4Rs Tip for 07.08.2022 – A Fight to Control Our Ecological Impact
Our Impact on Mother Earth is Not Out of Our Control
One of the biggest challenges we face is getting our carbon emissions under control. This is a huge part of the human ecological footprint. Why not carbon footprint? Because our impact is from more than carbon emissions, and it’s my way of protesting corporate manipulation.
They’ve been getting away with it for far too long
One of our biggest obstacles is the fossil fuel industry and the power they have over governments and the media.
Smoke and Mirrors
They’ve been manipulating how we buy and, yes, even how we vote for far too long. When we protest about the damage caused by fossil fuels, the industry distracts us by coining terms like carbon footprint. This expression was created as propaganda “to shift responsibility of climate change-causing pollution away from the corporations and institutions that created a society where carbon emissions are unavoidable and onto personal lifestyle choices.”
They’ve manipulated us into an era where we practically have no choice but to buy from these big polluters that created the mess in the first place.
Similar to the Keep America Beautiful campaign that was created to make us believe that if we put our trash in the right place our waste would no longer be a problem. It was funded by beverage and bottling companies to keep us buying disposable containers and plastics made from fossil fuels.
100 companies are responsible for over 70% of emissions
Research has shown that the top producers of fossil fuels are the biggest polluters. They do what they can to keep us from knowing how they perpetuate our climate crisis so we keep giving them craploads of money to do it.
Our eco-footprint is mostly driven by who we give our money to through spending and investments, and a lot of that happens with our tax dollars. Government subsidies to fossil fuel companies totaled trillions of dollars just a few years ago when the US was under a profit-driven regime. Fortunately, we’re seeing a shift in this irresponsible government spending of our tax dollars.
- In the US, taxpayer dollars subsidize the fossil fuel industry to the tune of over 20 billion a year, and over 6 billion of that comes from state tax dollars.
- An analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) showed that in 2020 the fossil fuel industry made 11 million dollars every minute from government subsidies.
- One study by the IMF in 2017 showed that the US spent 10 times more on the fossil fuel industry than it did on education. If you think about it, this leads to the dumbing of America so people will believe the lies of big polluters.
How can we fight big business? With our voices and our wallets.
We need to fight laws that keep us dependent on fossil fuels by speaking up and telling our elected officials enough is enough.
- Vote for local laws and the representatives that will protect your community from plastics and policies that benefit the fossil fuel industry. Without our voices, fossil fuel companies and big corporations write the rules to fit their needs and increase profits.
- Right under our noses fossil fuel lobbyists went into US states and pushed through bans on restricting the use of plastics in as many as 18 states. These bans on plastic bans make it even harder to restrict the mass amounts of plastic invading your community.
- In California, energy companies found rooftop solar cutting into their profits so they tried to push through a tax on owners of solar panels. Many people in the state protested with calls and emails (I was one of them) and prevented it from happening, for now. We can’t let up. We need to continue to fight these laws that keep us tied to fossil fuels.
- Find informative resources in your state and municipality to know what is happening in your community to fight corporate polluters. I subscribe to my state Department of Justice newsletter that tells me what actions are being taken to protect me and my family.
- Right under our noses fossil fuel lobbyists went into US states and pushed through bans on restricting the use of plastics in as many as 18 states. These bans on plastic bans make it even harder to restrict the mass amounts of plastic invading your community.
- The internet provides us the resources to learn about this kind of legislation in our communities and states.
- Make sure you know who your state and federal representatives are and get online to find out what they support. Call your reps or send them emails to let them know you are against continuing our reliance on fossil fuels. After all, they work for you!
- Get the Climate Action Now app that makes it easy for you to make those calls or send emails. I send about ten emails a day to my state and federal representatives and it takes no more than 15 minutes a day.
- Make sure you know who your state and federal representatives are and get online to find out what they support. Call your reps or send them emails to let them know you are against continuing our reliance on fossil fuels. After all, they work for you!
Come on, you can’t tell me you don’t have 15 minutes to spare to save our planet. How are you gonna explain that to your kids?
And, we can take action to avoid buying from corporate polluters.
- Drive an electric car or drive less – if you can’t afford to switch up your vehicle right now work on other ways to reduce your gas use. Look for alternatives like:
- Public transportation
- Walking to the store
- Take a train or bus on your next trip
- Don’t buy plastics – actively working to avoid them; it’s challenging but doable. Pay attention to what you buy and look for ways to shift those purchases to buy from eco-friendly companies that use biodegradable or reduced packaging.
- Buying used goods eliminates more packaging in our world. There are enough clothes in the world that no one has to buy new, ever! I’m just saying.
- Buying used goods eliminates more packaging in our world. There are enough clothes in the world that no one has to buy new, ever! I’m just saying.
- Reduce online orders to avoid transportation emissions – become aware of the consequences of your online shopping. Watch this video on the true cost of Prime Day.
- Buy long-lasting durable products that you will want to hang onto for a long time. Profit-hungry corporations hate this.
A great quote I recently read:
“When you buy something cheap and bad, the best you’re going to feel about it is when you buy it. When you buy something expensive and good, the worst you’re going to feel about it is when you buy it.”
Why It’s Important
Someone asked me once why what’s happening now to our climate is any different than the natural change that would occur anyway? At the time, my best response was to say that human activities accelerate climate change. I found out later that wasn’t the right answer.
I love these questions because they help me discover the truth about this crisis. It’s not that human activities have accelerated a change in climate, we’ve disrupted it.
The air and ocean currents that support life on our planet are broken. They no longer work the way they are supposed to. This is why we see unusual weather patterns and heat waves in the Antarctic that are unnatural.
This quote from an article by EcoWatch brings home why I write this blog.
“While to many the climate debate may seem remote from daily life, the small decisions that we all can make—how much water we use, the products we buy, how we vote—are personal and possible. And they become easier the more we are aware of the consequences.”
Mother Earth needs our help! The more aware we are of the problem the better chance we have of averting the consequences of the human impact on our source of life.
Mourning the Loss of Freedom and Protections in My Country
The decisions made by the US Supreme Court over the past few weeks scream clearly that they are not concerned with protecting my health or my rights as a human.
After the devastating blow to our right to choose what happens to our bodies, they stripped the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its power to regulate power plant emissions. It’s mind-numbing to think the EPA is there to protect our environment, yet has no powers to do that.
These decisions strike a blow to human rights and the health of our citizens. I can think of no better reason to step up our fight for the planet and our future.
Ways You Can Make A Difference
It’s not taboo to talk climate.
Share these videos that might open someone’s eyes or help them see what they can do.
- This 10-minute Ted Talk from climate activist and marine biologist, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson helps us understand how important it is to act now and how to find joy in saving the planet. Please watch and share.
- The Film4Climate short film winner in 2016, Three Seconds is only 4 minutes long and well worth your time. Check it out.
With Much Gratitude
That’s it for this week. If you like this post, please forward it to every earth-friendly human you know.
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Drop me a line anytime if you have questions or comments. I love hearing from you.
Thank you for reading these tips and subscribing. Pat yourself on the back for doing your part. Remember, everything helps.
You got this!
Jen
jen.thilman@gmail.com
Jen Thilman 