Stop Self Shaming; Don't Despair; Fight Instead

There's no denying it.  Unless you are a native living deep in the Amazon jungle, your carbon footprint is probably pretty large.  Too large.  Everything you buy, eat, wear, or travel on involves a lot of carbon dioxide producing fossil fuels.  But it's not your fault, at least not as an individual.

It is a guilt that is misplaced.  This guilt drives some to reduce their carbon footprint, expending large sums of personal time, money, and emotional energy.   Some of those valuable resources are best channeled elsewhere.

Mary Annaise Heglar, writing in Vox, says:

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. It turns environmentalism into an individual choice defined as sin or virtue, convicting those who don’t or can’t uphold these ethics. 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.

When people come to me and confess their green sins, as if I were some sort of eco-nun, I want to tell them they are carrying the guilt of the oil and gas industry’s crimes. That the weight of our sickly planet is too much for any one person to shoulder. And that that blame paves the road to apathy, which can really seal our doom.

She goes on to say consumer actions aren't enough, that people need to fight the corporations and elect the right leaders then hold their feet to the fire. "[T]he more we focus on individual action and neglect systemic change, the more we’re just sweeping leaves on a windy day. So while personal actions can be meaningful starting points, they can also be dangerous stopping points."

You can take yourself off the streets and highways and take the bus.  Your personal carbon footprint will go down a bit.  Good for you!  But someone else may decide the bus is too full and take your place driving the road.  It's a zero sum game. It's the tragedy of the commons at play.

You may take solace that you are contributing tons less of carbon dioxide each year.  Satisfied you did your part, that's the end of your efforts.  Meanwhile, the bus still runs on diesel oil, your electrical utility still burns coal and natural gas, and the factories, farms, and delivery trucks that give you the products you buy are still using fossil fuels.

You may despair that it looks like so few of your fellow citizens are following your admirable example.  You are correct that few are following, but wrong to despair.  You need to join the bigger fight, the one against the bigger picture.

We need to fight the causes, not treat the symptoms.  The IPPC has said we really must be on the path to a carbon-free economy by 2030.  Systemic changes need to happen quickly, not wait for consumers to slowly "send a message."   We need to elect officials that are willing to enact legislation, regulations, and rules to switch us away from the causes of increasing atmospheric CO2.  Let them know if they do not come up with the new laws every session, every year, that you will vote for someone who will.   Write them.  And while you are at it, write to corporations and tell them what they should do, how you plan to spend your money.  Join a protest march.  If you have money you want to spend to reduce emissions, contribute to where it will do the most good.   It could could go to an activist organization, to a new hybrid or plug-in electric car, to solar panels on your roof, or to buy good carbon offsets.  Do your homework, do the math, make your money do the most good.