk into a bar…
An onlooker shouts, “How did they not see it?”
I refuse to believe that you’re this stupid.
Believe what you want, I guess. To spend my time on an Internet forum over doing something useful does necessarily require me to be quite stupid.
Tell us, how does raping the planet create shareholder value?
Covid and the vaccine was a microcosm for societal behavior. A small percent of the population just won’t give a fuck. The majority will do a thing based on self preservation. A small percent will do a thing for the collective interest.
The tough thing about climate change is there isn’t an immediate and tangible threat. There’s no virus in your face. It’s a long slow erosion of the living planet. In that sense it’s very difficult to convince people to act out of self preservation. There’s no queuing for an inoculation and you’re done. You saved the world too. Give yourself a pat on the back. The species as a whole has to modify its behavior with out immediate personal gain. That’s a tough proposition.
Especially for us. The part of the world that exports its pollution from both ends. Manufacturing exists out of sight out of mind. Disposal exists out of sight out of mind. We’re the global NIMBYs.
deleted by creator