To believe most people who say they care about the environment are hypocrites?

Getting new habits to help the environment does usually feel inconvenient at first but then you get used to it. It is easier when the new routine has become habit.

I think it was about ten years ago we decided that we had to become more environmentally friendly every year. It was not that difficult at first. Even though we already had a lot of environmentally friendly habits, there were still some low hanging fruits we could pick.

It was in the fifth year it started hurting and becoming noticeably inconvenient. We decided we would avoid palm oil if possible. We still do buy something with palm oil in it but only a couple of times a year. What is annoying with palm oil is that you need to check the ingredients of everything all the time. Because items that didn't use to contain palm oil suddenly do. Then they don't, then they do. But you get used to it.

Eating less meat was easier for the rest of the family than for me as I already ate veggie lunches most days. So I had to be more careful to ensure that I got the necessary nutrients. But I added more beans and broccoli to my lunches and we now know a lot of recipes for tasty veggie dinners.

Our electricity supplier used gas when the wind doesn't blow and it is grey weather because they don't get wind power and only a little sun power then. We already didn't want to use gas due to the environment and now we also want to keep the demand and thereby the price low because we want Russia to earn less money. So we are inconvenienced by that. The laundry will have to wait until the wind is blowing. Wear that ugly blouse instead of your favourite. Dinner cannot be made in the oven so we'll have to figure out what else to cook. Drink water instead of tea.

But we still could do more for the environment. And we will.

We're all hypocrites (e.g. I fly) but that doesn't mean we should give up and do nothing. I can only do what is within my control and much of it benefits my local environment even if it doesn't have a global impact. Less cars, less waste, shopping local improves health, local jobs, less pollution etc etc. We need those in power to force big change, but beyond campaigning there is a limit to what we can do about that.

@Willoo ha I was trying to avoid that particular debate

We try - don't fly very often (short haul every 2-3 years), don't buy fast fashion (or any fashion 😁 - last new clothes purchases were 3 supermarket t shirts and a multipack of pants last summer). Don't do takeaways or fast food, don't buy stuff. Don't have kids. Not veggie but don't eat much meat/fish.
But do drive and do have pets.

Not perfect by any means but better than many in western societies. In the face of corporate behaviour I don't feel guilty. Nothing will change until government stop conflating success with GDP and financial growth.

Being vegan is far from being good for the environment. Massive hypocrites

It wouldn't, though.

Unless every single person on the entire planet committed to it, nothing will change.

The fact that you're vegan and use solar power is irrelevant to the planet's future when we have celebrities in private jets everyday, and massive companies like Amazon or Apple existing.

@Mairzydotes if you want to recycle your bottles or fill your car up less, then of course nobody is going to stop you.

For me, it's not that people shouldn't be sustainable if that's what they want to do, it's this belief that it actually makes any difference long-term that bothers me for some reason lol.

Does that mean we shouldn't do anything to be more sustainable/ environmentally friendly?

It may make little difference on a global scale , but it can make a difference on a personal one.

Examples being , taking glass to the bottle bank instead of putting it in my bin means my bin isn't overflowing by the collection date. Walking short journeys instead of driving means I don't need to fill my car with petrol as frequently.

Just because someone says they care about the environment doesnt mean they have to be perfect.
We have family abroad, so we do fly quite often. But we are vegan, i get groceries with tupperware to avoid plastic. We have electric cars and a solar roof.

I know its not perfect, but id like to think we are doing our part. If everyone would just do anlittle bit, it would already make a big difference.

Just ignore them. It's the best way YANBU.

None of it will matter, at some point it will all be irrelevant, the planet will just kick us all off and start again with new life.

You're not wrong. Will they also embrace contraceptives as a trade for low infant mortality, longer life spans and fertility treatments.

I care about environment, l don't drive a car, but l do fly a few times a year..l recycle but that's about it. Me giving up flying won't help the environment.

This just isn't true. In 2021 around 2.1% of all goods produced in China were exported to the UK. We are not a huge market - and we have no coal power plants because we closed them all. China has over a thousand and is approving another 2 a month on average. It makes me laugh though when people 'don't want to blame other countries' and try to blame individuals - like someone ordering a few keyrings from China could possibly make any notable impact.

People just love to blame people who fly though, which is also ludicrous when just 2.5% of the world's CO2 comes from flying. But I guess it's something that people can feel superior about if they don't holiday abroad - and we know how people just love to feel superior on here!

Only governments can change what is happening and as long as China, the US and India aren't interested the rest of us are just wasting our time. We still need to do what we can of course and things like recycling, reusing, doing what we can for wildlife and reducing consumption in every way are still important - but I'm afraid we just aren't going to save the world.

I'm sure you are right, but once that Amazonian tribe discover waterproofing, do you think they are going to give it up willingly?

The only truly environmentally friendly people in the world are those who have no choice but to go without modern conveniences, tribes that still live in the Amazon jungle etc. people who preach line about using a coffee cup made from recycled bamboo and claiming they are living an eco- friendly lifestyle are a bunch of cunts.

@yellowkeyring the hypocrisy is quite breathtaking. We don't have EVs, because there's insufficient charging options, but the person who buys our house will install PV panels and battery storage systems etc. and have low costs for fuel. We are not doing so because we are nearly 70 and planning to move soon so the £25k we'd have to spend would be a cost not a benefit. But if someone buys our house, that we have happily lived in for 28 years, then it would be the first improvement I would make. However, there is no payback for us.

We probably shall spend the money on the house we downsize into, but we won't pay the envionmental costs twice.

YANBU, the super eco head at my work, who lectures all of us, flies to four to six foreign holidays a year and bought a massive petrol guzzling SUV.

I cook from scatch, with food farmed locally wherever I can. As a two-person household we probably take an international flight every two or three years. I recycle as much of our waste as possible. I don't want to be part of the problem, but there's no fast food delivery or convenient short cuts in my life. I can eat out, but at huge cost if I want naice well prepared food, or cook it myself, so I generally shop in person and cook everything we eat.

Yanbu. Most people are so detached from the consequences of their decisions, it is just hard to take on board the impact. And there is alway someone worse, so it easy for people to think "well, my bad choices don't count as much as that person's!"

I think the issue got to the point of no return before any State/country thought to turn the ship around policy wise. Policies that would incentivise not punish or charge for it.

People believe we can consume our way out of this.

Yep. It would help if the big companies that are doing the damage it would be great. But consumerism consumes is.

Yes but none of that will replenish the planet to replace that we're using resources quicker than it can renew.
Deep green is the only way but no-one will be doing that we don't have the infrastructure & in any case there's too many people

I suspect we're going to find out....