A fixation on system change alone opens the door to a kind of cynical self-absolution that divorces personal commitment from political belief. This is its own kind of false consciousness, one that threatens to create a cheapened climate politics incommensurate with this urgent moment.
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Because here’s the thing: When you choose to eat less meat or take the bus instead of driving or have fewer children, you are making a statement that your actions matter, that it’s not too late to avert climate catastrophe, that you have power. To take a measure of personal responsibility for climate change doesn’t have to distract from your political activism—if anything, it amplifies it.
File under “green washing.”
If a company offers a more expensive “choice” of a greener option, rather than just being ecologically responsible by default, then you are being sold a product. That is, you get to express your superior “green” ethics by identifying with your purchase.
The company doesn’t actually care about the environment. They’re just doing the minimum to capture extra $$$