Rob Greenfield

[Flowerfaeiry]

Great resource for sustainable living ideas. He takes it the extreme and has done some interesting experiments such as wearing all the trash he created and forraging/growing 100% of his food for a year. 

Although we don't all need to live as minimally as he does, it is inspiring and gives ideas for how we can always strive to consume more mindfully. 

 

[Philipp]

I like him a lot. He is very pragmatic and inspiring.

But you know. He is just a stage green dreamer, who will not change anything, cause the solution to climate change will never consist of individual efforts like his. hehe

[Flowerfaeiry]

6 hours ago, Philipp said:

who will not change anything cause the solution to climate change will never consist of individual efforts like his.

I see what you're saying, and. individual efforts are important.  Especially from someone with such high integrity. Truly leading by example. 

[Philipp]

Maybe individual efforts are indeed important, I mean climate change will be a long battle and you learn behaviors by watching others , And at some point we will need to learn to control our consumption anyways, maybe not as much as he does, but to a certain extant.

[Flowerfaeiry]

@Philipp yes of course. It's not so much about how extreme you can get. More subtly, it's about turning our mindset away from consumerism. 

[Roy]

On 7/25/2021 at 4:57 PM, Philipp said:

But you know. He is just a stage green dreamer, who will not change anything, cause the solution to climate change will never consist of individual efforts like his. hehe

I see these kinds of statements wayyy too much and they are part of the problem, not the solution. Anytime the topic comes up in the public sphere now it seems this is all people want to say. While it may be technically right that large corporations need to desperately change their practices, through social pressure and regulation from the government - It will take a cultural shift that needs to be spring boarded by individuals that believe change is even possible, which starts at the smallest level of personal choices (what you buy, what you use, etc.)

I think a lot of people just buy into and repeat the narrative because it provides an unconscious gratification that they are factually right (stage orange), and it also conveniently lets them off the hook from making any changes THEMSELVES, by divulging responsibility to government, businesses, and other big polluters............

Not to forget to mention that those colossal collectives are simply made up of people, who are ran by people, and depend on people for their revenue. If enough people stopped purchasing their products they would collapse, period. There is some kind of fallacy or spell that plagues the conversation, that they are somehow "disconnected" from society and can't be influenced by anything other than democracy (which sucks, is undependable, slow, and corrupted by capitalism btw). Nothing could be further from the truth.

I'd argue if we are going to have ANY chance it'll be from grass roots activism pushing cultural change, and unfortunately (but probably necessarily) eco-terrorism/violent revolution. From the "little guy" realizing exactly how much power they have. We can't get there though if people keep acting dispelling of hope and pretending that it's only going to be "someone else" who is going to save us, or some magic technology we're going to pull out of our ass at the last moment, even though it's technology that got us into this mess.....

I'm just a little sick of people bitching and moaning that there is nothing we can do, or that it's pointless. You have to ask what right do you have to complain if YOU aren't doing anything or giving an effort? The only way real change will be made in the world, large or small, is by leading by example and being a source of inspiration to others. Nobody is going to realize they have any power by listening to a hypocrite. Not targeting you specifically btw @Philipp idk you or what your lifestyle is like, but rather reacting to the context of your statement in the cultural zeitgeist.

And in the end if everything goes to shit and our efforts didn't change the big picture?

Well that's too bad, but at least your corner and community of the Earth is a little greener.

 

[WaterDroplet--00]

On 25/07/2021 at 4:37 PM, Flowerfaeiry said:

He takes it the extreme

They are the antonym of Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the chocolate factory. Everything is edible.  

[Philipp]

@Roy I actually said that this doesn't change anything, because this is a common opinion among Leo and other people on the forum, who think in terms of spiral dynamics. 

Personally I dont know. Most people do nothing for the climate and forget their morals as soon as they want something. Then it has to be  cheap and easy. This won't change that quickly. So government measures is the only thing that really maters.

I agree that most people use this as an excuse to not think about climate change ("nothing can be done anyway"), but in some way they are right. Just because you became a climate messiah with 0 carbon footprint will not change the behavior of people around the world. The behavior of people around the world will change when their old behavior becomes illegal.