[myshpa]

Stop. Please stop it.

Defeatism won't help us. In fact, it's a new strategy of oil/plastic/meat/dairy producers, to stop people from changing status quo.

We as individuals can do plenty. We can change our eating and spending habits (cocacola & burger anyone?), we can demand change, we can stop buying stuff, we can protest, we can educate, we can plant trees and forests, we can stop people spreading defeatism etc.

So do something. Just don't spread this attitude, please.

[tshaddox]

> In fact, it's a new strategy of oil/plastic/meat/dairy producers, to stop people from changing status quo.

I would have thought exactly the opposite: that these groups would adopt the strategy of portraying these types of issues as being primarily about “individual responsibility” knowing that the only way to actually change things is collective action.

[more_corn]

These are both well known strategies in misinformation campaigns.

[alophawen]

Remind me, how far did boycotting Coca Cola get us?

Policy makers duped consumers into sorting plastic waste and even go as far as put a plastic tax on consumers, while the majority of plastic waste comes from the industry, and is burned as fuel and greenwashed by being called "recycled energy".

Policy makers and the industry successfully shifted the blame on the population and people are even ashamed of having a vacation these years, because other duped individuals keep harassing them in the name of capitalism.

You seem to have no understanding of the severity of things.

[myshpa]

Coca-cola is the single one biggest plastic polluter, together with fishing industry.

I did my research, and I boycott everything I know it hurts the planet. Do you?

> Policy makers duped consumers ...

Not policy makers, but plastic producers bought politicans and public opinion. See the movie "Plastic wars", i did.

> You seem to have no understanding of the severity of things.

I do. I certainly do. I thought about it for a long time. I simply believe that you cannot both gluttonize and be angry at the world to be doing nothing. The change have to start somewhere.

[tehwebguy]

Unless you have a private jet your spending habits can’t possibly make a difference.

The only way to make a real change would be to correct the incentives. This can be done via legislation & policy but an individual can’t do it alone. I suppose an individual could change the incentives for one or two companies (e.g. violence against a decision maker) but it wouldn’t change the economics of doing business.

[myshpa]

Collective change in spending habits can have the power. We're seeing it with rise of veganism & meat/dairy, those producers are very concerned (pushing against naming plant-based foods milk/burgers etc.).

I agree that legislation & policy & subsidies are critical. But this change won't come without support of the public.

It seems to me, that if you want to change something, you have to change yourself first. We can't just wait for somebody to change it. It won't ever happen this way. People have to know & do, then politicians cannot pretend not to know/care and then the change will happen.

[omniglottal]

A problem is not solved by the many doing what a few successfully undo.

[myshpa]

What would the logical thing to do be then? Do nothing, or remove the few?