Discussion Giving a crap about the environment

[freedompass]

I wondered whether there are any eco warriors here. Are you or have you ever been? As a not especially pro social person with a rather negative evaluation of life on this planet (self professed nature hater here) I do the minimum to satisfy my conscience. I have one recycling bin and don’t bother collecting food waste separately, it goes in the regular garbage. People like my friend who won’t drink out of a takeaway cup kind of irritate me even though I ‘know’ they’re right.

However. Last week I received a notice through my letterbox saying the local authority (council) will be removing the mature plane tree opposite my house. Finally I was galvanised into action and a flurry of posts on a neighbourhood site followed with a huge and enthusiastic response. So I guess I am now a (somewhat reluctant) tree activist lol because this affects me, this tree is my personal friend and I have to defend it!

Greta Thunberg needn’t feel threatened. My nihilistic, efilistic apathy is always waiting in the wings. If there are calls I can make, emails to write and a WhatsApp group to take part in I’m up for that. Will I attend Zoom meetings, go out and physically occupy the tree or, shock horror, talk to my neighbours? Probably not.

I’m interested whether you feel your suicidality impacts on how you think or act regarding the planet and environmental matters. Or doesn’t, as the case may be. Have you lost enthusiasm for eco causes over time? Do you hope the planet self destructs and the human race goes extinct? Where do you stand?

 

[Thomas_Europe]

Nope, I don´t care about the planet and the eco-taliban. I love flying and I am not a shamed about it... But there is still hope for the big comet to hit ;-)

 

[western_heart]

I want our planet to be a nice place to live and want it to remain habitable in the future.

I try to make good choices (hybrid car, clean electric supplier, buying more eco friendly and efficient items when available) but I am still a consumer. I drive when I want to, and will often take Uber or Lyft over transit in cities. I don't go out of my way to recycle things beyond standard curbside collection and e-waste dropoffs. I eat/drink things that come in single use plastics every day. I don't intentionally waste water because it costs money, but I don't stop myself from taking baths and long showers or flushing every time, as we have plenty of water here. If I lived elsewhere I would conserve more (have in the past). I use car washes and dishwasher robots instead of doing those things by hand as the machines do a better job with less water. I avoid littering. I will travel by air with careful consideration of the impact on the planet, knowing that flying may not be something as accessible in the future & try to get the most enjoyment/benefit out of a single trip.

I often care about these things more when suicidal, when I feel that I don't want to have any impact on the world at all, and wish to leave a minimal trace.

 

[theboy]

I accept that the environment cannot be fixed

 

[sentience is agony]

Speeding up climate change will reduce suffering in the future by making the planet hard to live on which would discourage reproduction after we've already gone extinct, perhaps

 

[Lost Magic]

Most of my stuff goes in the general bin and the grass goes in the other one. That's about it. It's all a pain in the fucking ass.

 

[freedompass]

I want our planet to be a nice place to live and want it to remain habitable in the future.

I try to make good choices (hybrid car, clean electric supplier, buying more eco friendly and efficient items when available) but I am still a consumer. I drive when I want to, and will often take Uber or Lyft over transit in cities. I don't go out of my way to recycle things beyond standard curbside collection and e-waste dropoffs. I eat/drink things that come in single use plastics every day. I don't intentionally waste water because it costs money, but I don't stop myself from taking baths and long showers or flushing every time, as we have plenty of water here. If I lived elsewhere I would conserve more (have in the past). I use car washes and dishwasher robots instead of doing those things by hand as the machines do a better job with less water. I avoid littering. I will travel by air with careful consideration of the impact on the planet, knowing that flying may not be something as accessible in the future & try to get the most enjoyment/benefit out of a single trip.

I often care about these things more when suicidal, when I feel that I don't want to have any impact on the world at all, and wish to leave a minimal trace.

Interesting that for you being suicidal makes you care more. Just shows how diverse we are as a group.

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

I don't litter or anything but I'm not particularly interested in the environment and don't go out of my way to do anything green. I feel like I'm a drop in the ocean, so what I do has no real effect on anything. Any positive changes we make as a society really have to come from a government/corporate position. I can't change how we deal with trash or what mpg our cars get.

 

[CTB Dream]

Both side positive negative both include suffering , bad enviro cause heat weather good environment cause suffer nature more. Think most important not make human animal suffer science use take goof side leave bsf

 

[waitingforrest]

I have eventually began to accept that the planet cannot be saved over the years. That it the next mass extinction is just a matter of when.
Even so, I try my best to keep my footprints small. My ctb will probably do the planet better in the long run, however.

 

[WhiteRabbit]

I recycle and small things like that. I don't know if they really make a difference with all the big corporate pollution. I am concerned about the environment, not for my own future, but for my niece and nephews future.

 

[Pluto]

I avoid preaching in any form but behind closed doors, I'm the most hardcore eco guy I have ever seen. OCD about recycling, minimising car usage, solar power at home, etc. Would go much further if funds allowed. Of course my life is only a token, but I find the collective cruelty of the human species towards other life forms in its 'care' utterly repugnant.

 

[GenesAndEnvironment]

good environment cause suffer nature more

I accept that the environment cannot be fixed

I'm not particularly interested in the environment

 

[artificial_ineptness]

It makes me feel like shit and I wish I wasn't reminded of how fucked this is. The damage caused, the greed and selfishness, the people who think they're cool by not caring, the unfairness of the whole ordeal.

I thought that maybe there's some poetic justice going on by how humanity fucked itself over and will pay for its "sins", but there's nothing fair about this and the ones most responsible will probably be least affected.

 

[StolenLife]

I do some basic things like recycling bins and not littering but that's about it. I doubt that my actions make any difference while the corporate still does whatever it wants.

 

[CowsAreCool]

I don't like most environmentalists. Most are arrogant and ignorant of how the world works. They grow up their whole lives benefiting from industrial society, just to cry out against it (while still benefiting from it).

I don't recycle. Recycling is a scam used to support subsidies for bottling companies (I'm not joking). Recycling has a higher carbon footprint than simply producing another plastic bottle. But they pretend landfill space is an issue (it isn't) to justify giving Coke and PepsiCo billions in subsidies.

I study an energy field, and I will likely work in energy. My roommates and friends often make sly comments about it. Mining is bad for the environment, huh? Where does the lithium for your Tesla come from? The iron ore? The rare earth minerals? You can't produce steel without metallurgical coal. You cant make an EV without coal. Billions of people worldwide rely on coal to not freeze in the winter. But if I work in a coal mine, I'm destroying the planet, according to some American suburbanites.

And blaming oil companies? For a product people need to survive? For a supplying a product and meeting demand? And they're all against oil, until the price of gas increases. They refuse to acknowledge that green (less efficient) energy sources always results in higher costs (due to the lack of efficiency) and therefore higher levels of poverty. They're willing to be "environmentalists" until its their turn to pay for it.

Modern environmentalism is mostly a sham .

I'm a "don't throw crap in our rivers" environmentalist. And a "don't pollute our air" environmentalist. But I don't care about global warming or mining or carbon emissions. Not in the slightest. And I hate the "The world is gonna end" environmentalists who pretend the world can run on corn and windmills.

 

[freedompass]

I don't like most environmentalists. Most are arrogant and ignorant of how the world works. They grow up their whole lives benefiting from industrial society, just to cry out against it (while still benefiting from it).

I don't recycle. Recycling is a scam used to support subsidies for bottling companies (I'm not joking). Recycling has a higher carbon footprint than simply producing another plastic bottle. But they pretend landfill space is an issue (it isn't) to justify giving Coke and PepsiCo billions in subsidies.

I study an energy field, and I will likely work in energy. My roommates and friends often make sly comments about it. Mining is bad for the environment, huh? Where does the lithium for your Tesla come from? The iron ore? The rare earth minerals? You can't produce steel without metallurgical coal. You cant make an EV without coal. Billions of people worldwide rely on coal to not freeze in the winter. But if I work in a coal mine, I'm destroying the planet, according to some American suburbanites.

And blaming oil companies? For a product people need to survive? For a supplying a product and meeting demand? And they're all against oil, until the price of gas increases. They refuse to acknowledge that green (less efficient) energy sources always results in higher costs (due to the lack of efficiency) and therefore higher levels of poverty. They're willing to be "environmentalists" until its their turn to pay for it.

Modern environmentalism is mostly a sham .

I'm a "don't throw crap in our rivers" environmentalist. And a "don't pollute our air" environmentalist. But I don't care about global warming or mining or carbon emissions. Not in the slightest. And I hate the "The world is gonna end" environmentalists who pretend the world can run on corn and windmills.

Yes, I can understand that lol, they certainly can be irritating and a bit ‘holier than thou’. I always feel I should care more than I do. It’s like a constant guilt trip. A few things I’ve done ‘right’: never flying or even going abroad (because it just doesn’t appeal anymore.) Being a minimalist regarding possessions. Never driving or owning a car. Being vegan. Mostly cooking from scratch. Not so right: regularly getting takeaways and other deliveries, getting Ubers…you know the deal. I understand why people get turned off it all.

Anyway it’s nice to hear different perspectives, thanks for sharing! (:

 

[Julgran]

I don't like most environmentalists. Most are arrogant and ignorant of how the world works. They grow up their whole lives benefiting from industrial society, just to cry out against it (while still benefiting from it).

I don't recycle. Recycling is a scam used to support subsidies for bottling companies (I'm not joking). Recycling has a higher carbon footprint than simply producing another plastic bottle. But they pretend landfill space is an issue (it isn't) to justify giving Coke and PepsiCo billions in subsidies.

I study an energy field, and I will likely work in energy. My roommates and friends often make sly comments about it. Mining is bad for the environment, huh? Where does the lithium for your Tesla come from? The iron ore? The rare earth minerals? You can't produce steel without metallurgical coal. You cant make an EV without coal. Billions of people worldwide rely on coal to not freeze in the winter. But if I work in a coal mine, I'm destroying the planet, according to some American suburbanites.

And blaming oil companies? For a product people need to survive? For a supplying a product and meeting demand? And they're all against oil, until the price of gas increases. They refuse to acknowledge that green (less efficient) energy sources always results in higher costs (due to the lack of efficiency) and therefore higher levels of poverty. They're willing to be "environmentalists" until its their turn to pay for it.

Modern environmentalism is mostly a sham .

I'm a "don't throw crap in our rivers" environmentalist. And a "don't pollute our air" environmentalist. But I don't care about global warming or mining or carbon emissions. Not in the slightest. And I hate the "The world is gonna end" environmentalists who pretend the world can run on corn and windmills.

How dare you?! (that's a Greta Thunberg joke )

Well said, though - I agree fully.

However, don't you think that we need or should de-industrialize our society somewhat..? I mean, you are the "don't throw crap in our rivers" and "don't pollute our air" kind of environmentalist, so how should we prevent the rivers and air from continuing to be our dumping grounds..?

It's also funny how so-called environmentalists tend to love their beach-side houses - just at the endge of the sea... hmm... they aren't hypcrites, are they...?
They will continue spewing their rhetoric as long as money keeps flowing towards themselves for "caring about the environment".

 

[CowsAreCool]

How dare you?! (that's a Greta Thunberg joke )

Well said, though - I agree fully.

However, don't you think that we need or should de-industrialize our society somewhat..? I mean, you are the "don't throw crap in our rivers" and "don't pollute our air" kind of environmentalist, so how should we prevent the rivers and air from continuing to be our dumping grounds..?

It's also funny how so-called environmentalists tend to love their beach-side houses - just at the endge of the sea... hmm... they aren't hypcrites, are they...?
They will continue spewing their rhetoric as long as money keeps flowing towards themselves for "caring about the environment".

I think any major de-industrialization cannot feasibly be done without depopulation. A lot of industry is necessary to support 8 billion mouths. And I can’t argue in support of depopulation.

I agree that industry needs to become cleaner. I hope innovation makes that possible. Maybe nuclear (fusion?) reactors will be a thing. But I don’t believe the technology exists right now. Hopefully soon, but I don’t see it within in the next 20 years. I hope I’m wrong.

And a lot of progress has been made in environmental pollution in the US. There’s more trees now than there were 100 years ago. Significantly more. Air and water pollution have been on the decline. But it’s offset in other countries (China, India, etc) who pollute their lands to supply our goods.

 

[NumbItAll]

I do care about the environment but there is virtually nothing I can do at the individual level. That is kind of why we have such issues in the first place, negative externalities etc. The aforementioned nihilism in the OP also prevents me from getting too fanatical about it, as much as I would love to find some meaning in life.

 

[Julgran]

I think any major de-industrialization cannot feasibly be done without depopulation. A lot of industry is necessary to support 8 billion mouths. And I can’t argue in support of depopulation.

Indeed, but as I see it, this planet is already over-populated - not in a climate change kind of way, but in an economic sense, since there aren't enough well-paying jobs out there, not all jobs are actually needed, severe food shortage and supply chain issues are looming, and it's too hard to get an apartment or house.

So - wouldn't the planet and the remaining humans be better off if a majority of all people suddenly died..? Of course, depopulation could also be achieved in the long run by reducing people's fertility abilities, or by promoting a child-free lifestyle.

And a lot of progress has been made in environmental pollution in the US. There’s more trees now than there were 100 years ago. Significantly more. Air and water pollution have been on the decline. But it’s offset in other countries (China, India, etc) who pollute their lands to supply our goods.

Sure, and China, India and other countries wouldn't need to pollute the environment as much if we in the west didn't want those goods to be transported across half the globe.

In summary, western people can't keep living the way we do if it's not at the expense of the planet or other people - right..?

I do care about the environment but there is virtually nothing I can do at the individual level. That is kind of why we have such issues in the first place, negative externalities etc. The aforementioned nihilism in the OP also prevents me from getting too fanatical about it, as much as I would love to find some meaning in life.

This is one of those problems that you probably do best in just trying your very best to do your part