Athena5898

Np! And I’m going to say something controversial to my fellow vegetarians and vegans. Giving up meat can be very very hard depending on your personal circumstances. I grew up 30 minutes away from any groceries in cow country. I’m also autistic with mild food issues. It’s taken me a long time, work, and circumstances changes (i live in a nice vegetarian friendly city now) to get where i am now. I think the “do or you are a utter failure” that is rampant in anti meat spheres is honestly to its harm. Instead of encouraging everyone to do their best while we fight for better systematic changes, there is scorn and fingerwagging if someone isn’t perfect.

I’m going to piggyback off of this too since i havn’t seen it mentioned as much, cows need a LOT of water. They are literally walking bathtubs (the average cow stomach is the size of a tub, i have a bachelor’s in animal science and actually have seen in one ><) and this is why it baffles me when someone talks about the water need for plants or things like almond milk. It’s not even comparable as far as efficiency is concerned, and honestly, plant producers have actually worked to be better at water conservation since it’s important to them, but most cow production doesn’t even consider it into the equation.

well lab grown meat has just recently been approved for sell. So that’s a major thing. But there are a lot of plant protein resources. I’m vegetarian so I eat eggs and some milk. (I actually prefer almond milk, most of my milk consumption probably comes from why protein powder cause I can’t afford the plant protein powders for weight lifting). Now as someone who actually studied nutrition in college, the confusion comes from the fact that people don’t factor amino acids. As my teacher said “You don’t have a protein requirement, you have an amino acid requirement” once you look at it in this way, there are ways around this that we can do, but there are shortcomings as of right now (especially socio-economic) if you cut out eggs. However, it would be pretty easy to add the missing nutrients in other foods the issue comes from good ol classic capitalism issues of “efficiency and money” shit.

Honestly, some of the biggest problems we face is just a matter of focus and funding in research. There are a lot of solutions and it’s honestly amazing how far we’ve come despite special interest groups (oil, farming trusts, etc) have worked to stunt the growth of things, so you just have to imagine what ecological, vegan, etc tech could do if it hand the same funding and backing as these other sectors. I honestly can’t wait.

My changing climate has a very good video on this just last week actually that goes over everything including the shortcomings of veganism and the actual nuance in it. ( I say this as a vegetarian, but let me tell you, growing up in cow country SE Oklahoma, an hour from a walmart with groceries, I know it’s not as simple as some people claim it is. but i’m getting off-topic)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwYoe-0ncVk&t=1s

actually, a lot of them do think climate change is unstoppable in some way shape and form, I know cause i get told that almost every day. There are people doing it in these comments right now.

Also, I read the article, he is not ignoring the issue here, and honestly, i think this is directed at the leaders too. Who do you think is spreading this gloom and doom in the first place? Who benefits from people giving up and we just live in a worst world when there is much we can do to fight? The fossil fuel-backed “leadership”.

There are plenty of ways to fight, you just can’t do it alone. No one can fight climate change alone. Our individualism has warped our brains so that we cannot even fathom what to do at first when we ourselves cannot fix a problem by ourselves. Another outcome of hegemony and our corrupt society.

only through building community and threatening the power structure can we effectively fight for real change. “leadership” (aka people with power who are all corrupt to a certain extent) will do nothing if they do not have a legitimate fear of the people, and that will not come without community building and throwing off the shackles of individualism.

Oh don’t worry, voting to me is something that you do and then get back to the real work. You need to organize with people around you and fight everything and anything in your area. If it feels like you can’t do that in your area, then if you can, try moving to an area you think you might be able to find your community. (it doesn’t have to be far, it can literally be a town over, or even down the street). No one can fight climate change alone. It will take many people working together to make the change we need to see. Also you may be able to radicalize people in your area for even more direct action. Get people to feed into their anger, and channel it at the people in charge who refuse to change anything.

This can start out as small issues but you can wake people up that they DO have power. If we build up a coalition of power from the ground up, it will get easier and faster to do. Many hands make light work and all that, and eventually people will be willing to make people in power fear them again. Cause i’m going to be honest with you, I believe power corrupts absolutely, so anyone in power is so removed from the rest of our realities, that I do not think you can reason with most of them. The only thing you can do against power, is make it fear you. Ironically to all the “just vote UwU” people, voting means nothing if there is no consequences for going against the will of the people. Which we see time and time again. I have finally been able to be more active as of late, despite my disabilities and it gives me a way forward that I wouldn’t of had otherwise.

oh, even more things you can do. While I can go on and on about the complications of social media and the internet at large, and while direct action in person is the most effective, there are things you can do if you just can’t work in person for a variety of reasons. Before I got my boots on the ground, I was able to help out with community work with social media management. With the internet and our ability to connect long distances, you have options from home in regards to helping build community, and if you do this it may give you connections to help you get out of your situation so that you can be more physically involved in the future.

I know this is a lot, but there is just not a quick easy answer to “what should I do?” Our individualism has warped our reality to how things work, and trust me I battle with it every day too. There is no big savior coming to help us, and there isn’t some big magic fix. It will take a lot of tiny things that will build up to big changes. That’s how it has always worked, but it’s easier to conceptualize when we break it down into big chunks for history. Let alone the hegemony of the Great Man Theory of history

It’s hard to tell you what YOU can do, because I don’t know you. What CAN you do? Use the skills you have to help out a group or org in your area, if there isn’t one, then try making one if that is something you can do, or help online. Our changing climate talked about dual vision when dealing with climate change. It’s the idea of looking at what is possible in both a good and bad way and trying to walk that line. I don’t know if my organizing and work will make a difference, but all I can do is my best and constantly work for something better. The people in power have taken much from all of us, I refuse to let them take my one life without a fight, and without me finding happiness in the dark times. We don’t get to choose the times we live in, but we can help fight and build something better so those in the future will have something better. That’s just how I live and it’s what works for me.

This is a trying time, and sorry I did not mean for this to turn into a novel. Like i said it’s hard to answer the question “what do I do?” simply without coming off as uncaring or hand-wavy. TL;DR shit fucking sucks

I wish you luck in your journey and as much peace as anyone of us can have with our climate anxiety.

TL:DR kinda defeats the purpose but, Shit fucking sucks, and it’s hard. But we gotta try, organizing and direct action to the point of making those in power fear us is our best option.

as my friend says “Despair is a commodity, don’t buy into it”

get organized with people and bring fear to the people who won’t change policies. YOU cannot do anything, but WE can. No one can fight climate change alone.

yeah gerrymandering and attacks on voting would like to have a word with you.

you want politicians to listen, you make them listen. Power corrupts absolutely, if you want people in power to listen, you make them listen. It’s time politicians become afraid of the workers again, from either loss of revenue or other things.

sounds like giving up to me

oh look people in the comments who are missing the fucking point. I’m honestly so sick of this shit. You either have rainbows and unicorns and “we’ll just figure it out”/climate deniers to “WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH” apathetic fucks who won’t do shit* because “what’s the point we are all doomed anyway” which…causes the same problem as denying does.

honestly i’ve delt with more people who refuse to change anything because “what’s the point” than I deal with outright deniers anymore.

*not sure if anyone in the comments is an apathetic "do nothing though tbf and honest. So there is my disclaimer don’t @ me.