re: saving the planet
I read a good post by Nick today, whose blog I always enjoy. I just wanted to add my own cents and experience to the issue:
I really understand this perspective and hold it partially myself - big industries are almost impossible to contain and control by normal people, and it's been harder and harder as a consumer to have meaningful choice when a large amount of products is in the hands of the same few unethical companies and it's made as intransparent as possible. Economic hardship is forcing more and more people to go against their own values by having to purchase the cheapest, most unethical goods to survive, or to feel good. Despite being critical of government and mostly holding anarchist views, I recognize that in the current system we live in, strong government might be needed to contain companies and CEOs that become more powerful than governments and can seemingly take over them easily (as seen in the US). It's not ideal though, and it's easy to feel powerless in the face of this and it's not healthy to feel guilty for the things we have no choice over each day.
So I also want to hold a bit against this perspective because I know it all too well from people around me. I had people in my life tell me they'll continue their consumer behavior (that they were easily in the position to change) until it is outlawed, despite fully agreeing with me on the environmental and social consequences and being politically aligned with me. It's easy to point up and say that the vast majority of environmental destruction (deforestation, pollution, carbon emissions, habitat loss) is caused by large industries and not yourself, but it's harder to acknowledge who is funding these large industries. Aside from investments of rich people and governments, which is of course not your fault, that is your money in their pockets because you buy their products. They would produce less of it if there was no demand.
This is where my and Nick's opinion intersect, I think, because I agree we need stricter laws and accountability for the things we rely on and can't cut out or reduce. Oil is a big thing here. But what about the rest, like fast fashion, or meat consumption?
The value of the global meat sector was estimated to value at 1460 billion U.S. dollars in 20241. Meat consumption is one of the leading factors of climate change and deforestation, and not all of this consumption is by rich elites. That's everyday people that these industries supply; many of whom, especially privileged ones in the West, could make a change. I hear excuse after excuse from many people as they point to others who can't reduce meat or even go vegan. They'll be like "there are disabled people who need it, there are poor people who can't afford veggies, there are indigenous tribes whose culture would be destroyed, there are food deserts" while being neither disabled, nor indigenous, poor, or in a food desert. We can't always point to the ones who can't, we should recognize the parts where we can and make up for those who can't. And we can't always point at people who are doing much worse, I fear that won't get us anywhere. With flying, for example - our flying is a blip compared to people like Taylor Swift and their private jets. But I'm not looking at extreme littering on the street and throw mine on top, too, and our society and planet would be worse off if we treated everything like this. So no, we are not the ones dumping waste into oceans, overfishing, or bulldozing habitats, but we're paying people to do it for us because we want that meat and fish and that Amazon logistics center for our purchases and we export the garbage we generate doing so.
In regards to fast fashion and adjacent industries like Temu and AliExpress, they are the giants people point to without wanting to acknowledge who is funding them. The defense is usually that it's needed because poor people need to buy things, but if that were the only consumers, they would not be this successful. They rely on people buying shit they don't need and reinventing themselves over and over and throwing stuff away when it's no longer aesthetic. They also thrive on bad quality and you having to rebuy it, as well as influencers (especially small, wanna-be ones) marketing an overconsumption lifestyle via haul videos or useless niche gadgets. Through and through, these are people like you and me causing the bulk of the profits and I'd bet 99% of purchases are not necessary and get dumped on a landfill pretty soon.
It's a difficult topic for sure, and one that requires a lot of nuance and taking into account the different life circumstances. I just don't want to rely on government only to make a change, especially because every four years or so, things can be undone, and then what?
I can only speak for myself, but adjusting my consumer behavior to my values as much as is possible for me in my position isn't misdirecting me, it's keeping me focused, actually. It's making me aware again and again of what world I want, what I stand for, what I personally fund and my impact. I hold governments and industries accountable as much as is possible for me through recycling, veganism, not having a car, not flying, etc. and demand systemic change to the options given to me (voting and money, which are not enough, but hey). That doesn't mean I am never frustrated or feeling hopeless or like it's all for nothing, of course.
I see an impact on a smaller scale, at least: I am able to afford many of the vegan replacement options, which means I am a regular consumer of them and my supermarket is more likely to keep it stocked. That means it's also stocked for people who just want to try it, or who can only afford it very rarely. The same is happening for electric car sharing rentals, public transport and more. Me doing or being all these things publicly and vocally is showing how it can be done if you're in the same or similar position as me, and that there are people next to you fighting the same fight.
And to be honest, I don't actually believe corporations or governments earnestly push a narrative to save the planet - else they'd change, enact more laws or invest more wisely. It's again a profit thing, because they'll ride on a green trend, do some greenwashing, and hope to earn more money by rebranding and some paper straw sales. Carbon emission certificates ("Carbon credits") are another money generator and are factually inefficient. As governments are continually shoveling money into the car industry, the flying industry, meat industry and more, no, they actually don't want you to save the planet, they want you to keep consuming like you always have so the companies that are lobbying don't get sad. They'll continue to subsidize these industries so they're more affordable and the default, while trying to suppress the rest, so exactly people like us both feel like we can't do it due to other economic pressures and exhaustion.
It's unfortunate, but really, we have no time to wait anymore until the right governments come along and even stay long enough for lasting change; all we have is each other.
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Published 25 Feb, 2025