4 ms·

This is much harder to do when Rhino Horn is included in every product you need to live. It is simply not feasible to expect individuals to research the supply

This is much harder to do when Rhino Horn is included in every product you need to live. It is simply not feasible to expect individuals to research the supply chains and environmental impact of every product we buy. Not to mention that with most products being made buy a few large companies for many classes of item there just aren't reasonable green alternatives.

tonyedgecombe 5y ago
If you are just quibbling over whether to buy a Tesla or an Audi then you have completely missed the bigger picture. There are plenty of choices that are obviously better. Buy a bike rather than a car. A small house rather than a big one. Holiday locally rather than flying.
- spencerflem 5y ago
  These are all very valuable! But they don't affect the massive amount of pollution put out by companies.
jl6 5y ago
It's not easy, and it's probably impossible to do perfectly, but right now we have too many people shrugging "darn corporations, amirite?" and then doing nothing. Everyone can make some positive change. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just needs to move the needle, and in doing so we can unlock the next layer of feasible actions.
- MickerNews 5y ago
  If every single person made some positive change and moved the needle... then nothing else would happen. Because there's profit to be made, the issue is global capitalism. Environmental disaster is just a side effect.
  - jl6 5y ago
    I hope there aren’t too many people waiting for capitalism to be overthrown before taking personal actions.
    - spencerflem 5y ago
      you can do both, it's not an either-or thing
- spencerflem 5y ago
  Why is the next layer of feasible actions blocked by not enough people buying fair-trade recycled jackets from Pategonia? To be clear, I do think everyone is capable of making positive change in this way but just 'moving the needle' isn't nearly enough and I don't see why we can't simultaneously push for a very sensible carbon tax and additional environmental protections. Especially since the biggest polluting companies are so big because everyone buys from them and there are not many alternatives. Saying the problem is that we are buying from these companies seems as much a "darn consumers, amirite?" shrug. Point is- we should do both. But expecting all consumers to be able to make an informed choice about the entire ecological effects of every product is not possible when there often isn't information or a choice. Especially since under the current system companies are actively incentives to pollute as much as possible since they don't pay the cost of cleanup, and to lie about it with glitzy ads and campaigns.

tonyedgecombe 5y ago

If you are just quibbling over whether to buy a Tesla or an Audi then you have completely missed the bigger picture. There are plenty of choices that are obviously better. Buy a bike rather than a car. A small house rather than a big one. Holiday locally rather than flying.

spencerflem 5y ago
These are all very valuable! But they don't affect the massive amount of pollution put out by companies.

jl6 5y ago

It's not easy, and it's probably impossible to do perfectly, but right now we have too many people shrugging "darn corporations, amirite?" and then doing nothing. Everyone can make some positive change. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just needs to move the needle, and in doing so we can unlock the next layer of feasible actions.

MickerNews 5y ago
If every single person made some positive change and moved the needle... then nothing else would happen. Because there's profit to be made, the issue is global capitalism. Environmental disaster is just a side effect.
- jl6 5y ago
  I hope there aren’t too many people waiting for capitalism to be overthrown before taking personal actions.
  - spencerflem 5y ago
    you can do both, it's not an either-or thing
spencerflem 5y ago
Why is the next layer of feasible actions blocked by not enough people buying fair-trade recycled jackets from Pategonia? To be clear, I do think everyone is capable of making positive change in this way but just 'moving the needle' isn't nearly enough and I don't see why we can't simultaneously push for a very sensible carbon tax and additional environmental protections. Especially since the biggest polluting companies are so big because everyone buys from them and there are not many alternatives. Saying the problem is that we are buying from these companies seems as much a "darn consumers, amirite?" shrug. Point is- we should do both. But expecting all consumers to be able to make an informed choice about the entire ecological effects of every product is not possible when there often isn't information or a choice. Especially since under the current system companies are actively incentives to pollute as much as possible since they don't pay the cost of cleanup, and to lie about it with glitzy ads and campaigns.