While there is certainly nothing wrong with making individual low-carbon choices, I am increasingly concerned with how the #actonclimate movement is emphasizing individual lifestyle over collective action. There are two problems with this (thread).
One is that framing the issue in terms of lifestyle carries with it the race/class/health/wealth point of view of the framer. But not everyone's relationship with #climatechange is the same. This was the major critique of late 20th century environmentalism hcn.org/issues/42.2/th…
The second is that individual choices are small in terms of cutting carbon. Aside from having a kid (high impact b/c another carbon footprint is added), aviation, the second most carbon-intensive individual activity, is only 4-5% of human radiative forcing sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
So rather than tell folks "don't fly!" Let's instead ask: how can we - collectively - pressure the aviation industry to upgrade its technology, which hasn't really changed in 40 years (I am sure we are all tired of those ancient stinky planes...)
Rather than tell folks, "bike to work"! Let's instead ask: how do we create an array of low-carbon transport options for people with various physical abilities and needs?
Rather than tell folks, "buy solar panels!" Let's instead ask: how do we make solar energy cheap and accessible for all?
In sum: climate change is a collective problem that requires collective action, and everyone's relationship to #climatechange is different. Let's focus on organizing local/state/national/international policy changes - that's how we beat this thing. /fin
