Several people have asked me the question, "What can we do about the climate crisis?" or sometimes they ask, "What are you doing, Charles?"
As Naomi Klein pointed out in her 2019 book On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal:
The hard truth is that the answer to the question "What can I, as an individual, do to stop climate change?" is: nothing.
You can’t do anything. In fact, the very idea that we, as atomized individuals, even lots of atomized individuals, could play a significant part in stabilizing the planet’s climate system or changing the global economy is objectively nuts. We can only meet this tremendous challenge together, as part of a massive and organized global movement.
Individual actions are important, they are responsible, and they inspire others to do likewise.
The fossil fuel industry wants everyone to feel guilty because they aren't doing enough as individuals; the truth is ... that just takes the guilt off their own shoulders, which is where it belongs. Just like the tobacco industry, forty years ago, funding smoking cessation programs (for individuals).
Become part of a growing global social movement for substantive structural change. Educating yourself is the most important thing you can do. The essential facts about climate change are readily available, they are irrefutable, easily read, and easily understood.
Become part of a growing global social movement for substantive structural change. Educating yourself is the most important thing you can do. The essential facts about climate change are readily available, they are irrefutable, easily read, and easily understood.
And never forget that reality always has the final word.
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