I don't want to give up eggs. I like them too much. I even eat steaks, good ones, every two weeks or so. Does that make me a sinner? What I do is kindly smile and gently confront people, even if I hardly know them, when they get Foxy. I say things like "you're too smart to believe that shit, aren't you." I ask my older friends why they are thinking of moving to Florida when they know it will be under water, and that the people put a lunatic in charge he doesn't seem to want old radicals, Black people, gay people, Jews, or women with opinions. I keep writing to my Congressperson. local papers, every site I can get on online, and even the G-D DOJ, and ask them where the hell are the indictments, or do Republicans all get out of jail free? I have more money than you so I give a lot of it to people who will do screaming, picketing, and canvassing in places I'm too tired to go. It's a schlep at my age. I have promises to keep to my grandchildren. I want them to live in country that is safe, healthy, harmonious, and prosperous. Right now I've got a lot of work to do.
Maybe the hard part is thinking one's way through all the nonsense flying around out there. You already have got your priorities clear, and have thought about implications and next steps. My observation is that most have not, and may well not ever get through even looking at the implications of our lives in the developed world.
I don't believe you understood it. For those who consistently wear a well-fitting N95-quality mask, the masks work quite well.
On a population level, mask mandates didn't work very well, presumably because people were too ignorant to follow the actual guidelines. Everywhere I went in the heart of the pandemic, I'd be one of the few to actually be wearing a good mask. Other yahoos ran around breathing and sharing the air.
The truth is some of us do well in some areas and not so well in others. I'm good with eating mostly beans, lentils, oatmeal, potatoes and veggies in season. I'm good with hanging up all my laundry, driving small old cars, wearing the same clothing for many years and so forth. I do, however, waste a lot of energy to heat this old house. I tell myself it's good to keep these old houses instead of tearing them down and using a lot of resources to build a new house (plus I could never afford a new house) but I don't know if there's a good answer.
Spot on, humans have spent too long bragging about being top of the 'food chain' with little thought to what that actually means; we rely on every creature and plant below us existing healthily in order for us to exist. The thing that angers me the most is that those who refuse to change their ways, refuse to be slightly inconvenienced, won't be around when the sh*t really hits the fan. Most will be long dead, having lived a life of excess and greed at the expense of their offspring and the health of the planet.
This is a great essay, Jessica. It reflects much of what I'm writing about as well and I often encounter these types of arguments when talking to people.
So in a Vox video essay about the American West mega drought, they mentioned how residential use of water was like 6%, corporation use was 8% and the rest of the use was from agricultural use, with a whopping 14% going to raising alfalfa for livestock fodder. And yet, as the video demonstrates at the beginning, the public focus was reducing water consumption in residential and corporate sections. When corporate agriculture gets water, they get water and the smaller family farms tag along for the ride hoping they don’t get caught.
Even though we should do our part to conserve just for the need of long-term survival, we shouldn’t act like our actions will save us. It’s nothing more than rearranging deck chairs while the HMS Earth hits the climate iceberg.
"It wouldn’t be hard to put brakes on trains and make sure they’re actually working before you load them up with toxic chemicals." Indeed.
-----------------------------------------
Would anyone be sleeping at night if all the near misses of crazy bad disasters of any kind were not occasionally spotted and fixed by rank and file underpaid, and underappreciated staff? My guess is there are multitudes of near disasters with big or small bad outcomes that are mere microns away from going off. However, many situations are noticed and maybe fixed before becoming a worse situation. Usually many potential disasters are noticed by working peons and not the owners of industry, the little things the owners notice is when their profits start going under double digits. That is they think they are facing an existential crisis. Not much else matters climbing the ladder of dominance at the top of an empire like ours.
When I tell them what I have done they stop talking to me, but my efforts have not gained any traction among those who just want.
But as you say, even small efforts can help a lot and actually be more rewarding than flat Earth consumerism that seems to be exactly like you describe it to be in your country.
Australians have probably watched more movies from the USA than from any other country for decades and it seems that the globalised world is dominated by self interested people.
This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, from Pirke Avot: "It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it."
I don't want to give up eggs. I like them too much. I even eat steaks, good ones, every two weeks or so. Does that make me a sinner? What I do is kindly smile and gently confront people, even if I hardly know them, when they get Foxy. I say things like "you're too smart to believe that shit, aren't you." I ask my older friends why they are thinking of moving to Florida when they know it will be under water, and that the people put a lunatic in charge he doesn't seem to want old radicals, Black people, gay people, Jews, or women with opinions. I keep writing to my Congressperson. local papers, every site I can get on online, and even the G-D DOJ, and ask them where the hell are the indictments, or do Republicans all get out of jail free? I have more money than you so I give a lot of it to people who will do screaming, picketing, and canvassing in places I'm too tired to go. It's a schlep at my age. I have promises to keep to my grandchildren. I want them to live in country that is safe, healthy, harmonious, and prosperous. Right now I've got a lot of work to do.
Maybe the hard part is thinking one's way through all the nonsense flying around out there. You already have got your priorities clear, and have thought about implications and next steps. My observation is that most have not, and may well not ever get through even looking at the implications of our lives in the developed world.
Your read gets better with every post. I get such a sense of affirmation with your thoughts. Thank you.
I don't believe you understood it. For those who consistently wear a well-fitting N95-quality mask, the masks work quite well.
On a population level, mask mandates didn't work very well, presumably because people were too ignorant to follow the actual guidelines. Everywhere I went in the heart of the pandemic, I'd be one of the few to actually be wearing a good mask. Other yahoos ran around breathing and sharing the air.
The truth is some of us do well in some areas and not so well in others. I'm good with eating mostly beans, lentils, oatmeal, potatoes and veggies in season. I'm good with hanging up all my laundry, driving small old cars, wearing the same clothing for many years and so forth. I do, however, waste a lot of energy to heat this old house. I tell myself it's good to keep these old houses instead of tearing them down and using a lot of resources to build a new house (plus I could never afford a new house) but I don't know if there's a good answer.
Spot on, humans have spent too long bragging about being top of the 'food chain' with little thought to what that actually means; we rely on every creature and plant below us existing healthily in order for us to exist. The thing that angers me the most is that those who refuse to change their ways, refuse to be slightly inconvenienced, won't be around when the sh*t really hits the fan. Most will be long dead, having lived a life of excess and greed at the expense of their offspring and the health of the planet.
This is a great essay, Jessica. It reflects much of what I'm writing about as well and I often encounter these types of arguments when talking to people.
So in a Vox video essay about the American West mega drought, they mentioned how residential use of water was like 6%, corporation use was 8% and the rest of the use was from agricultural use, with a whopping 14% going to raising alfalfa for livestock fodder. And yet, as the video demonstrates at the beginning, the public focus was reducing water consumption in residential and corporate sections. When corporate agriculture gets water, they get water and the smaller family farms tag along for the ride hoping they don’t get caught.
Even though we should do our part to conserve just for the need of long-term survival, we shouldn’t act like our actions will save us. It’s nothing more than rearranging deck chairs while the HMS Earth hits the climate iceberg.
"It wouldn’t be hard to put brakes on trains and make sure they’re actually working before you load them up with toxic chemicals." Indeed.
-----------------------------------------
Would anyone be sleeping at night if all the near misses of crazy bad disasters of any kind were not occasionally spotted and fixed by rank and file underpaid, and underappreciated staff? My guess is there are multitudes of near disasters with big or small bad outcomes that are mere microns away from going off. However, many situations are noticed and maybe fixed before becoming a worse situation. Usually many potential disasters are noticed by working peons and not the owners of industry, the little things the owners notice is when their profits start going under double digits. That is they think they are facing an existential crisis. Not much else matters climbing the ladder of dominance at the top of an empire like ours.
When I tell them what I have done they stop talking to me, but my efforts have not gained any traction among those who just want.
But as you say, even small efforts can help a lot and actually be more rewarding than flat Earth consumerism that seems to be exactly like you describe it to be in your country.
Australians have probably watched more movies from the USA than from any other country for decades and it seems that the globalised world is dominated by self interested people.
More seem to be waking up now.
Thank you
It's prisoner's dilemma. On a very big scale.
Game Theory was implemented into our economy back in the Nixon era? Ish. The conditions it creates grows narcissist/ sociopath types like weeds.
So well expressed
What do you mean by "use less water"? What should I be drinking instead? Coffee? Lemonade?
I'm not trying to be obtuse, I'm trying to understand.
This is all just self-congratulation and virtue signaling.
This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, from Pirke Avot: "It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it."
Thank you Jessica🙏