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The US military puts more carbon in the atmosphere each year than my entire country. How are individuals (especially citizens of a U.S. vassal state like my ow

The US military puts more carbon in the atmosphere each year than my entire country. How are individuals (especially citizens of a U.S. vassal state like my own) supposed to impact the global carbon budget?

ihatepython 4y ago
Just be aware that every time you use a paper straw, you are in fact saving the planet for future generations.
- ungamedplayer 4y ago
  Every time you drink right from the cup you are saving a part of a tree Drink for though.
  - ihatepython 4y ago
    If you drink straight from the dispenser you will save even more trees.
    - FeistySkink 4y ago
      I just chew the raw coffee beans, drink water and hold my face out in the sun.
    - Ekaros 4y ago
      And you save more by finding a puddle outside...
panragon 4y ago
This argument is used intensively in my country to argue that we have no reason to do anything, as our population of 5 million has no impact on the world. That's fine argument to go down if you want, but then you'll also have to concede that democracy is pointless and you shouldn't partake in it either, given how little impact you have. As for the US military polluting too much, that's a political issue and the US citizens obligation to fix. If you don't think you should do something because someone else is worse, I'll remind you that there's almost always a bigger fish. The US military pollution itself is a mere fraction of what China's power grid is using, so why should they bother to change anything until China improves it's own power production either?
- coldtea 4y ago
  >but then you'll also have to concede that democracy is pointless and you shouldn't partake in it either, given how little impact you have. That would be a very wise conclusion too, given the sham that modern "represenative" democracy has been...
  - panragon 4y ago
    Yes that's true, literally all representative democracies are the same and no political progress has been made anywhere in the world the past few decades. We have seen no advances in equitable social democracies, and gay people are just as oppressed as they've ever been. Access to gender reassignment surgery and abortions? Oh, we've never heard of that. Just don't do anything, it's fine, you literally don't matter!
    - coldtea 4y ago
      Whether gay people are opressed or not has little or nothing to do with the success or failure of representative democracy. There have been entire eras without democracy when being gay was acceptable or even consider just fine (at different city-states in ancient Greece for one). And there have been democracies were gays have been repressed. All the examples you gave are about small minorities too, which is not the thing that democracy focuses on in the first place. Those more about changing cultural norms and morals, which can then be encoded into policy, with or without a democratic vote. The same things can happen under any sham democracy or even dictatorship. In the latter it can also just be a official decree. For example, as for "access to gender reassignment surgery" you know that has been a thing in Iran for decades, for example, right? A lot of these policy changes can also be used as a cultural side show (the "culture wars") to mask the lack of democratic policy in areas that affect everybody, and were those in power have actual interests, such as the economy, foreign policy, surveillance, police brutality, jobs, and so on.
      - panragon 4y ago
        >A lot of these policy changes can also be used as a cultural side show (the "culture wars") to mask the lack of democratic policy in areas that affect everybody, and were those in power have actual interests, such as the economy, foreign policy, surveillance, police brutality, jobs, and so on. I agree with you here. But do you really want to reach for the economy and police systems to justify how ineffective representative democracies have been since their mass adoption over a century ago?

ihatepython 4y ago

Just be aware that every time you use a paper straw, you are in fact saving the planet for future generations.

ungamedplayer 4y ago
Every time you drink right from the cup you are saving a part of a tree Drink for though.
- ihatepython 4y ago
  If you drink straight from the dispenser you will save even more trees.
  - FeistySkink 4y ago
    I just chew the raw coffee beans, drink water and hold my face out in the sun.
  - Ekaros 4y ago
    And you save more by finding a puddle outside...

panragon 4y ago

This argument is used intensively in my country to argue that we have no reason to do anything, as our population of 5 million has no impact on the world. That's fine argument to go down if you want, but then you'll also have to concede that democracy is pointless and you shouldn't partake in it either, given how little impact you have. As for the US military polluting too much, that's a political issue and the US citizens obligation to fix. If you don't think you should do something because someone else is worse, I'll remind you that there's almost always a bigger fish. The US military pollution itself is a mere fraction of what China's power grid is using, so why should they bother to change anything until China improves it's own power production either?

coldtea 4y ago
>but then you'll also have to concede that democracy is pointless and you shouldn't partake in it either, given how little impact you have. That would be a very wise conclusion too, given the sham that modern "represenative" democracy has been...
- panragon 4y ago
  Yes that's true, literally all representative democracies are the same and no political progress has been made anywhere in the world the past few decades. We have seen no advances in equitable social democracies, and gay people are just as oppressed as they've ever been. Access to gender reassignment surgery and abortions? Oh, we've never heard of that. Just don't do anything, it's fine, you literally don't matter!
  - coldtea 4y ago
    Whether gay people are opressed or not has little or nothing to do with the success or failure of representative democracy. There have been entire eras without democracy when being gay was acceptable or even consider just fine (at different city-states in ancient Greece for one). And there have been democracies were gays have been repressed. All the examples you gave are about small minorities too, which is not the thing that democracy focuses on in the first place. Those more about changing cultural norms and morals, which can then be encoded into policy, with or without a democratic vote. The same things can happen under any sham democracy or even dictatorship. In the latter it can also just be a official decree. For example, as for "access to gender reassignment surgery" you know that has been a thing in Iran for decades, for example, right? A lot of these policy changes can also be used as a cultural side show (the "culture wars") to mask the lack of democratic policy in areas that affect everybody, and were those in power have actual interests, such as the economy, foreign policy, surveillance, police brutality, jobs, and so on.
    - panragon 4y ago
      >A lot of these policy changes can also be used as a cultural side show (the "culture wars") to mask the lack of democratic policy in areas that affect everybody, and were those in power have actual interests, such as the economy, foreign policy, surveillance, police brutality, jobs, and so on. I agree with you here. But do you really want to reach for the economy and police systems to justify how ineffective representative democracies have been since their mass adoption over a century ago?