> The only way to do anything is to sacrifice something.
I think this narrative is not correct, or at least makes it seem like climate change will only get solved if we stop being consumerists. There is no need to be that negative, and I find that it hurts the chances we we will actually solve climate change. I get the disillusionment, I do (especially working on it every day).
Food production and distribution for 8 billion people (alone) is about 30% of climate change. So, even if we stopped everything else, climate change would still happen (albeit a bit slower). Even if we all switched to a low carbon intensity diet and literally did nothing else, it would still happen.
There are plenty of ways to mitigate climate change. For better or worse, we live in a capitalist society, and those ways are not generally profitable. However, that means (correctly) pricing carbon into our goods and services will accomplish what you want.
Anyway, I have found most folks who want to do something have never even written their representatives (which takes minutes, minutes!). Tell them you want a revenue neutral carbon tax, or pick something you think works better.
I think this solution (pricing externalities into product cost) is rational and correct but ultimately doomed. If you could keep it going for a couple generations it might eventually be ok but it's impossible for a politician to decide that pork is now 3 times as expensive and expect to get reelected. Their opponents will cast them as a 'east coast elite' gouging good Americans to pay for woke environmentalism. It's utterly impossible. We've stupided ourselves into a corner playing tribal politics.
At this point ecological disaster is probably the timeline we deserve. Last one out turn off the lights.
I abandoned the thought of "writing to representative" a while back. I can write them a hundred letters that got read by some interns and compiled into a table that at best get a glance. Or a lobbyist can pay $10000 and get a full 2h saying their piece to them over dinner.
Like I said, those who cares already tried. And it has been proven that it isn't enough. The politicians know very well how the environment is and what will come out of it. They aren't stupid. But let be honest here, if your ultimate goal is to be reelected, would you raise tax and implement disruptive measures that does not bring immediate benefits? Your policies would get scrapped within one term by your successor.
Looking at the data we know that drastic changes are coming and they are inevitable. There is no realistic way to avoid it. You can tax all the companies to bankruptcy tomorrow and it would change nothing. That is a fact. So what is it that you propose to be the solution today? Personally, I think it is cruel to make people spend the last of their few years suffering for nothing instead of letting them enjoy it. Either way, we will all suffer in a couple decades anyway. What is the point...
> The only way to do anything is to sacrifice something.
I think this narrative is not correct, or at least makes it seem like climate change will only get solved if we stop being consumerists. There is no need to be that negative, and I find that it hurts the chances we we will actually solve climate change. I get the disillusionment, I do (especially working on it every day).
Food production and distribution for 8 billion people (alone) is about 30% of climate change. So, even if we stopped everything else, climate change would still happen (albeit a bit slower). Even if we all switched to a low carbon intensity diet and literally did nothing else, it would still happen.
There are plenty of ways to mitigate climate change. For better or worse, we live in a capitalist society, and those ways are not generally profitable. However, that means (correctly) pricing carbon into our goods and services will accomplish what you want.
Anyway, I have found most folks who want to do something have never even written their representatives (which takes minutes, minutes!). Tell them you want a revenue neutral carbon tax, or pick something you think works better.