www.nytimes.com/…
I hope Daily Kos readers will look at this excellent NYT editorial by Emma Marris.
We all need to be taking action on this issue. And the main point here, carefully laid out in terms that I consider indisputable, is this:
You cannot fix this problem by making lifestyle changes. Your lifestyle changes are welcome, but if they are accompanied by shame, either of yourself or others, they are doing more harm than good.
Yes, our daily lives are undoubtedly contributing to climate change. But that’s because the rich and powerful have constructed systems that make it nearly impossible to live lightly on the earth. … And yet we blame ourselves for not being green enough. … As the climate essayist Mary Annaïse Heglar writes, “The belief that this enormous, existential problem could have been fixed if all of us had just tweaked our consumptive habits is not only preposterous; it’s dangerous.”
The Heglar link in Vox is well worth following, too. Of the shame-game, she says:
When you consider that the same IPCC report outlined that the vast majority of global greenhouse gas emissions come from just a handful of corporations — aided and abetted by the world’s most powerful governments, including the US — it’s victim blaming, plain and simple.
There is something you can do, and it’s super important. If you have the time and energy, hook up with one of the many groups that are fighting this at the level it needs to be fought at, in order to make any real difference. Several of those groups are listed in Marris’s editorial.
And yes, the Republicans need to be fired. Sacked. Removed from every possible office in the nation, as their climate denial is an enormous part of the problem. Our individual votes will help; getting out the vote and encouraging others to do so will help more.
A note about your comments:
I welcome thoughtful, insightful comments. I appreciate appreciation. I don’t mind if you disagree with me, but if you engage in name-calling or put-downs, even implicitly, I will ignore your comment completely. That’s my way of saying please don’t bother me with that stuff. Just be respectful, is all I’m asking. And while you’re at it, do the same for all other Kos writers — even the ones you disagree with.
Thank you.