How to save the planet - one protest song at a time
October 10, 2019 9:55 PM Subscribe
My friend has written a climate change protest song. It's beautifully simple and he's not ready to share the lyrics. I get to do the animation for the video, and rather than just showing what's going wrong, I want to show what we as individuals can do right beyond recycling and not over-consuming. You know, plant a tree, plant bee friendly things, take public transport... I have 3 minutes and 15 seconds.
Best answer: Note: I chose protesting because the visuals are good. But this category also includes less sexy things like lobbying your elected officials, pressuring companies to be more sustainable, etc.
posted by lunasol at 10:12 PM on October 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by lunasol at 10:12 PM on October 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Best answer: These things are difficult because so many of them you can only do if you have a certain level of privilege. Also some of these won't work so well visually in an animation but anyhoo for purposes of brainstorming :)
Sun drying laundry
Catching and using rain water.
Catching warm up water in the shower and using it to flush toilet etc.
Reusable menstrual pads or menstrual cups rather than disposables.
Cloth shopping bags.
Cloth nappies.
Cycling and walking rather than driving.
Carpooling rather than single person in vehicle transport.
Choosing garden plants that needs minimal watering - waterwise plants
posted by Zumbador at 10:18 PM on October 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Sun drying laundry
Catching and using rain water.
Catching warm up water in the shower and using it to flush toilet etc.
Reusable menstrual pads or menstrual cups rather than disposables.
Cloth shopping bags.
Cloth nappies.
Cycling and walking rather than driving.
Carpooling rather than single person in vehicle transport.
Choosing garden plants that needs minimal watering - waterwise plants
posted by Zumbador at 10:18 PM on October 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Eat less meat/more veg, use less plastic or show alternatives to single use plastic. Vote for politicians who are actively helping the environment and trying to push policy through.
posted by Jubey at 10:25 PM on October 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Jubey at 10:25 PM on October 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Helping others so that they can make choices based on consideration rather than desperation;
Talking to others in a non-condescending, non-angry way, to build consensus that climate change activism isn't about us versus them, but that it will benefit everyone;
Learning to approach choices with humility and curiosity, so that rather than just assuming that throwing out an old car to buy an electric car, we look at the production costs of the electric car and the way that the electricity used to produce it is produced.
Learning to think medium-term, so that we figure out how to build an overall system of living that is better for everyone, rather than just thinking that using Amazon to deliver groceries is somehow saving fuel when it encourages a certain type of consumption that might not be good if everyone gets used to it.
posted by amtho at 10:42 PM on October 10, 2019
Talking to others in a non-condescending, non-angry way, to build consensus that climate change activism isn't about us versus them, but that it will benefit everyone;
Learning to approach choices with humility and curiosity, so that rather than just assuming that throwing out an old car to buy an electric car, we look at the production costs of the electric car and the way that the electricity used to produce it is produced.
Learning to think medium-term, so that we figure out how to build an overall system of living that is better for everyone, rather than just thinking that using Amazon to deliver groceries is somehow saving fuel when it encourages a certain type of consumption that might not be good if everyone gets used to it.
posted by amtho at 10:42 PM on October 10, 2019
Best answer: I think one of the most important things we can do right now is to sit quietly in nature. Our gotta-do-something mania of this time acts as though sitting and doing "nothing" is a waste of time, but sitting in quiet contemplation, especially in some natural setting, has consequences on our inner state. It's calming, connecting, and we feel the importance of and love for the natural world in a way that statistics could never illuminate.
posted by hannahelastic at 12:27 AM on October 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by hannahelastic at 12:27 AM on October 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Repairing things.
Bringing a fork to eat street food and a mug for takeaway coffee.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:52 AM on October 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
Bringing a fork to eat street food and a mug for takeaway coffee.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:52 AM on October 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Climate heating is not the responsibility of individuals, but of governments. The behaviour of individuals will not effect a change in the global heating trajectory, only government behaviour will as it mandates what corporations can and cannot do. Governments and corporations hold all the power. So perhaps your animation can focus on things that individuals can do that eventually make corporations change their behaviour. Things like consumer choice, business boycotts, etc. Voting of course, but we have laws to mandate voting in Australia. How about what bank they bank with, what super fund they choose, those sorts of things. A 'good' climate-positive consumer would choose a bank and super fund that doesn't support coal or csg etc. They would inform themselves about what their bank and super fund do.
posted by Thella at 4:04 AM on October 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Thella at 4:04 AM on October 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I just saw this on Facebook, and it may be useful when meditating on humility.
‘To the person who uses metal straws to save fish but consumes animals, I’d like to say thank you. To the vegan who isn’t aware of our homelessness problem, thank you. To the climate change activists who aren’t attentive to fast fashion, thank you. To the girl who gives her old clothes to the disadvantaged but isn’t educated on sex trafficking, thank you. To the guy who picks up rubbish on his way home from a surf but isn’t well-informed about male suicide rates, thank you. To the people who stand up for horse racing concerns but are uninformed of the cruelty of the dairy industry, thank you. To the positive Instagram influencer who hasn’t cultivated a plastic-free lifestyle, thank you. To the grandparents who knit for sick children but aren’t up to date with current race and homophobic issues, thank you. To the students that stand up for bullying but are unaware of the constant domestic violence epidemic, thank you. To the peace activists, feminists, stray dog adopters, teachers, volunteers, foster carers, recyclers, givers, doers and believers, I say thank you. We are all on a different path and we all see through different eyes. Current world issues that you are passionate about, aren’t always what other people are trying to change… and that’s okay. It’s not everyone’s job to save every part of the world but it is everyone’s responsibility to thank every person who is doing THEIR part to save the world. Don’t critique, just appreciate. Don’t judge, just educate. We’re all trying our best. Thank you.’
Carla Borthwick.
Inspired by Peta Kelly's book "Earth Is Hiring."
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 5:37 AM on October 11, 2019 [7 favorites]
‘To the person who uses metal straws to save fish but consumes animals, I’d like to say thank you. To the vegan who isn’t aware of our homelessness problem, thank you. To the climate change activists who aren’t attentive to fast fashion, thank you. To the girl who gives her old clothes to the disadvantaged but isn’t educated on sex trafficking, thank you. To the guy who picks up rubbish on his way home from a surf but isn’t well-informed about male suicide rates, thank you. To the people who stand up for horse racing concerns but are uninformed of the cruelty of the dairy industry, thank you. To the positive Instagram influencer who hasn’t cultivated a plastic-free lifestyle, thank you. To the grandparents who knit for sick children but aren’t up to date with current race and homophobic issues, thank you. To the students that stand up for bullying but are unaware of the constant domestic violence epidemic, thank you. To the peace activists, feminists, stray dog adopters, teachers, volunteers, foster carers, recyclers, givers, doers and believers, I say thank you. We are all on a different path and we all see through different eyes. Current world issues that you are passionate about, aren’t always what other people are trying to change… and that’s okay. It’s not everyone’s job to save every part of the world but it is everyone’s responsibility to thank every person who is doing THEIR part to save the world. Don’t critique, just appreciate. Don’t judge, just educate. We’re all trying our best. Thank you.’
Carla Borthwick.
Inspired by Peta Kelly's book "Earth Is Hiring."
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 5:37 AM on October 11, 2019 [7 favorites]
Best answer: The most impactful things we as individuals can take to address climate change are 1) get rid of your car if possible 2) vote 3) engage your civic representatives and neighbours on this matter 4) protest / civil disobedience / strike and and WAAAYYYY down the list anything else.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:02 AM on October 11, 2019
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:02 AM on October 11, 2019
Best answer: Commuting by bike might make a nice visual. Growing vegetables in a garden. Are you near wind turbines or could you show solar panels? This wouldn't translate that well, but meeting someone by videoconference instead of flying a long distance has a major impact on someone's individual carbon footprint. This study looked at the most effective individual actions (having one fewer child tops the list, which probably wouldn't fit into your project that easily).
posted by pinochiette at 8:00 AM on October 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by pinochiette at 8:00 AM on October 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by lunasol at 10:11 PM on October 10, 2019 [9 favorites]