epicurusaquinas
34468
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https://ground.news/article/the-largest-great-ape-to-ever-live-went-extinct-because-of-climate-change-says-new-study_0713ab
https://apnews.com/article/snow-melt-climate-change-snowpack-ski-aef30ad98817df71913bad660f97fb40
I am shifting my habits. Since Jan 2023, I now eat about 80% vegetarian diet. Dramatically reduced my home energy use by 20%, lawn care by 80% & cut my water use in half. I'm not looking for attaboys. It's setting the stage for questions.
I believe either/or thinking will not maximize survival for as many humans as possible re: climate change. Multiple solutions individually, local communities and regionally, etc we can weave it together as we go.
Some people believe & speak only in terms of "all or nothing" solutions but I submit to you that either/or kind of premise(s) is the core reason the apes in the 1st article met their end. It's a strategic mistake imo.
How about you? And I don't mean just "what do you think?" That's relatively easy to just give opinions.
Now here's the questions I was setting up:
What are you doing?
How are you adapting?
How are you engaging others (to act)?
I promise to upvote all comments about positive actions you've taken OR will take whether I agree with them or not. I can't promise anything for comments of just opinions and/or virtue signaling.
"For your consideration..." - Rod Serling
Cheers!!
Edit:::
2 hours after post no one has mentioned even one action they have taken OR plan to take. Not 1 personal action. Mostly tired political opinions or virtue/moral statements. Some humor. I expected someone to mention SOME personal act. Didn't expect it to be zero.
:-(
FP Edit:::
A ton of personal actions were shared. YAY! I hope I didn't miss any. A lot of individuals making personal actions. A few engaging local officials and/or neighbors also. You are doing the hard emotional work to change your habits. This is adapting. This is what the apes DID NOT DO. YAY!
Very much appreciate your sharing and (simultaneously) appreciate your actions beyond the words. The markets ARE individual actions.
“Everything you do in life will be insignificant, but it's very important that you do it anyway.”
JonSnowAKAAegonTargaryen
Well, yea, we kinda already knew climate change makes some species go extinct. Human-driven climate change is different than the cycle the planet naturally experiences without people being shit.
MarkSoupial
Why didn't they simply have air conditioning? Skill issue
RegionofThud
Let's slow down our own destruction. I'd hate for this to happen too quickly.
spiceass9000
Bro you are not the problem. Like 7 companies and lawmakers are
jakobbp
Here's another question you've set up: How large was the largest great ape to ever live?
AMagicalOportunity
Well folks, we're past the tipping point.
ThailandExpress
The individual has almost no impact on climate change when corporations can do this with govt approval
Madchant
SeE!!!`1`` cLiMaTe ChAnGe iS a NaTuRaL pRoCeSs AnD HuMaNs ArE nOt To bLaMe aNd CaN't ChAnGe aNyThInG!
ImNotStalkingYouBTWYoureOutOfMilk
easiest way to prove/disprove that is to see if there was another climate change event 430,000 - 590,000 years ago, since nature is regular
TheRealDale
Converted all lighting in my house to LED. Always put paper and plastic in the recycle bin. Been vegetarian all my adult life (don’t like taste of meat). Getting bids to install 16 solar panels. I’d get an EV, but they, and the insurance cost, are just too high. I think most everyone is doing something - they just don’t post about it.
epicurusaquinas
Thanks for sharing and thanks X 2 for the actions. :-)
rufflazy
theworldhasgonebananas
We’re planning on redoing our lawn and making it drought tolerant (California)! Plus, we now have an electric vehicle.
epicurusaquinas
Great actions! Great examples.
certainlynotaserialkiller
sdrawkcabmIpleH
All the more reason to live with minimal consumption.
iDragon3
My household has installed solar panels. We recycle as much as possible. I know that there’s more we could try to do, but it isn’t always easy for a family of four to make sweeping changes.
epicurusaquinas
Great positive actions. I don't know about sweeping changes. Even large companies are just made of individuals. Individual actions are the only actions. The aggregate result is never truly one person's will power. Thanks for sharing but thanks more for the actions!
thesameasyours
But that one republican had an iced coffee infront kf congress, how can climate change be real?
epicurusaquinas
Okay. I'm two comments into the post and already making my second adjustment. Because I also upvote humor. Always upvote the funny! Stop making me smirk inside my head. It hurts.
thesameasyours
keivonk
I don’t think in this era naming the largest ape blacki is the right move
METROlD
Shit, man. My grandpa would have named it Tyrone and my entire family would have clapped.
ProfessorHerpDerp
You're looking to start an actual discussion on imgur, I'm thinking you might do better trying that on reddit. Also while it's nice you're doing your part/ making an attempt if you wanted to make an ACTUAL impact find a way to get businesses to do it. It's the same thing about carbon footprints, sounds good to take responsibility but doesn't accomplish anything as you could get 100 million homes to do it and still wouldn't offset one major company.
epicurusaquinas
ME: Do something. Change. Adapt. YOU: Find a way to make businesses change. REALITY: They're the same thing!! Only by every individual making habit changes will we survive. / DETAIL: There are boogeymen willing to profit off bad decisions, but your/my responsibility is our own actions & habits. Without those habits, they CAN'T profit. Their sales & actions are the results of millions of individuals' decisions. The market is your decision + my decision + millions. Millions aren't reading this rn.
epicurusaquinas
( Note: I completely understand your point big fixes. But you and I talking about the big companies in this forum (Imgur) does nothing at all. Zero. We already agree. It's a waste of personal energy AND electrical energy. Every message sent or read on Imgur uses energy. Why are you wasting it talking about something with the wrong people?? The CEO of major companies aren't reading this post. Are they? Say what change you made or will make to your small piece of the market. )
cocainerabbit
i started a garden!
epicurusaquinas
Awesomenessity
Alisvarius
And ironically you have fueled people who say 'it's all natural, it happened in the past'.
sdrawkcabmIpleH
People, especially children, dying of all sorts of things is natural yet we keep trying - and often succeeding - to change that.
sdrawkcabmIpleH
So, if we're due for extinction, I suppose we'd like to stop that, natural or not.
Alisvarius
Actually humanity will survive, the question is how many. And how many other species will...
I meant that someone can use an argument like "Look, it happened 100k years ago, when humans couldn't be blamed for it, and STILL happened, so why do you blame US for current event"?...
arthurshusband
I fell like you’re preaching to the choir by posting on this site. We really need these boomers a holes to think about others for once in their lives.
epicurusaquinas
What positive action are you doing to engage boomers to think about others for once in their lives?
spontaneous9
Boomer's a-hole here. I have very little time left, so I'm planting trees. I welcome you to rest in their shade; they'll still be here doing the job after I'm dead. I started doing that 18 yrs ago. What about you? OP poses a valid question. What are you doing to help? It's your planet now, my dude. Either learn, or burn. Read or bleed. Us old progressives are on your side whether you recognize it or not. If you can't differentiate between your allies & your enemies it'll all be over real soon.
epicurusaquinas
Planting trees is excellent. Thanks for positive action.
sdrawkcabmIpleH
Most things I do are things I alrady did decades ago because I was poor. Now I just choose not to start consuming more even though I probably could.
sdrawkcabmIpleH
I'm kinda like Denmark in this: https://satwcomic.com/art/core/">g">https://satwcomic.com/art/core/energy-saver.jpeg ( from https://satwcomic.com/energy-saver )
epicurusaquinas
Awesome awesome awesome choice.
lb68600
I put solar panels on my house in 2003 and another set in 2015 - not because it made sense financially, but because I thought it was the right thing to do. It's easy to get discouraged and think that anything you can do is too small to make a difference, but if enough people do something small, it becomes meaningful. Every little bit helps.
epicurusaquinas
And also because YOU ROCK
trippingthelightfantastic
TheMellowPeril
EOTWAAS: End Of The World As A Service
MarkSoupial
trippingthelightfantastic
I'm taking this. Thank you. Please have this.
GhostSavage10
The plans to monetise the fall were made long ago. We will pay for those who caused this to 'fix' it.
rogerjun0497
Just drop a giant ice cube in the ocean when needed.
sdrawkcabmIpleH
Changed big (by European standard) old car to hybrid (slightly used). Did not replace the other old car with anything yet, since it still kinda works and is small with infrequent use anyway. I count that as two actions.
CocaineAndSelfPleasure
The greenest car, building etc. is the one that’s already built so don’t sweat it about holding on to the car.
epicurusaquinas
It's awesome actions.
sdrawkcabmIpleH
3. I plan to install solar panels if they become more affordable and less Chinese hopefully sometime in the future.
sdrawkcabmIpleH
4. I keep voting only people who are pro-nuclear power. Which, thankfully, doesn't narrow the pool too much in my country. But it's still something to keep in mind, lest we might end up in deep coal shit like Germany.
sdrawkcabmIpleH
5. Have replaced most beef with chicken (or turkey) and overall decreased the amount of animal protein in my diet.
epicurusaquinas
Sweet
spontaneous9
I'm planting trees whenever I see a place where there's access to water and decent drainage (i.e., anywhere I think they have a chance and the mower blades won't get 'em). Vacant lots, liminal spaces between roadways, behind billboards, back fences of industrial parks, next to abandoned buildings, down by the old railroad tracks, etc. At first it was any trees, including fruit trees (I'd saved up the pits) but now I'm leaning toward native trees only. They're fun to visit later when they're big.
epicurusaquinas
Tree planting. Awesome action.
StrandedonEarth
Well, I’d like to buy an electric car, or convert to heat pumps, or install solar, but I can’t afford to do any of that. Any one person’s actions have little effect, unless they are convincing millions of others to do the same. Governments need to gradually (but not too gradually!) regulate O&G out of existence, but they’re in thrall to the industry. The fact that governments are still allowing new exploration and development means they’re not serious about fighting climate change.
sarahcakes
Sow the seeds for the tree under whose shade you will never sit. Make small changes in your life. Have conversations with your friends and family about what they do, to waste less. No technological advancement or paradigm shift happens over night. It happens slowly, bit by tiny, seemingly insignificant bit. Our current culture of consumerism cannot radically shift tomorrow. You have to start by changing your attitude from "it's too much" to "how do I start".
PubMed12927120suckssobad
*Effective* personal actions involve those that send a market signal. Like not eating meat. (Turning the thermostat down doesn't send a signal that anyone can read.) Switching from gas heat to electric (ideally get an air source heat pump?) is good. BUT, none of that really solves the problem, just moves the needle. For a solution, it has to be a market based signal that communicated to everyone - economists say a carbon tax of $115 per ton gets the job done. Starting at $15 and rising 1/2
epicurusaquinas
Moving the needle is bigger than you think. Moving the needle a Is The Market. Individuals deciding to change their habits is what changes the whole human race.
sdrawkcabmIpleH
At least in my country, you can choose which company will produce your electricity based on the sources they use. If you want to send a market signal, you can pick one that doesn't use fossil fuels and possibly pay a little extra for that. Then you can save up that little extra by turning the thermostat down etc. and end up paying no more than you'd normally.
PubMed12927120suckssobad
Yes! This! My country sucks. We did the equivalent of this by getting rid of all natural gas in our house and switching to all electric. We live in the Northwest and 97% of our electricity is carbon-free. We got a two burner induction cook plate from amazon to replace our gas range. And a large countertop oven. And a mini split air source heat pump to replace the gas furnace. The latter only heats three rooms but it's the three rooms we use most. So we are suffering a little bit but still 1/2
PubMed12927120suckssobad
$10 a year allows business to adjust and make long term plans. This approach works even in the case of climate denial ism. But "What can I do?" is answered by "Take action that gets policymakers to adopt a carbon tax". Citizen's Climate Lobby will walk you through all the possible actions. There are 5 major types of things you can do, and most people can be comfortable with participating in one of them. Stuff like emailing your representatives in support of certain bills. CCL has a tool. Or 2/3
PubMed12927120suckssobad
Lobbying them in person. It's actually easy as well as effective. CVL has training videos. The important thing to remember is that it's counterproductive to do a lot of "personal behavior changes" that are burdensome for you so you tell yourself "I've done my part". It's more effective to NOT do all those things but instead work toward creating the political will to enact a carbon tax. It might not feel like it, but that's a better way to reach a real solution, not "feel good" behavior changes
epicurusaquinas
Your whole discussion is a good example of engaging others (local or regional) from my 3 questions. Thank you!!!
TheWhoamater
It's time to take action
Spitfight
I wrote a wildly well researched paper on in in 1998. It will not change. We’re all gonna die.
minkuschild
Yup. But are you the one to stop China or India? Canadian here. We do like 1% carbon emissions. We NEED natural gas/coal. For warmth. We don't have hydro in the prairies(you know, where everyones growing crips for other countries. Like half of the year... WHY the fuck do I pay carbon tax? You want to eat?! We need to live!
epicurusaquinas
I stand corrected. I also vote common sense like this. Lol. Cheers.
Alisvarius
Yes but - REAL action. Not just 'lets' use climate change talk to get a profit' like we do in EU at this moment. Not 'ban this, place a carbon tax on that - with the exemption for our beloved sponsors' that is seen. Not 'place a mega tax on /not-our sponsors solar panels / electric cars/ wind turbines' that is again seen in EU.
epicurusaquinas
I thought you meant personal action as my post text asked. This is just another opinion comment about either/or thinking. Either we do taxing or we fail is not what I was asking about. What are you doing? Adapting? Engaging others (to act)? Anything at all?
Alisvarius
Well, solar panels + energy bank combo (offgrid as alternate power source in home, high power appliances in grid, computers, lighting etc connected to 1kW inverter, unless batteries are below 40%) Practically not using my car, except for larger shopping - cycling everywhere. Switching eating habits too as well, practically no red meat, lowering cheese usage (hard to do :/), animal proteins mostly from eggs and ocassional chicken.
epicurusaquinas
YOU ARE MY FUCKIN HERO/HEROINE!!! You rock. Cheers!
MarkSoupial
What personal action do you expect from us, homie? Cruise ships pollute equivalent to literally a million personal vehicles, and I already don't take cruises, nor fly. Most of us are already living within our environmental means for a sustainable planet. The action you're looking for is macro, not micro.
whateverthevoicestellme
Set up mutual aid networks. Join a strike when you get the chance.
sarahcakes
We are not the problem, you're right.
We are, however, the solution.
lunatic02
Burn down the 10 corporations that lead pollution and guillotine the executives responsible for their shitty practices, and guillotine the political stooges that allowed these parasites to plunder our country.
PubMed12927120suckssobad
First, effective macro changes: Citizen's Climate Lobby will walk you through all the possible actions. There are 5 major types of things you can do, and most people can be comfortable with participating in at least one of them. Stuff like emailing your representatives in support of certain bills. CCL has a tool. Micro changes are fine as long as doing them don't prevent you from also working toward creating the political will for macro changes ("because you feel like "I've done MY part").
epicurusaquinas
You saw my list of personal actions. If your intention is to tell me I don't matter that's an exaggeration and I already explained my logic of why either/or thinking is faulty. I was rather wordy about it.
epicurusaquinas
Actually if you used to take cruises and fly ... and now you don't in order to impact the climate, that's positive action!!
MarkSoupial
All I know is the last time I took one of those dumbass individual-impact tests it said that if everyone lived like me we'd need 1.1 Earths, so I think I'm doing alright individually.
PubMed12927120suckssobad
Absolutely. Those changes send a real market signal.
epicurusaquinas
Sometimes changes happen. Sometimes WE decide to change. When we decide to change (individually) the market changes.
PubMed12927120suckssobad
Agreed, thk u. It's super important. But needs to be a market signal like switching from fossil fuel heat to electric heat, not switching from, say, heating oil to natural gas. Eating less meat sends an excellent, effective signal. Or driving pure electric. Switching to a hybrid, not so much. That tells the auto manufacturers that we still want & will buy fossil fuel powered cars. It says "we, the consumer, care about having better efficiency, but not so much about getting off fossil fuels
Kitehammer
How is the cruise industry responding to this market signal?
PubMed12927120suckssobad
Super interesting question. If you have access to a market analyst whose area is the cruise industry, that'd be the one to ask. Also, you may get some insight from the recorded stockholders meetings. They will definitely be sharing their observations of demand changes and their plans. Should be accessible from the companys' website/investor relations page. Pls msg me if you get relevant insights. Super interesting. Thanks
stingraysds
Investing in, building, and launching the largest cruise liner in history 🫠