Doing just a little bit to help prevent climate change is worth it say African philosophers

[Montero]

There have been a few green discussions in this forum recently. I thought this article from the Conversation was interesting on a different philosophical approach to doing just a little bit.

Think your efforts to help the climate don’t matter? African philosophers disagree

None of us act in isolation – and our choices have more influence than we think.

theconversation.com

For my own part, I keep on doing little bits, and that can be depressing that it is not a big bit. I do also see people saying on various websites that it is all too big a problem to fix, and I try to persuade them that a little bit is worth it. So was particularly pleased to see the article.

 

[wazz]

When we consider our actions we need to ask ourselves a number of questions in this area.
If I scale up this behaviour or change and imagine everyone is doing it, is that a good thing or bad thing?
Am I concerned more with feeling good about my behaviours and relatively small changes and leaving some other unnecessary actions that cost a lot?
How much can my behavioural changes actually affect the environment, given that most 71% of emissions are caused by only 100 companies, before we even take into account global oil shipping and the military-industrial complex and so on? We've not chosen any of that.
However, there's still things we can and should choose. Not to do business or buy from bad companies. Not to pander to greenwashing. Avoid destination weddings and short retreats afar. Cycle sometimes rather than drive. A bunch of small things and small choices that ultimately serve our own self-esteem more than they do good. A recognition of the idea that we have more power as consumers than we do voters.
Leading smaller rather than bigger lives, in a society that rewards the big and loud and brash and expensive, to me, is a noble goal.

 

[Elckerlyc]

I think it is not so much about what we can do or how little it would change things, but that of the moral issue whether you want to keep contributing to the mess we are making of Earth. Our lifestyle lies at the bottom of the problem.
Also, that lifestyle is (partly) fed if not forced on us by the big companies and their products. They won't change easily, their shareholders prevent it. But as enough consumers ignore those wasteful or polluting products, things may slowly start to change.
Probably too late, too little. But my view is; your attitude towards the crisis counts more than the effect our choices has. We will never rid this world from injustice, yet no one will use that fact to argue we shouldn't fight it.

 

[Harpo]

As long as the “Rolling Coal” idiocy exists, every little bit will not be enough

Rolling coal - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

(And frequent flyers who don’t plant trees to offset their carbon footprint, and so on, and so forth, et blimmin cetera)

 

[Montero]

@Harpo - Agree that "rolling coal" is an idiocy, though I've not encountered it in the UK.
I'm not sure from your response whether you are responding just to what is in the thread, or whether you've read the article as well.

Briefly, the point of the article is actually to keep on doing a little bit, even if it seems pointless due to some other large idiocy. It is also looking for ways to encourage more action, and discusses how the African philosphical mindset is different. I won't re-post the article in full, but here are two quotes from a longer discussion.

"I am a philosopher who studies the problem of what appear to be collectively insignificant individual actions. There is a concept from African philosophy that I think is helpful to understand this: “complementarity”.

Complementarity denotes a relationship of interdependence among all entities – plants, animals, rivers, humans – in an interconnected community of living and non-living things. As a framework for understanding the world, it holds that everything within the human and non-human environment exists in a relationship of mutual dependence. Everything is connected to everything else. No entity can exist and flourish in isolation."

"And so, complementarity rejects the argument that anything you do to help the climate is pointless."

 

[Robert Zwilling]

When you do something beneficial some where some thing is getting a positive boost, you may not see it, or even be able to see the results, but it adds up and others might copy you.

 

[Parson]

It's a lot like being a teacher or a preacher. Any success you have will likely not be seen for a generation, so you do what you should and can, and don't worry overly about the results because they are not or at least not entirely in your hands.

 

[Danny McG]

 

[Montero]

The peasants are revolting.

 

[Parson]

The peasants are revolting.

I don't know about that. But I think it is revolting to spend so much money on a private ship. He could have made schooling available and changed the lives of literally thousands of the poorest people.

 

[Montero]

Planted forests as far as the eye could see - and paid locals to do it......

ETA @Parson later occurred to me to wonder if you'd run into the double entendre of "the peasants are revolting".
"Sire, Sire, get your sword, the peasants are revolting."
"They certainly are, have you smelt them?"

 

[Parson]

Planted forests as far as the eye could see - and paid locals to do it......

ETA @Parson later occurred to me to wonder if you'd run into the double entendre of "the peasants are revolting".
"Sire, Sire, get your sword, the peasants are revolting."
"They certainly are, have you smelt them?"

Nope, never heard that before.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I've always lived by the premise that even if my personal contribution is small, there would be a growing number of people who would share something of the same lifestyle, and therefore help contribute positively to our Earth.

 

[BAYLOR]

View attachment 129515

If I had billions of dollars , the last thing id want is any kinda of yacht.

 

[BAYLOR]

I've always lived by the premise that even if my personal contribution is small, there would be a growing number of people who would share something of the same lifestyle, and therefore help contribute positively to our Earth.

It's nice thought Brian but , I think that all in probability that if there was tipping point for Earth climate , we may have passed it a long time ago. All we're likely left with is that we have to learn to live with the climate change as part of our existence and that's about it.

Even if we were to stop all green emissions tomorrow , the climate will still warm up will still rise for decades or longer given all the excess carbon in the atmosphere from the start of the Industrial revolution. It would take a very long time for that imbalance to correct itself even at zero emission.

One thing that might mitigate is we make a sudden break though in Fusion power perhaps?

 

[Montero]

Well, tipping points tip both ways, so I'm going to continue to do my little bit to see if we can get back to tip the other way. I do totally agree there will be a lag time.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Absolutely. What's important is doing what you feel is the right thing, regardless as to whether anyone else is doing it.

 

[Bill D]

There have been a few green discussions in this forum recently. I thought this article from the Conversation was interesting on a different philosophical approach to doing just a little bit.

Think your efforts to help the climate don’t matter? African philosophers disagree

None of us act in isolation – and our choices have more influence than we think.

theconversation.com

For my own part, I keep on doing little bits, and that can be depressing that it is not a big bit. I do also see people saying on various websites that it is all too big a problem to fix, and I try to persuade them that a little bit is worth it. So was particularly pleased to see the article.

I recently read somewhere of Tolkien's conception of fighting the long defeat, the good that may be done in the face of near certain defeat. It stands outside hope and relies on character. His nation's experience in the two world wars must feature in the development of this attitude. I think it was featured in a piece put forth by the Guardian last week.

 

[Montero]

I recently read somewhere of Tolkien's conception of fighting the long defeat, the good that may be done in the face of near certain defeat. It stands outside hope and relies on character. His nation's experience in the two world wars must feature in the development of this attitude. I think it was featured in a piece put forth by the Guardian last week.

I'm a Brit and my father lived through both WW1 as a boy and WW2 as an adult, with his father dying at the start of his teens, and the great depression turning up for his university graduation and first ever job hunt. He definitely never quit and was pretty energetic about everything he did. (Sometimes took a very, very long time to finish a DIY job as other things kept happening.....) Hadn't directly thought about how much of his attitude I must have picked up but I can be pretty stubborn about trying anyway, because I hate giving up and because if you do a bit at a time, you can finish the worst job eventually. (Which is a little bit at a tangent from doing your bit to save the planet, but related.)

 

[Danny McG]

Do as much as you can to help prevent climate change, we can't leave Keith Richards to inherit our mess