It’s really difficult to talk about the environment in a meaningful way. We all play a role within a system that is on the wrong track. And therefore, we are all complicit. We all have things we depend on and enjoy, that would need to change if we wanted to do better, environmentally speaking.
Pointing out another’s faults makes us hypocritical. Who among us can claim to be making the substantial sacrifices that would be required to be blameless?
So, many people just don’t say anything, even though something feels deeply wrong. Others get on soap-boxes and yell, hoping to gather enough support for their cause that they can make a change. Politicians weigh in, and promise to do this or that. The media gets all excited, with their safe, state approved, click bait stories. Social media gets to work, encouraging people to be hysterical, in order to study them, and to monetize the opportunity.
And meanwhile, we still aren’t having interesting, meaningful conversations about the environment.
What do you want to say about it?
1.) If you could live any way that you wanted to, and society supported you, how would you live?
2.) How much does the opinion of other’s mater to you,
2.) In what ways are you participating in a system that you are proud of?
3.) In what ways are you participating in a system that you are ashamed of?
Introducing the plastic bag debate!
Do you use free plastic bags from grocery stores, to bag your groceries? That’s what people are focused on… grocery stores not having to give us free bags anymore.
This isn’t the conversation most relevant, pressing, or interesting conversation that we could be having.
I accept the free plastic bags, yes I do. Because if I didn’t, I’d just have to buy more plastic bags anyway, just to throw away all the packaging that I have to take home from the grocery store.
Isn’t is obvious to everyone that our narrative, our conversation has been co-opted?
Why is everyone talking about how grocery store bags shouldn’t be free anymore? Really? That’s what we want to talk about? Not that we shouldn’t have to buy so much plastic packaging from grocery stores. Not that grocery stores sell us items that are designed to stop working. Nope. What people want to do is pay grocery stores more to buy plastic.
Gosh, I appreciate my free plastic bags, and put every one of them to good use. I bag up my recycling with them (i.e. I throw away all the packaging I had to buy at the grocery store). I bag up fresh produce, so it keeps longer. I use bags to separate the kitty little, so it doesn’t contaminate the rest of the trash. When you can teach me a better way to dispose of my waste, you let me know. In the meanwhile, yes, I prefer my plastic bags to be free.
It’s not that I don’t care about reducing plastic. I welcome of a conversation about it. What can we do? It’s absurd that so many things we buy are made of plastic, or coated in plastic, and designed to break and need replacing. Surely we can do better.
Let’s focus on our progress as a society instead of our personal identity.
When a friend pulls out their reusable straw, it strikes me as mere virtue signaling. To me it screams “look at me, being such a good girl”. Well two extra social credits to you. And I feel sad.
Judging each other over bags and straws is sad. It’s a sad, boring, and silly narrative.
There are way more important and interesting things we could be talking about.
What do you think?
1.) I think people have been manipulated into focusing on plastic bags. Agree or disagree? Why?
2.) What does virtue signaling mean? Can you think of an example?
3.) Do you have the right to judge others about how they interact with the environment? If so, why?
4.) What are the top three or four things you would like to change about the systems you live within?
5.) What would you like to do differently?
6.) What is preventing you from making the changes you’d like to make?
7.) What do you think we are doing well, as a spices?
8.) What could we do better, as a spices?
9.) If you had one message for the world about the environment, what would it be?
10.) If you were an alien, looking down on us, what would you think of us?