At this point it is clear that many people put economic issues ahead of environmental issues. We could go around in circles with people who think this way all day and get absolutely nowhere, because for one reason or another not everyone values the same things. So, what do we do?
I personally don't think that capitalism is inherently against environmentalism. Clearly, our current setup is undermining environmental efforts, but I don't think it has to be that way. Maybe the best thing we can do right now is find a way to play the game in order to get the results we need. I am not going to pretend to know exactly how to do this, but I think it would be useful for our side to focus more on making consumerism a friend, rather than a foe.
Social media and online communities are potentially a powerful way to reach consumers directly. How can we market the fight against climate change to the general public? I think one thing we're missing is more variety in our messaging. Our current approach, focusing on science and morality, is working for the people who are already on board for change. But, since it clearly isn't appealing to a large portion of the population, how can we make it appeal to them? For example, how can we show people who are more concerned about their bank accounts than rising sea levels that environmentalism will benefit our economy—and them in the more immediate sense? How can we make sustainable tech and resources more financially competitive?
Sometimes the most efficient way to accomplish a goal is to just work with what we've got. Of course, maybe that isn't the case here. But, I wouldn't rule it out.
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Weekly Summary:
11/19—This blog post
11/19—Comment on Carolin’s “Wendell Berry and Stewart Brand” post
11/19—Comment on Tyler’s “Wildlife Conservation” post
Total: 62
I agree that it would be more efficient to work with what we've got. I think the main problem we have to get past is that social media has been used much more effectively by the climate change denialists, as well as foreign powers to create misinformation and confusion. These tools have to be used by environmentalists to get the facts to the people. And if dry facts and figures aren’t effective, I think images and videos could be way more powerful and reach more people.
ReplyDeleteI agree in part. However, I think we need not limit the message of environmentalism to social media. We need more than Tweets or pictures; we need to get people outside. We need people to build a connection with nature that will motivate them to political action.
Delete"I personally don't think that capitalism is inherently against environmentalism." Perhaps not, but the captitalist orientation to the short-term (motivated by pressure to mollify stockholders at annual meetings, etc.) surely is. "Messaging" is crucial, and the message that business-as-usual sabotages thinking and policy-making for the long haul has to be THE message of our moment. Those AOC videos are a pretty good template for getting that message out. We need to elect more environmentally-astute Communicators too.
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