Non-individual attitudes and actions towards ecological problems
It is an undeniable fact that the scientific and technological developments that came with the industrial revolution have significantly changed human life. Compared to past centuries, we live much healthier, more prosperous and safe. However, this order that benefits us is doing serious damage to our planet that hosts us. Environmental problems such as global warming, climate change, depletion of natural resources, water and air pollution cause the deterioration of the natural balance.
We're always talking about saving our planet, about improving it, but the truth is, our planet doesn't need to be fixed or healed. Good, good for what? Of course, we're talking about what's good for people. Because the existing conditions of our world create the most ideal living conditions for us humans. The oxygen ratio in the air, the temperature of the atmosphere, and the intensity of the rays that can pass through the ozone layer are in the ideal amount for us humans to survive. If the ecological balance is disturbed, nothing will happen to our planet. He finds a way to survive and progress, he finds a new balance. But humanity perish because it cannot adapt to changing conditions. Our planet doesn't need us, but we do need it. The seriousness of environmental problems and the urgency of the solution is a problem that is completely related to us.
I have been involved in ecology and environmental issues since 2018 and I have been taking individual actions for environmental pollution since 2018. I started living zero waste by rejecting single use plastics so as not to be part of the plastic waste problem. I went minimalist and vegan to reduce my carbon emissions. In order to prevent it from causing air pollution, I started to compost my organic waste and I became more careful about recycling than before. This is all great, I strive to be a conscious Earth citizen by taking individual action against an existing global problem. What I've done is certainly not useless. But is it effective enough to reverse global warming, curb climate change, save coral reefs or make the ozone layer as thick and solid as before?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: It is not possible for every individual living in the world, without exception, to carry out the actions he can take against environmental pollution individually. First world countries are so dependent on industrial activities that it is difficult for people living in those countries to access environmentally friendly equipment and facilities. People living in third world countries also have more urgent and vital problems than a 1.5 ᵒC global warming that will come years later.
Even if every individual living in the world, without exception, performs the actions he can take against environmental pollution, the answer will still be no. The increase in environmental pollution is significantly reduced, the rate of destruction to the planet decreases. I have nothing against him. However, what really pollutes the environment is not what we do individually, but what large companies and governments do. For this reason, even if we do our best individually, it is not possible to restore this huge planet to its former ecological balance with individual actions alone.
What I mean is this: You may have reduced your consumption of disposable paper cups to zero by taking your coffee in a thermos. This means less plastic waste in the seas and less chance of an innocent whale swimming in the sea suffocating from that waste. This is great news! But your decision to use a thermos instead of a paper cup will not protect that whale from being poisoned by an oil spill in the ocean. The carbon emission released by a person who lives without caring about ecological life for 70 years is not even as much as the carbon released by the global energy sector in one second. For this reason, for a real and permanent solution, it is necessary to deal with situations and events that we cannot individually change.
What are non-individual attitudes and actions?
By situations and events that we cannot individually change, I mean situations and events that we cannot be effective alone but can make a big and important change if we act as a large group. I'm talking here about changing an entire industry, an entire country, or an entire continent. If the energy sector creates the pollution that a person has created in 70 years in 1 second, sectors should change, not individuals. If a government says "global warming is a lie", invests in fossil fuels with the taxes of the people, supports the current functioning of these sectors, and blocks environmental friendly changes, then the administration must change before individuals. If a firm is supplying its customers with recycled paper shopping bags instead of plastic ones, while destroying forests to produce cheap palm oil, it is more important for those firms to switch.
What can we do?
How can we make such a big change, such as changing a company, industry or management? There is only one simple answer to this: It's a matter of supply and demand.
The relationship between supply and demand is the subject of economics, but it is also effective in many areas outside the economy. We are consumers, and our consumption preferences, that is, our demands, determine the quality of the products and services produced, that is, what is offered to us. When we learn that a textile brand deprives its employees of their social rights and dumps its chemical wastes into the river, it is necessary to protest that brand and not shop from that brand. Brand managers who lose their income due to not being able to meet the existing demand (what is demanded here is respect for workers' rights and environmentally friendly waste management) have to consider the wishes of their potential customers if they do not want to go bankrupt. I can't write because I refrain from naming a brand, but if you do a search on the internet as "the brands that pollute the environment the most", you can learn about the brands that should be avoided the most. This is a model of non-individual action that you can take by penalizing companies that pollute and financially supporting companies that do environmentally friendly work.
Supply and demand also work in politics. If a political leader (it can be a mayor, head of state, deputy or headman) wants to come to power with the votes of the people, he has to present the demands of the people to them. If a political leader sees that the public attaches importance to environmental policies, that the sensitivity on this issue increases and that he stands out more than other candidates when he focuses on the issue of environmental pollution, he will focus on environmentally friendly projects. When these people have the power to make decisions, they fight for climate change, pass laws to prevent pollution, and invest in the development of environmentally friendly technologies. The change of major sectors that pollute the environment the most, such as food, energy and construction, is provided by these political leaders.
As a result
We take many individual actions, such as reducing plastic consumption, saving energy, or changing our lives to reduce our carbon and water footprint, in order to prevent environmental disasters that we are experiencing today and that we foresee will worsen in the future. The importance and impact of these actions is undeniable, but we cannot make a big impact globally by simply fulfilling our individual responsibilities. Because, in fact, the factors that disrupt the ecological balance are mostly revealed by the activities of the food, energy, construction and transportation sectors. If we can trigger the change of these sectors and the people and institutions that manage these sectors with our own preferences, we can reach a much faster and permanent solution together with what we do individually. So, let's stay away from single-use plastics, don't shop from brands that pollute the environment, and show our support to leaders who care about environmental pollution and have innovative ideas. Let us all, together as consumers and citizens, be small and important parts of a great and lasting change.
I wish you all waste-free days…
