Feeling guilty every time we can’t be perfect environmentalists isn’t sustainable. For a safer climate, we don't need to get every action right, but we do need to understand the greater scope of the crisis.
Yes, absolutely. We cannot remove our carbon footprint entirely.
But we can severely reduce it without sacrificing much. For example, eating much less meat, you don’t even have to cut it out completely, cuts out a significant percentage of your carbon footprint. Using public transit instead of your car is also significant, and often not a big inconvenience (personally I consider public transit to be much more convenient, but my city is also good at that). Using electronics until they break or don’t do their job anymore, instead of buying a new one a lot earlier, or at least reselling/giving away your old electronics, also helps.
Just doing these things may cut down their footprint in half for some people, even if those are relatively small changes for that individual.
Basically to just not over-consume. We don’t need every material good, and getting them may not even make us happier or healthier in the first place.
Yes, absolutely. We cannot remove our carbon footprint entirely.
But we can severely reduce it without sacrificing much. For example, eating much less meat, you don’t even have to cut it out completely, cuts out a significant percentage of your carbon footprint. Using public transit instead of your car is also significant, and often not a big inconvenience (personally I consider public transit to be much more convenient, but my city is also good at that). Using electronics until they break or don’t do their job anymore, instead of buying a new one a lot earlier, or at least reselling/giving away your old electronics, also helps.
Just doing these things may cut down their footprint in half for some people, even if those are relatively small changes for that individual.
Basically to just not over-consume. We don’t need every material good, and getting them may not even make us happier or healthier in the first place.