@aral
I joined a recycling program oddly, didn't save the world...
I reinsulated my house - didn't save the world...
I changed my lightbulbs - didn't save the world...
Changed my van for a Mini - didn't...
Got a heat pump...didn't.
These were distractions from the scale of the changes needed.
Govt is meant to restrain the powerful for the common good...
Those bastards need some powerful restrainin'!
Boycott!
Strike!
Vote!
We all need to do bigger things!
@aral yes it's constantly presented as a personal or consumer choice as if climate change could be solved by the shopping and recycling habits of 8.5bn people most of whom don't have valid choices even if they had agency.
@aral I would love to see updated data since this story is from six years ago, but the point remains that the rich are destroying the planet and blaming us for it. I would hazard a guess that the disparity is every greater nowadays. #EatTheRich
@aral not that this isnt still important but this article is 5 years old.
But maybe now people are ready to do what it takes to bring those corporations down.
@aral
Is there any other economic system other than capitalism in existence? I know the PRC has the CCP, but we all know they're not communists. The world has many Socialist parties, but I would be hard-pressed to name one Socialist economy. I read we've reprogressed to a stage of techno-capitalist-feudalism, which Marx never could have imagined. Is the future inherently difficult or simply impossible to predict?
I trust the inexorable march of History. I see progress over the long arch of Time. Humanity is like a child, learns through failure, needs goals and guidance, and must keep its eye on some primal loveliness for comfort in its solitude, for hope, and inspiration. The debate over ownership of the commons is at the heart of the economic debate; it is the greatest challenge we face. All else is smoke and mirrors, a distraction from the plight and progress of One Human Family.
@aral What companies produce those emissions is less relevant than the output, with the real question being if it can be replaced with greener energy.
If fossil fuels are feeding and heating 8 billion people, then shaming the top X companies involved is not only disingenuous but akin to shaming people for existing and for creating the demand.
I find it disingenuous when people don't talk about the elephant in the room.
@aral Sadly people have woken up and mobilised themselves and then came the #green#capitalism parties ( Ex: German greens ) which hardly bother about real issues affecting the environment.
@aral It is a personal responsibility issue... It's the personal responsibility of those people who are billionaires ... No matter how small I make my "carbon footprint" even "everyone who makes less than 10 times what I do" we couldn't make a big enough change to really make a difference.
@aral Every mile you do with your ICE car, every trip you make in a plane, every 38°C shower you have, every time you warm your house, you are part of the equation.
Those big COs are producing the energy you burn. You can blame them, but you are just deflecting your responsibility.
@aral Yes, though it’s not one or the other - all interlinked. beheviour change can impact policy, and we hwve sonlittle time that we cannot wait for policy to curb corporations, we need #EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce.
We should also distinguish, some people have much higher personal responsibility than others. Those in public eye who don’t change high carbon lifestyles suggest all is fine to millions of others.
@aral thank you so much for including the link! Most people don't, which gives the mistaken impression that those 100 petroleum producers actually consume the fossil fuels.
The article shows that the fossil fuel industry is wildly concentrated. Economically this is terrible, but it gives activist investors an opportunity to put pressure on a relatively small number of companies.
Many of the top producers and refiners are state-owned, however, and don't have shareholders to be responsible to.
@aral also, the idea that because most oil is produced by just 100 companies, individual action doesn't matter, is really mistaken.
Please don't spread that misinformation! Fossil fuel companies want you to get climate depressed, and intentionally spread gloom and doom to discourage action.
Individual action matters a lot. I wrote a blog post about it here:
@aral both those things are true - while it is a billionaires crisis, it is also a personal responsibility crisis - those companies are delivering good and services mostly to the billion or so people in the global middle class (income eg. US$20000-300000 annually). As long as we pay them, they'll continue to do it
@aral
Very true. But that doesn't take away from the fact that personal action can be an act of political resistance. Especially if you organize and get other people to take personal action. Not flying for holidays, not owning a car, eating plants instead of animals, getting solar panels etc. are still all meaningful actions that are helpful.
@aral The climate crisis is Tragedy of the Commons on a global scale.
"If an individual acts in their best interest, it can result in harmful over-consumption to the detriment of all. This phenomenon may result in under-investment and total depletion of a shared resource. "
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