You don’t think individual action works? How about any action at all?

October 24, 2022 by Joshua
in Leadership, Nature

Context: People consistently push back on the suggestion of them acting more sustainably, especially environmentalists and liberals, claiming that individual action doesn’t achieve meaningful results, as if acting sustainably was a burden or chore.

Since when did acting in harmony with nature become so onerous? Why pretend to care about the environment if you don’t like it so much?

New view: How about any action at all?

Nearly no American is doing anything meaningful. Most who think they are doing something meaningful are doing counterproductive things where they mean well but achieve the opposite, what I call “stepping on the gas, thinking it’s the brake, wanting congratulations.” People who don’t understand systems don’t see how, for example, carbon offsets increase greenhouse emissions.

But most are doing nothing. They justify and rationalize keeping doing what they were doing: “I have to balance,” “I have faith that people smarter than me will figure it out,” “BP wants us to focus on us so we don’t look at them, so I won’t change,” and other bullshit.

How about doing anything at all?

Bullshit rationalization and self-serving, fatuous, specious justification don’t count.

How about doing anything at all?

calvin

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