How We End Consumerism 

I used to protest now I started a RU-vid channel where I'm trying to spread conscious awareness of what's happening.

As a 19 year old in america the thought of destroying the world within my life time and the suffering of billions of people makes me highly progressive in terms of political and economic views

While I think your heart and idealism are in the right place I wonder if you aren’t unconsciously falling into a positive feedback loop of making tailored content for an (admittedly progressive) audience to consume - while not actually accomplishing much to convince people to work to mitigate climate change. Assuming you hold that as a goal of your channel. The tipping point is bearing down on us so fast that the concepts in this video can’t possibly be enacted widely and quickly enough (if at all) to have any meaningful impact - outside of intervention from some fantastical third party like powerful aliens. I would encourage you to pivot away from unrealistic concepts (however theoretically valid) and more towards things that will drive people to push for achievable change in the current moment. Months of massive global protesting hasn’t done much to improve racial justice in America. Even socialized healthcare is a pipe dream, low hanging fruit that it is. The virtues of global degrowth are about as remote as us all escaping to the moon. I really hope your purpose for this channel is meaningful and achievable change, and I hope you take this criticism not as an attack but as a perspective that you might want to examine more closely. Because even if you’re saying the right things, that doesn’t mean you aren’t inadvertently helping to boost the system you are (apparently) in opposition to. These things are complicated, as are the ethics involved. For example: on your Monsanto video, RU-vid is delivering ads for RoundUp on behalf of Bayer. Which you are being paid for, right from their pocket to yours. Is that something that you want? Probably not specifically. But it’s still happening. So by virtue of you trying to spread your point of view you are actually also helping to spread the opposite point of view, and both you and RU-vid are benefiting financially. We must always remember that we need to engage with the system as it is to achieve our goals, which isn’t always ideal.

@@perilthecat on the one hand you refer to the “tipping point bearing down on us so fast ...”, yet you then progress to a rather confused critique of degrowth concluding that achieving it is about as remote as us all escaping to the moon. Getting enough support quickly enough for degrowth will not be easy, but it is essential. This video, and I don’t fully support all its ideas (see my other comment below), is an essential early step. Hopefully we can reach a tipping point where support for green economics and politics does hit the mainstream - we have to try. Or moving to the moon might be the only option left.

these videos give me hope

Geez I really can’t believe this, just why?!

Your friend left the Viking army to join the US military? 😂

@@shabalabawigman1130 “the US military budget is too big”, maybe?

@@shabalabawigman1130 it's a 'use or lose' concept companies also use to manage a budget for different sectors. Yearly costs can go up and down, but raising the budget allowed to a sector takes a lot to justify, however it can easily get lowered as companies are always looking for ways to be more efficient. So to prevent lowering of the budget given to a sector, they will spend whatever they have left at the end of the fiscal year, even if not needed, basically they'll probably waste it, in order to not have their allotment lowered for the following fiscal year.

@@arsenal4444 in other words, the drive for efficiency creates more inefficiency than if the efficiency drive were not there.

How can you waste water? If it's coming out of a reservoir, it either leaves through a garden hose or the reservoir fills up and it runs over the dam. If it's drawn from a well, it percolates down through the soil back into the...well.

@@augustblock3981 That's an oversimplification of what happens. In between the reservoir and garden hose the water needs to be treated, which takes energy, money, and chemicals. The water, like in the west, may be drawn from somewhere like the Hoover Dam and be sprayed in California, far from the original source. Some of the water will go back into the ground, sure, but there's no guarantee the water is even going back into the reservoir it even came from. Plus much of the water will evaporate, be absorbed by the grass, etc. So water is going through the whole treatment process, being pumped (using energy) all the way to one's home, just for you to grow your grass you're gonna cut in a few days anyway. Many of our reservoirs and natural aquifers are being depleted faster than they can be replenished, it's a very big problem.

I hate lawns and the weekly maintenance. I have zero grass in my back yard and have been replacing my front lawn with mulched islands with beautiful trees, shrubs and ground covers that don’t require supplemental watering. Minimal maintenance. Able to use a battery powered string trimmer with a mower deck attachment to cut the little grass I still have. And pine needle mulch is abundant where I live. Much of it if from my own back yard!

Why mow lawns when you could be feeding that grass to goats? Every community should have a goat farm, or some other ruminant that can manage the grass.

@@spookyshark632 Can't wait to see landscaping company trailers hauling goats instead of lawn mowers

Thats awesome! Keep it up. The interest is definitely growing.

You sound like a person it would be wondeful to hang around with.

There’s NOTHING WRONG with your little apartment, nor your interest and ability to take broken things home and to repair them and reuse them😃😃. I live in a side of a duplex, and it’s ‘small’ At just over 1,100 sqft compared to the traditional 1,600+ homes many people live in. I’ve had to be a bit creative with my ‘kitchen’, which is more of a kitchenette that you’d find in a home-away-from-home hotel that has those kitchenette suites, and no storage space. I dragged my huge bedroom dresser out to the kitchen and use it now to store my kitchen stuff and I have a smaller 3 drawer dresser out there too which holds my plastic containers, baking pans etc. I put a 9 cube storage cube style book case on my counter top to hold kitchen I use daily and often weekly like mixing bowls, strainers, large storage containers in it. I want to get another cube storage shelf that is a rectangle one to attach to the bar setting overhang space of my kitchen countertop to use as more storage space, but with back on it some my cats can’t knock the stuff out (lol). We have to be creative in our smaller spaces, and repurposing and refurbing stuff isn’t a shameful act. In fact, it’s cool AF, and you’d be surprised how often other people would think so, and respect what you’ve done. 😃😃

God I love you so much man. This world is still running because of people like you. Thank you for what you do, thank you for being like you are! Truly remarkable. I´ve also lived in the same tiny one room appartement for 4 years now, and I like it quite well actually :D

​@@insekta1701that's not small at all

Such an excellent point. Families are dragged apart by capitalist dogma and this idea that people need to have everything themselves. Communalism with the older generation is how things should operate - if the elderly had their children near at hand they wouldnt need as much retirement money. In an ideal situation children should want to stay near their parents out of love.

In multigenerational housing arrangements there needs to be an ethos of respecting peoples privacy and need to form intimate relationships outside their birth family. THis is not always possible in Western systems of family formation which stifles the formation of intimate relationships in the presence of nosy parents and , worse still, nosy siblings. This is why many people move out of their parental family home in order to grow and form their own lives.@@jamesogrady7100

You are so amazing! For your daughter still living at home. I’ve had many friends being forced out. Im lucky enough to be an adult still living at home, sure it can be a lil embarrassing wanting to get out into the real world, but can’t afford it due to things out off our control. Things have changed dramatically over the past 20 years, but I’ve learned to accept it. Control what I can, and still live a present lifestyle with those I love close to me:)

@@TheTurtlesrockzthe thing to remember is that in the past young people didn’t leave home until they married. Often there were unmarried or single parents with children living with parents who took care of the parents. It was very common

Not living with older generations is a very new concept. My parents generation, they are 71 and 72, would quite often get married and live at home until having kids, one of my aunts moved out with her family because her husband was working in another country for a few years and then moved back to her parents house. She looked after my aging grandparents until their death. She still lives in the same house, her single daughter lives with her and helps her parents, she does most of the cooking and cleaning. There are lots of non western cultures where 2-3 generations live under the same roof. I tried living with my in laws, it didn't work out well 😂😂😂🤪

+

@apple, “stop it, get some help”👨🏾‍🦱✨

This, and endless product tiers, many that are so hamstrung as to not work properly as soon as they are released (see: most smartphones). I honestly wish that processor and data storage technologies would have stopped over a decade ago, because computing is getting orders of magnitude less efficient, and is no longer made by experts who know what they're doing. We just wait for the actual geniuses to come out with new processor architecture every year or so, which just props up terrible software architecture.

On top of that the battle against right to repair.

"The seizing of the means of production by the laborers and the masses" is communism by defitinion. Soviet countries were horrible for their environments due to inefficient manufacturing methods and lack of environmental protection laws. Labourers don't know how to manage production of the the stuff they produce would eventually lead to this. I liked you're channel, but communism isn't the answer.

Yes, advertising can well create the illusion of happiness.

@@clickbaitcharlie2329 Civilization has to end, because you once bought a pair of jeans too much.

Wow I experienced the same thing!!! Same thing with talk shows and tv shows. Everything seem fake and pointless. If you sit there and truly see what you’re watching. It’s ALL ABOUT CONSUMING stuff! All about it. It’s like we’re in this strange matrix. Like a mind virus that’s spread throughout the planets population!

You don't need to be homeless to avoid advertising.....

​@@phillylove7290 You can never fully avoid advertising as long as you live in a society.

Poor or just frugal living? This is indeed lonely as most people. While reading "the millionaires next door" i got the impression that those people where living in a different reality than what "rich" seems nowadays.

If you want to be poor, that's your choice. Why should my choice to be well off and buy stuff I want be a problem ?

You don't have to be austere tf

Thanks for contributing to the cause. Keep up the good work.

If you want to barely exist, that's great. I love my big house and truck.

@@youtubesucks1499lmao. I exist just fine without a truck to compensate for anything. I don’t need huge truck and a huge house (that needs maintenance) to prove I’m happy lol.

So things are inefficient AND I have nothing to do. Brilliant.

very true, in decades past things were made to last and naturally it took longer to cultivate materials and manufacture products. Nowadays, durability is considered a flaw, something undesirable and everything is designed with the ease of transportation and storage in mind, disregarding consumer preferences (hence plastic bottles, plastic food wrapping, self assemble, etc). Unfortunately, online sales drove quality lower still (if its even possible). And the crown goes to ubiquitous supermarkets, the largest producers of plastic waste.

@@MrCmon113 whats your job?

your dream world already exists in North Korea. you should go there

@@MrCmon113Maybe visit your mother more often, read a book, get more hobbies, and focus on getting a personality. You won’t even understand what I’m even saying unfortunately

Almost like back in the day we had actual competitive capitalism and not corrupt corporatism

I accidentally plugged in and turned on a vintage Ribbonaire the other day, it spun right up, still as efficient as the day it was built.

@@bitcoinzoomer9994 capitalism has always been like this. It’s just been amplified by globalization.

@@outlawruby no it hasnt

@@bitcoinzoomer9994 yes it has

It has not changed in the US. It has likely only got worse. We live fast and break things, and most people's time is better spent working their job and using that time to buy a new product, it is not economical for them to repair. This is the core of the problem. It should be cheaper to repair things, but it has become economically more expensive to repair than to buy a new one for a lot of things.

Socialism is slavey.

Forward? You mean backward? You have to think more carefully about the vocabulary of your death cult.

Socialism is the same, but with the state, the only salvation is austerity

My degree is natural resources, fisheries in particular. I distill economics down to natural resource exploitation. Here on the northeast coast USA all energy needs are imported and waste exported heat, food, clothing etc. should that system break down or significantly falter I wonder how a population this dense will stabilize.

​​@@user-vt1xy5ts6hBoth communism and capitalism are slavery, in their respective ways. Socialism is the ideal synthesis between capitalism and communism, of which aim is to do away with the ills of each extreme end and embrace the benefits of both systems.

When I worked as a waiter before I just always ate all the leftovers by guests (the edible parts). I saved tons of money due to not needing to buy groceries. 😂

@@laaaliiiluuu I work as an electrician and the amount of paper, cardboard and other paking materials we have to toss is crazy. Of course we must make sure the components don't break while being transported but it breaks my heart seeing all the ressources wasted. And my company is relatively small, I do'nt wanne now what is going on at big factories.

@@silano360 True. Reminds me of grocery stores where tons of edible food is thrown away just because the best before date is one day overdue. We really need to become more resourceful with our resources. But it's just so convenient not to. Laziness really is the biggest enemy of stability.

I guess we should throw the whole capitalism away then

@@bitcoinzoomer9994 No. But we need to reform it. Capitalism is not the problem but unregulated Capitalism is. We need a balance between individual freedom and collective responsibility. The best way to cross a bridge is in the middle and not on the edges.

Not Just Bikes being based, as usual

I love your channel

Amazing channel! Degrowth and proper urbanism go hand in hand, I am so excited 😆

Collab?

A surprise to be sure but a welcome one

Wonder why they didn't try selling them on ebay

@@kaptinbarfbeerd1317 They're not tech savvy 😅

Costs more to store them and track how old they are than it does to just re-buy new ones every year.

Heartbreaking

@@Rendus4 my parents have reused the same fairy lights for more than 10 years and they just change the little bulbs if one is damaged and they cost like 1 cent , I don’t see how buying new lights every year would be cheaper honestly.

Honestly that's one of the most depressing things for me. I feel so good when I cut down on my own consumption and recycle everything I can, then I go outside the bubble of my own home and I see a single business waste more in a day than I could in a month.

This is truly strange since this unneeded packaging added cost to manufacturer and therefore cut profit.

Maybe you.could sell it? Companies that use materials that can be recycled just throw them in the dumpster. The dump gets them for free and doesn't separate it. You do that for them as an individual. Where does their recycled material go to? Anyway, I think the dump fees keep going up myself. A business that started collecting things like styrofoam from companies that throw it away? Would it be worth it? They already come to collect cardboard. I guess that might be some sort of business deal there that I wouldn't know about, but I know cardboard is sold by the pound.

@@johnball8758 Maybe some businesses are afraid not wrapping everything would cause damage and that would cut profits. Also, even if something cut profits, maybe some businesses care about other things like avoiding damage too.

I just worked at Saks Off 5th and at Nordstrom. The boxing and plastisealing of all of incoming (and outgoing) merchandise is sickening.

Do drop a link

Can you tell us?

I'm happy there are people who would sell their entire life in the name of saving the planet based on literature they've never read.

capitalist just doesn't make any sense...

@@150pointcharacter Under capitalism people have too much stuff, under socialism they starve...

​@@MrCmon113 under capitalism only a small percentage of people have too much stuff while the majority barely gets by; some even stay homeless and starve. all the glamour attributed to capitalism (and to contrast it with socialism) is only applicable to a small proportion of people with privilege, luck or occasionally merit. this is because capitalism is a top down system (ironically, something capitalism ideologists accuse socialism of) where the best and latest products or services are targeted towards the most privileged first and it is 'hoped' that it may eventually 'trickle down' to the rest. although in practice, this 'trickle-down' effect don't materialize. socialism in contrast, is a bottom up system which aims to solve peoples' immediate and basic needs first, before focusing on 'wants'. as such, it is usually much less glamorous and 'marketable'.

But if the items were resold, that would further reduce demand at her store, resulting in more donations and lowering profit. That's economic thinking.

when it comes to clothing, the shop or brand shouldn't become one that has the image of being worn by the homeless. however, as an employee of such organizations or stores you can ask for underwear and socks, since the brands cannot be seen.

Capitalism is impossible to destroy because money has become the goal of happiness in the World and i don’t think the rich ppl like Musk and Bezos gonna be happy

@@eden9536 it is not true, there is this legend according to which beyond capitalism there is no alternative, the alternative had arrived a long time ago but it was too radical to be understood and implemented, to date I believe that happy degrowth can be seriously an alternative, the community, collectivism would be a beautiful alternative

Jeez feeling the exact same…..

What I am doing is trying to spend more time and join the stuff I have and less time accumulating more. I am learning skills like woodworking so that I can refer fish and take scrap and make something out of them. I'm learning crafting so that I can create my own things and even turn something that would be garbage into something useful. Be the example of what you want to see in the world. Show it to others. I am so much happier when I'm not accumulating stuff and when I'm enjoying what's already around me and I'm not as poor either. It's a lot of work to reject capitalism and it's drive to keep up with the Joneses and constantly get something more. But it's worth putting the energy into that effort.

@@eden9536 communism 🤣🤣

Glad to hear this

Girl same here

True until you pay higher price for higher quality but at some point for higher price you just buy overpriced garbage. (Or not garbage but just marginally better stuff)

The problem is... We cannot be expert in every product, we might distinguish a well designed car, but completely fail to understand what makes clothes to last. I also like to buy expensive products that are made to last, but I often end up asking myself "Is this product really designed to last? Is it worth the price? Is it easily repairable? Are parts available? Is the production process fair for workers?"

@@seigma5340 well, fortunately humans have developed an ability known as education which completly solves your connundrum.

@@tis_ace listen, I cannot make extensive research and comparisons between dozens of companies every time I need to buy every little stuff out of the ordinary

@@seigma5340 someone can, and voila you get energy rating stickers on appliances. The push for sustainability requires a level of transparency between the companies and consumers and there need to be laws and regulations on this matter making this exchange of information as easy and simple as a 5 star rating, yet tangible and meaningful. I think this is something to further discuss and debate.

Yeah, this is how you sell it. Degrowth with the current cult of work would be horrendous for the working class.

@@mooreanonumbers horrendous? Don't you mean 'good'?

I really hate that the term is called degrowth at all. Yes, in a strictly economic sense, the term is appropriate, but it makes it sound like the whole of humanity would regress if it happened. Things like the arts, craftsmanship, sports, love, sharing of resources, creating a sense of community, improving our relationship with nature, they have very little/no economic interest, but if we improved in these fields, that's what I choose to call 'growth'.

ROFL, there is no growth already. If there was no massive money printing and inflation you would be surprised how we stagnate. Only growing economy is China, barely.

Degrowth would result in huge unemployment and suffering. In poorer countries without opportunities that come from capitalism people would starve… while the global north would collapse into poverty

I hope you find a path for yourself that aligns with your values.

@@ayesha8809 awh thank you that is very kind!

you can use marketing to actually market revolutionary ideas, agitprop and etc

@@ernestokrapf awh thanks, that's reallt encouraging and it's what I'm trying to remind myself too

Look up "social marketing" 👍

@Hakim Habib You might want to fact check this most "emission comes from developing countries" statement, Im pretty positive that is not true. But, even if it would be true that would be probably because the manufacturing got outsourced there, and so what counted as their emission is actually and outsourced emission of the developed world. There is also technology skipping which is the reason why Im not sold on this "they must go through their enviromentally destructive ways to get to the green economies of the west" idea. Technology does not need to be reinvented in everywhere, a good example would be phones, and how the developed world had to go through the phases of telegraph, landlines GSM while deeloping countries could skip all the middle steps and start at mobile neetworks. So while Im all for climate justice we really shouldn't wait around till the end of the century as they go through their industrial revolutions (and the destruction it brings) in the name of being fair with them (which is actually unfair because by then these countries would be the most affected by climate change). I prefer to help them jump right to the level of the developed world and skip all the dirty ways we already went through. Beside that, the whole thing is a lot more complicated and there are geopoitical and world economical considerations when it comes to who can do what and what is fair. Returning to the question of a Lambo I eluded to a grim propensity of the avarage ppl to judge and value fellow human beings solely based on the appereance of their wealth expressed through useless and wasteful practice of the display of status symbols. We should stop diverting our resources to the use to try to elevate ourself above others through our posessions. I do belive technology can be the ultimate solution here but only if we make sure we divide its benefits equaly. Don't forget that we live in times when everyone could live a comfortable life on earth, we have enough resources, and we pretty much have the technology already, it seems, currently the true source of the problem is the very inequal distribution of said reources. Again such problem will be only ever solved if have a generation freed from the shallow thinking in status and wealth at any cost.

As much as it'd be cool to have a Lamborghini, I'm perfectly fine driving a second hand Mitsubishi sedan. Gets the job done and it's in decent condition so it's good enough for me.

@Hakim Habib The developing countries are making those emissions to mine the minerals and fuels for that Lambo. They are also recycling our e-waste because that is the only way the corporations make profits on recycling... degrowth would mean abandoning profit margins. Generations of people need to be made aware of all 7.8 billion + changing population.

Thankfully, due to the absolute mismanagement of nearly all things in America by the government, we have both the weakest generation and the most pressing upcoming crises, which means this communism by another excuse will never happen.

I think it's best if our cities are designed to be walkable so that there would be no need to own a car. Just like Netherlands where almost all people bike and just use ride sharing apps resulting to better health and a quiet, productive environment. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OObwqreAJ48.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7IsMeKl-Sv0.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CTV-wwszGw8.html

In regards to dept

@@redflag4255 also an emotional attachment to them

That movie was way ahead of it's time

@@everythingisfine9988 That movie was *on* time, we're just behind the curve...

Fight Club was succinctly about the false illusions that a consumerist lifestyle embraces. Chuck was ahead of his time.

I live in the third world and is hard for me to imagine what kind of life do our Northern cousins live to cause this level of emission and waste.

I was born in canada and live in germany and feel the same...it's crazy

One thing that makes it easier to imagine is considering "planned obsolescence." Food waste is a different matter, but clothes, electronics, or any such appliance are at _significant_ risk of only lasting a few years at best, because they're made to break after a certain while, forcing the customer to buy more. Aside from that? A combination of unaware, greedy, powerless, or empathy-less people, I guess. Lots of it is done by larger companies, too. So maybe some of it is tax shenanigans and whatnot. And I assume a large amount of people just don't care, which frustrates me to no end. It's certainly horrifying though, however it is achieved.

@@sirreginaldfishingtonxvii6149 it's especially untrue for electronics, see More's law to have an idea of why these electronic devices last a few years at best.

@@chunchunmaru3644 More's law is certainly a factor too, indeed. As is often the case there's usually more than one reason or explanation.

I too love this video! More please, algo!

For the algorithm 🤜🤛

This comment is a cute one ^_^

Me too 😊

*MOAR*

Because it is both possible and worthwhile. With the right existing technologies people now days can live better and with a smaller impact on the environment than 100 years ago.

@@apc9714 this is true, but I mean more the mentality of people 40-50 years ago who knew full that they were destroying the future for the sake of getting rich.

@@apc9714 I disagree. It is neither. Note the word "infinite". This is a *very* strong word.

the greedy ones thought that ( capitalists) it's all greed

@@apc9714 No, it is neither. No matter how efficient humanity can get, infinite growth requires infinite resources, which don't exist, making it impossible, and infinite consumption, which is pointless, making not worthwhile. We are already at a point where we produce more than what we need, the only missing step to eliminate poverty is to distribute wealth more equally, and then what remains is to DECREASE production, once everyone already has everything worth having. Progress will eventually create new things worth having, sure, but that's the only thing we need to produce.

If you really want your mind blown, look up the FIRE movement. Basicly if you do only use save half of your income you can retire within 17years. For a US houshold in the 2nd highest quintile of incomes you are at that rate by normale savings, not owning a car and then cutting down all other spending by a quarter(or cutting entertainment and eating out). Btw that is still better then standard of living of the poorest quarter in the US.

Outside the capitalism box is socialism and communism - period.

@@TheTeaParty320 there is so much more you cant even imagine

degrowth just means enforced poverty, which the poor will suffer from the most. And eco-socialism is a pure communist utopian fantasy. If you want a system that has pulled more people out of poverty than any other, try capitalism. If you want a system that has resulteds in forests getting bigger all over the world, try capitalism.

@@yankokassinof6710 Like I said, there is only capitalism, and everything else is socialism and communism.

Well but what us "Art"?

@@durschfalltv7505 What do you mean; elaborate please

@@durschfalltv7505 I hope it's about people having the opportunity to go watch a theatre play or concert or go look at nice sculptures after a day of necessary work. You know, things like repairing toilets or driving trams or vaccinating babies and such.

just like the communists supported art and science while reducing their citizens to grinding poverty.

@@alex29443 *sigh

@Miles lol

That's part of a phenomenon called "Capitalist Realism" and you can thank Ronald Reagan & Margaret Thatcher for that. It is essentially the observation that many people have been rendered incapable of interpreting or understanding the world outside of the capitalist lens. Many people don't have any imagination for a post-capitalist world or way of living. Author Mark Fisher wrote in his famous book on the subject "People are more capable of imagining the end the world than the end of capitalism". That's why more people are starting to see that capitalism has brought about serious problems that need urgent action and serious change. But really struggle when thinking how life would work outside the traditional mode of capitalist production & consumption.

Seriously go talk to someone who left a socialist country and just listen. With socialism you vote your way in but shoot your way out.

Save the world, right..... 🤗

The problem with consumerism isn't just that it's harmful to the environment, but it also results in a society of overworked and therefore stressed and anxious people with not enough free time on their hands.

That's not even remotely "sustainable". That's incredibly inefficient, a bourgeoise hobby. Growing your own food is the definition of being uncivilized and inefficient. Human civilization is all about specialization. That's how we do stuff that chimpanzees can't.

How do you get internet?

Oh dear! Didn't you listen to the VIDEO? You don't want to engage in this kind of consumerism! Pay NOTHING for internet content! I'm sure the authors of this vidfeo would echo this sentiment ---- right?

It good to hear what we need. What we get is billions of deaf ears.

Also it’s good to point out that betting our future on green growth hoping that we will get some random tech or scientific discovery to solve all this mess is like playing russian roulette with our future. We need degrowth!

@@adrim7924 No one know how to make that happen. So a dystopian future may be needed.

The resources are finite. Even number of elementary particles in the observable universe is finite. Nothing is infinite. Yet we still act as if endless growth of population, consumption, production and economy as a whole is possible? If you ask almost any person, they will say they want humankind to survive at least for millenia into the future, but we act as if we plan to exist only for maximum of 300 years

@@KateeAngel Plan? We live as if tomorrow will be the same as today forever, until it's not.

Same!!!!!!! (Feels so much better)

Yeah I wanna see you survive in winter with the veggies you have, because those surely aren´t local. Unless you want to eat stale bread everyday and dip it in almond milk

​@@adidoki You do realize that you can take local produce and preserve it for winter. Also, you can grow A LOT of produce indoors under cheap grow lights for winter. Instead of coming up with excuses, maybe try to think of solutions.

​@@sg8953 They're not going to do that. Most people don't have anywhere near enough room to grow enough food to live on all winter and they don't have the time to do it when they're working 40 to 60 hours a week, raising kids, taking care of parents, etc.. Be real and stop living in fantasy. People need to do the best they can and stop trolling for 100% perfection that no one can obtain.

God I could use some of that optimism.

Thanks yarvin

Fax

"Based" -- deadass, enough

Based? This is basically communism. What's based about repeating the same thing everyone else says?

@@solonyetski everyone on the internet is just copying Curtis Yarvin terms to sound smart

Not possible under current circumstances I want to say sadly (imo). Too many people are too depressed or self centered to even consider long-term strategies that in the end will not have a positive impact in their immediate personal life. I feel like unless we're in a pandemic-like threat to make it relevant, people are going to choose to be ignorant out of bliss.

It's not an alternative anymore. A necessity now.

Just like @Kuldeep said, the switch from capitalism will soon become a necessity.

"it is easier to imagine an end to the world than an end to capitalism,” - Mark Fisher

What's the point of being alive if not to consume product?

The consequences of 'just stopping' have barely started, give it a few years before making such a statement, I think you will change your mind.

We can stop and the capitalistic practice stops too. But currently there is no alternative economic system choice right then

well, maybe you need to check how many amazon boxes are out there ever since the pandemic began

I beg to differ. You may be doing well. but i assure you many in the developing world are not. That statement from you alone lets me know how priveledged you are.

We can't just stop if first world countries can throw the load for proxy countries but later this will come back to bite us.

@Crytonic oh, of course. Not everyone can have a freelance job, for example. I used the 9-5 example because of the predominant "work culture" we live in, where employees are stressed and pressured to get more done in x amount of time. Basically, modern work life can damage creativity. This might be lessened by the restructuring you suggest.

@Crytonic exactly! I am the same way. I have so many interests and things I want to pursue, but work drains my physical and emotional energy. I am on the hunt for something better though, so fingers crossed.

U B I

Working less hours is only possible through improvement of technology and increases of production. If u think i am wrong, why don't you stop working that many hours today? What would it be the consequences of that? Just think of how many hours people worked between 1800-1900. A crazy lot, and if life was just "easy" outside of the production system, people would have stop participating on that system. It's easier working 8h a day in an office and buy food with a percentage of your wage, than just not working at all but having to adquire that same food by working your own farm. If i am wrong, why doesn't people do it today? Because working the land is tough. That's why people left the lands to work in Factories, and then left Factories to work in offices or restaurants. If u want an easier life, try of being a country like Switzerland. Where family conciliation is easy because with less worked hours u earn more. That can only be achieved with Free Markets, any other system means travelling to the Past with all the consequences.

@Katrina Bodoh I will buy books secondhand (especially if the book has been out a while), but I also do buy new, because I want to support authors, or if it's a new release I have been waiting on.

Also, just producing more consumer goods. Samsung doesn't need 12 different phone models in two years (estimate, could be more).

I think you are missing what often gets missed. Solar panels are not made by 100% renewable, non emitting facilities or processes, neither are wind turbines, or batteries, or the metals used to make them, the foundries to make the metals needed, the transportation needed to put them in place........Do these processes displace carbon sinks, or ttees and the like? So many intersecting relationships. How do we make the concrete and roads without emissions? So, unless all the factors needed to produce, make room for, transport, repair and replace the zero carbon emitting end products are themselves zero greenhouse gass emissions, then we can actually produce more emissions while these green technologies grow. More emissions with the "cleaner" and " greener" technologies. My bicycle is not zero emissions. Its operation may be nearly zero if you exclude those which result from my own personal metabolism, but it is not because its production is not. Even after production it is not. Oil for the chain, repairs, new tires. The production processes produce greenhouse gasses.

@@davidpeppers551 Well said. All estimates about "zero emissions" on whatever level only work if we cut out interdependencies on other supply chains throughout the whole life cycle of the product (from raw materials, to production, distribution, use and disposal). The lived experiences we have with most products are only a small fraction of their life cycle, which is why it is easy to buy the whole decoupling scam. And on top of it, even if we assume that the installation of renewables will gradually become more efficient and thus grow on lower emission levels (for which we have no evidence to assume, but let's....), this growth pattern in a market-driven economy will reduce energy costs, which historically has always led to increase in aggregate energy consumption, due to the lower prices (and aggressive marketization) of all . So, even in the unlikely scenario where the ecological impact for each windmill or solar panel drops, the same capitalist dynamics will drive overall impact through the roof.

@@zUJ7EjVD I think the reason we have net zero is because people like Bill Gates can keep living his highly consumptive and greenhouse emitting lifestyle, pay someone else to plant trees and declare himself net zero. So many problems with this. There will never be enough space to plant trees if this approach is taken by the most emitting twenty or thirty percent population, much less the whole world. I see double accounting and illegal harvesting of trees also. Many areas already have huge problems of illegal harvesting of timber. Now net zero is supposed to mean no more greenhouse gases (caused by people or human activity) going into the environment. That is a tall order. It would be even more daunting if we just had to flat out stop. For net zero the effect should, in theory, be the same as if all those emissions had totally stopped. A lot of hope has been placed on taking greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and keeping them out. It must have been poorly said. Your response indicates to me that my point did not come across. OP suggested that the reason emissions still went up after a green push had nothing to do with the green tech. That was my reading of the comment. I should say that these green technologies may well be responsible for an increase in emissions. Being responsible for can include a lot. This does not mean that their operation (wind generators, solar panels, passive solar and the like) produces significant amounts, but even here it is unlikely to be zero. Very small, maybe even trivial compared to other generators of heat or energy, but unlikely to be zero in the current economy. If 84% of energy still comes from fossil fuels, then it might be safe to assume that 84% of the energy used to produce solar panels was fossil fuels. That is the energy that goes into them, before they produce one watt of power. Then there is transport, installation, etc. The mining would probably be closer to 100% fossil fuel. Founderies probably near 100%. Large diesel trucks, sorters, separators etc. Do you know of any foundries which produce metal products without fossil fuels? You have to include cradle to grave emissions of these to see if they are even lower emitters over their lifetimes. I believe they are, but there is lag time. Now my bicycle will increase emissions. Its operation and maintenance will increase emissions somewhat. I am assuming that under the current conditions of the economy. I am assuming that since about 84% of the economy is fossil fueled and that these come with greenhouse gas emissions. When I repair/ replace tires, oil, parts .etc .........emissions will be attached to their production. Now that is trivial when compared to the average car, but it still adds emissions. Now if and when I use my bicycle to take a trip I was going to make by car or bus (or if I am really ambitious, train or plane) then I will have a net reduction in emissions. Even including my own metabolism or need for more food calories in the calculation this would be net reduction in emissions. It would be maybe net zero if I planted more trees where they otherwise would not have been planted or some carbon capture and sequestration mechanism.

Yes, but that way we end of with other by products, not CO2 but water pollution, heavy metals, bigger land footprints from Electricity production. Getting rid of old technology has big downsides. There's no industrialized country living just on renewables. And there's no off the grid fancy home with plenty of technology from those industrialized countries. Wind and solar do not solve this. Degrow does

cant wait for the socialist takeover where you will be sent to the titanium mines instead of being an artist

Solidarity with artist comrades. A pillar of any socialism is the ability to understand the world as it was, is, and can be, and artists are part of the vanguard of that pillar.

You just made me think of this time back when I was working on a food truck. Two of our regulars, some office workers, stopped by. One of them mentioned this would be the last time that we’d be seeing the other, as she was quitting to become a full time painter. But before my boss or I could say anything supportive, she said “I’m not a dreamer!” In a defensive way, like she may have heard from some of her circle that she was giving up her “real job” for dreams. It was such a bummer to think about. But we were supportive anyway because it’s really awesome to do your own thing, regardless of what other people think

Agreed. But in reality, you would be sent to work in the fields like everyone else.

Nah, that's just impossible, CEOs are all geniuses, they couldn't possibly make catastrophic mistakes. It would cut into their profit.

:)))

Climate change is caused by solar cycles, not CO2.

Trevor H Have you considered that it could be both solar cycles and CO2? And that people are massively suffering under the effects of those things anyway, which can be post-poned or prevented?

@@theplumscrub1627 I have indeed considered it, and after seeing the data, I have rejected the notion. If manmade CO2 generation affects the climate in any amount, the amount is utterly insubstantial, to the point of being nearly an irrelevant statistic, when compared to the natural forcing factors which come in the form of Solar particles expelled from the sun and their electrical interaction with Earth's atmosphere.

Trevor H Could it also be that you would rather believe that so you don’t have to adapt lifestyle?

We literally already do

@@bitcoinzoomer9994 no we don’t

@@outlawruby Most major companies have conservation and carbon footprint goals and all developed nations' government have conservation programs as well as a lot of them having some restoration efforts

@@bitcoinzoomer9994 those are look nice programs to boost pr. Fossil fuel producers have actively suppressed climate action since they correctly predicted climate change in the 20th century.

I know this sounds cheesy and silly but that's what I love about Star Trek. The moment we all become unified as one human race, we can do anything. People often say "what if that baby you aborted could've cured cancer" but what if that kid in a developing country that *can* be fed but *isn't* because it wouldn't be profitable could have cured cancer? What if all the girls we could send to school could cure cancer? What if all the people who had to choose between work and college because they need to support their family could cure cancer? Or build a spaceship? Or solve climate change? We're witholding so many people from education, development, and a *chance*, to make this world a better place.

@@jwlgoesfishing have you seen the Orville? I feel like humanity will be a bit between that and star trek 😅.

@@jwlgoesfishing I love these "selfish altruism" arguments, but I believe we should help people (and animals and the planet) just so that we can eliminate as much suffering as possible. Even if we don't get any benefits from it, it would still be the right thing to do, and all the progress we will achieve once humanity is free will be like a bonus. But yeah, I agree completely with your arguments

We are all ready doing that. Advancing at a greate speed. But the retoric makes ignorant people think things are way worse than they are

@@rtfj5341 for some things are nightmarishly horrid. My point is that once all are taken care of on earth, as fast as humanity is advancing (in the rich parts of the world that is). now will look slow compared to how quickly things will advance when there are no more poor or those suffering needlessly.

@garronfish8227 Ethical Consumer is a good website which does just this.

You can have no idea how energizing it is to see you here! I believe we can do the things that we must.

good comment xd

Here before comment blows up

yessssss

@@onlycorner5565 Permaculture isn't a normal garden plot, bud. Look up "what is a food forest" Btw it is stupidly inefficient to grow huge monocultures, buy fertilizer and equipment to support those monocultures and transport it thousands of miles so it can rot on a shelf until someone buys it.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BfxlhN1yb30.html time grows green things , but also efficiency is not making 90 % of us give care to an 20 sqm parcel to get food the problem isnt overconsumption its timed overconsumption or scarcity

HOA s are implementing rules against fruit trees or planting!

@@babytho.4006 You might not know this but HOAs have meetings and normally very few people show up. With most HOA horror stories it's because no one is taking part in the process. With just a few of your neighbors on board you can completely change it in most cases. I've shown people how to many times and you'd be surprised how often it's just a few Karens and one guy who says no to everything who are making up the rules.

I feel scared after this video, hope nothing will be implemented

Climate change is caused by solar cycles, not CO2. They really did a great job rebranding global warming since its not warming that's going to happen but cooling. Did you know the earth's magnetic field is weakening?

The video guy is very biased against capitalism though and puts it at fault while mixing the other problem of climate change. The US has issues but they also have many recycling companies, thrift shops and other things to help recycle. It's the education and culture of the people if they want or know about putting trash bins for separate materials to recycle. There's solutions but putting it all on capitalism ain't gonna solve anything.

@@WhiteWolfos I see your point. Though I hope you don't think we will fix climate change solely by putting our trash in the right trashcan. The economy needs to change much further even though there are already solutions implemented in our current systems. The way capitalism functions right now is just not going to work.

I haven't seen it yet, but Charlie also has a video on Ecosocialism you can check out!

The Institute for Social Ecology is hosting a 5 day summer intensive teach-ins starting on the 11th if you wanna put those ideas into action! ✌️

ecosocialism is more wasteful than “American” crony capitalism lol

@@adam3496 the fresh food thrown out by grocery stores, new clothing shred to pieces by fast fashion, new electronics destroyed by Amazon, piling landfills, ocean acidification, soil erosion, deforestation, and sixth mass extinction would all disagree with you but yea I'm sure none of this counts

@@Alex-fu3mi consumerism =/= capitalism. this is pretty basic logic, u can have consumerism under any market ideology. what im sure you wont admit to, is that u most certainly contribute to that - u buy from companies that do that, support politicians who do, etc etc - its funny to me how u think our current government and given how powerful it is cant solve this issue, so lets make it even more powerful because that might work - lol it wont. having the government take over the economy would only lead to more waste, less efficient markets, and worse products. socialism is bound to fail, because arbitrary decision making forced upon a society always leads to failure.

The insolvable and economically untenable US urban sprawl system is (mis)managed and maintained by the government. People want to, but are literally unable to buy a home without a lawn, or a small home, or duplexes, and there are a million things they can and cannot do, and nothing has been chosen by the people, but rather by the government.

My yard has no grass. Just a wide variety of local flowers mixed with various food items, and paths winding through so I can tend it. At first it was water intensive but I planted strategically and now the shade is so deep I water less than grass. Also, grass is a waste of space. So much could be grown there. I see grass and I sigh.

@@jsnel9185 Well good thing the government's zoning requires your land to be majority lawn, and on top of that, HOA forces nearly everyone to waste resources maintaining the grass. I wonder why the lawncare industry donates so much to HOAs around america

@@bitcoinzoomer9994 Yeah, but once we communists have absolute power, we won't make any laws that are inefficient in any ways. ; D

Work kills Us! No wonder 2 RU-vidrs got much Praise for their videos about this: Second Thought and Some More News.

🌏

Be a good steward of earth, because the sun will change our climate however it pleases, we couldn't do anything to stop it.

@@trevorh6438 true...

You can better "take care" of things with more growth. Degrowth is horrible for literally everything.

The world is gearing up for growth, Success is measured in metaralisim now a days. So things aren't looking good 😭

@@SOHELRana-nk6od Success is measured by earning and accumulating money, not by spending them.

true, but i saw the meaning of success is slowly changing not just to see the material but also spiritual and mental success

@@jakubcidlik I know but the majority don't view in this way that's why there is a problem of over consumerism as explained in the video

@@SOHELRana-nk6od Majority of who? US?

Best of luck, friend!

Based on what?

@@crisocval143 lol. Based is a slang word.

@@mwanikimwaniki6801 debased?

@@trevorh6438 what

@@mwanikimwaniki6801 based, debased, what does the slang mean?

@@rosemarysamick9005 Degrowth is not socialist or Communist tho haha dont make it so easy for everyone to namecall a movement that stands on its own 2 feet ;)