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Aral Balkan

Whenever someone tells you that the climate crisis is a personal responsibility issue, show them this:

theguardian.com/sustainable-bu

The climate crisis is a billionaires crisis, a trillion-dollar corporations crisis, a capitalism crisis, a systemic inequality crisis.

#climateChange #climateCrisis #climateCatastrophe #climate #corporatocracy #capitalism

43 comments
DELETED

@aral Where’s the outrage over this? I never got an email or saw a post from my proverbial crazy uncle about anything like this.

rastilin

@TomMarcinko @aral

Yeah, people keep talking about recycling and whatnot, and yes, that's nice. But it's worth remembering that for example 95% of water use is industrial, so even if we all stopped using water for anything ever, humanity's total water use would only drop by 5%.

Also, I note that the top 10 are all either coal or petrolium companies and they're like 20% by themselves.

Sibrosan

@rastilin @TomMarcinko @aral

"But it's worth remembering that for example 95% of water use is industrial, so even if we all stopped using water for anything ever, ..."

And do those industries use the water just for fun? No, it's to make the products that we all keep buying from them...

rastilin

@sibrosan @TomMarcinko @aral

And they could use far less water with some research and legislation.

TobiWanKenobi

@rastilin

"Yeah, people keep talking about recycling and whatnot"

And that's how capitalism shits in peoples' heads. It tells the common people to do recycling, but then the capitalists use their connections, underlings, and their media companies to push for exceptions to be granted for their companies. And since policymakers need their support to stay in power, they'll add exceptions to laws that allow capitalist companies to "greenwash" their way out of it.

If we keep talking about recycling, we should simply include everyone and everything in recycling. That's what you call a closed-loop economy. You only use what you can reuse after its use. 🤷‍♂️

@TomMarcinko @aral

@rastilin

"Yeah, people keep talking about recycling and whatnot"

And that's how capitalism shits in peoples' heads. It tells the common people to do recycling, but then the capitalists use their connections, underlings, and their media companies to push for exceptions to be granted for their companies. And since policymakers need their support to stay in power, they'll add exceptions to laws that allow capitalist companies to "greenwash" their way out of it.

Extinction

@aral

The crisis we are responsible for is accepting capitalist accumulation and taking the benefits from it all without requiring politicians to keep wealthy classes and forces in check. That has reached crisis level because we were manipulated, and are still being manipulated to accept it, rather than rising up and making the fundamental changes that will keep humans and ecosystems alive into the future.

Robert Boler

@aral Agreed. But just so folks watching at home don’t feel completely helpless, can you also post actions that you see as valuable? Political organizing? Competing products/services to support instead?

Sammurraysutton

@rcbo @aral most important thing is political organising and protesting. Your personal consumer choices aren't likely to have much impact. Green party in the UK for example is almost entirely volunteer driven and always needs more help. Just a few extra hand campaigning in an area can swing an election, especially local politics.

Daniel Quinn

@Sammurraysutton @rcbo @aral I've had a very hard time with the Greens here in the UK. They opposed nuclear, and Lucas was especially loony with her Guardian op-ed about how men can't be trusted to lead. It was... alienating to say the least.

With Corbyn ousted though, I'm now struggling to find a party worth voting for. Can you sell me on the Greens?

Gussy

@Sammurraysutton @rcbo @aral if your household income is above about US$100k/year, your spending choices are probably as important as your political choices - maybe even more so.

levampyre

@rcbo @aral Smash capitalism! Disown companies! Eat the rich!

bwada

@rcbo @aral
Sow the seeds for a communist takeover

Gussy

@bwada @rcbo @aral democratic socialism yes, communism no :-)

bwada

@wall0159 @rcbo @aral
But in reality capitalism doesn't allow democratic socialism, so it's just a fantasy without power structures that explicitly represent proletariat interests first and foremost.

Piousunyn

@aral

Climate crisis is a result from the hording of money and power by the very few, really just big time greed working against Mother Earth and its inhabitants.

Jake in the desert

@aral because OF COURSE 100 companies are responsible for 71% of all this. It's ALWAYS the companies. Great piece.

Lord H

@aral That may be so. We in the, so called, developed world must to take some responsibility.

Matthew Graybosch
@LordHofSeeland If you want me to take responsibility, give me authority to match. I'm taking responsibility for problems that predate my existence. @aral
DELETED

@LordHofSeeland @aral I too take exception to the idea "it's not our fault";
People keep voting for status quo politicians because they know those politicians won't force any change on their lifestyle.

WallOffTrump

@aral
I joined a recycling program oddly, didn't save the world...
I reinsulated my house - didn't save the world...
I changed my lightbulbs - didn't save the world...
Changed my van for a Mini - didn't...
Got a heat pump...didn't.
These were distractions from the scale of the changes needed.
Govt is meant to restrain the powerful for the common good...
Those bastards need some powerful restrainin'!
Boycott!
Strike!
Vote!
We all need to do bigger things!

xs4me2

@aral

Its a capitalism crisis, unlimited growth and ditto profit is unsustainable… the model needs change.

Petra van Cronenburg

@aral But all these (fossil fuels) companies have customers. Everything is interconnected. If masses of customers stop using fossil energy, these companies sell less. And all of this is also connected with politics: we need a change to sustainable energies.
Putting pressure on politics and changing things yourself (where possible, especially in rich countries!) should not be mutually exclusive, but complementary.

Matthew Graybosch
@NatureMC You can’t have customers if the government revoked your charter and dissolves your corporation. Fossil fuel corporations don’t get their corporate charters out of a cereal box. They’re issued by the state and the state has the authority to revoke them. @aral
Sibrosan

@aral

"Whenever someone tells you that the climate crisis is a personal responsibility issue, show them this:"

And are you not enabling those 100 companies by directly or indirectly buying their products?

Those companies are not causing the climate crisis by burning their fossil fuels on their own, you know.

Pieter Rocks

@aral @sibrosan we can’t boycot our way out of this. The companies need to be regulated by government as they will do nothing if it is up to you. Even when individuals stop buying their product.

Sibrosan

@Pieter @aral

"The companies need to be regulated by government"

You think that will stop people from buying and burning the fossil fuels those companies supply?

SSSam

@aral The climate crisis is Tragedy of the Commons on a global scale.

"If an individual acts in their best interest, it can result in harmful over-consumption to the detriment of all. This phenomenon may result in under-investment and total depletion of a shared resource. "

Geri

@aral

That global footprint bullshit was just to hoodwink that we, as individuals, were as guilty as Shell and BP.

Jake Rayson

@Geri @aral and to delay action and responsibility for as long as profitably possible

Jake Rayson

@Geri @aral I wonder how the lies and deceit will play out. Will there be a watershed moment? Or will the denials continue as the flames reach the very doors of the citadel?

jorny

@aral
Very true. But that doesn't take away from the fact that personal action can be an act of political resistance. Especially if you organize and get other people to take personal action. Not flying for holidays, not owning a car, eating plants instead of animals, getting solar panels etc. are still all meaningful actions that are helpful.

Gussy

@aral both those things are true - while it is a billionaires crisis, it is also a personal responsibility crisis - those companies are delivering good and services mostly to the billion or so people in the global middle class (income eg. US$20000-300000 annually). As long as we pay them, they'll continue to do it

Al

@wall0159 @aral this is the truth. We as individuals can’t call out oil companies for their CO2 emissions while buying fuel from them to fill up a 3 tonne truck.

Our personal responsibility is to opt out of consumerism as much as possible AND push to stop these corporations.

davidpmaurer

@aral no one will miss the billionaires when they're gone.

Dr. Quadragon ❌

@aral Basically, Fortune 500 is our hit list, how convenient.

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