Do my small ethical choices make any real difference?

[GJA2018]

I try to do my bit for the environment, I don’t have a big income but I spend a bit extra using a milkman and buying environmentally friendly cleaning products. I spend a lot of time ensuring that my rubbish is recycled properly and I’m on the verge of being a hoarder because I hate the thought of anything going to landfill. Then I read about people buying a new shower curtain once a week, replacing their entire underwear collection every six months, washing towels after every use. These people obviously don’t give a monkeys about the environment and I know it’s a drop in the ocean compared to what big corporations are doing but I just wonder if the little things I do are a waste of time and money?

How would you feel if you stopped doing these things? If you care about the environment, recycling and trying to avoid single use plastics can actually make you feel good. Yes, it's an absolute drop in the ocean, but you can do a very little bit, or you can do nothing. Unfortunately, our planet cannot be saved as long as multinationals who put profit before environment continue to dominate the world.

You're not alone. I hate buying for the sake of it, try to reduce car trips etc. Yet an acquaintance was chatting to me about how they only drove today because it was cold but he didn't want put on a coat and trousers! It's just not a priority for a lot of people. But also, it is for a lot of people. There are a lot of people..

Collectively our mindset will make some difference - even if it's just demonstrating demand/appetite for these things.

I think the mindset I dislike the most is the one that disparages any act because you own a car or you have kids or you eat meat. As if any improvement only counts if every aspect of your life is in accordance with an impossible standard.

No-one's asking for a few people to do everything, because everyone doing a little bit would be far better.

It was demonstrated in covid - "I'm not wearing a mask because they don't prevent covid" (only reduce the risk to everyone)

I sort of think, to be honest, that individual consumer choices act more like a pressure valve, allowing us to participate in the destruction of the environment (by just living in a society doing this at scale) while feeling personally blameless. It might overall be worse as it saps our motivation for real systemic change by letting us believe we're taking meaningful action.

But it doesn't really matter whose fault it is when we're dealing with actual material issues like climate change. We're all here together on this one planet so it's our problem regardless of whether we recycled or bicycled or fair traded our way through life.

I know exactly what you mean OP but collectively it does help. ☀️

I know someone who goes on about ditching his car & being a vegan to help the planet. But flies everywhere multiple times of year. Even domestic flights in the UK that are doable by train. I'm sure he has his reasons.

Even David Attenborough is like it. Goes on and on about the environment but flies all around the world.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself 💐

I do what I can but I don’t have any hope that collectively we will save ourselves until it starts to affect our ability to earn money or causes food & fuel shortages. Let’s face it most people don’t care about the Amazon rainforest or animals that are going extinct or island populations that are being flooded because it doesn’t affect our day to day activities. Until it actually lands right on our doorstep I don’t think the majority of the human population will do very much at all.

Also don't forget a lot of people are against the environmental impact of AI but are happy to store thousands of photos on "the cloud" and hoard emails from years ago.

From Google (the irony!)

"Data storage and its related infrastructure are responsible for 2% to 4% of global carbon emissions, a figure that rivals the commercial aviation industry"

None of us are perfect at this 💐

I think the key is to do what you think is right and not overstretch yourself until the point of resentment then you just assume that other people are doing what possible for them and don’t judge.

People do/dont do various things for a reason. And they don’t owe you an explanation.

I've joined a local environmental group and do litter picking and other activities with them. It's helped me feel part of a wider group of like minded people and more of a collective rather than a lone voice.

The core issue is ofc how mass consumerism is totally entangled into modern society which is a core part of how capitalism operates- we have the agency to make more environmental choices in own lives, but very little autonomy to challenge the structures, our good choices are still sat within a system which prioritises profit over sustainability…So it does all feel very frustrating.

I get quite pissed off seeing posts on fb by places like the range who try and whip people into a frenzy over faux bunny topiary precisely nobody needs. But these tactics DO work. It’s all designed to work together. I think a key point for me is that people are totally disconnected from these spending habits, it’s invisible so out of sight out of mind. But ultimately there needs to be an entire system overhaul and that seems incredibly likely to come to fruition without wide-scale social change, and ultimately many people don’t care about what doesn’t effect them personally.

Yeah, I feel your frustration, but I like to think I'm doing my bit where I can, and that's all anyone can do.

My small ethical choices make a difference to me - it makes me feel happy when I remember a reusable cup for coffee on the train or a cloth bag for my shopping. I do it for myself, and if others do more or less than me I try not to let it bother me.

That being said I work in the sustainability industry and feel strongly that we need to make the ethical choice the easy and cheapest choice eg. if our entire electricity supply is decarbonised and renewables are the cheapest/only source of power, we won't need to rely on individuals going out of their way to choose a 100% renewable tariff.

Thank you, I appreciate all of your responses. I find it’s a balancing act trying to stay educated and informed whilst blocking out the outside noise. I do feel better for the choices I make and I guess that’s the main thing!