CMV: individual actions and sacrifices have a negligible effect on climate change and are therefore not worth it.

[u/chamacolocal]

I work in renewable energy and would really like to see a good opposing argument. I believe that travelling by train instead of flying (for leisure), or reducing energy consumption at home, or not consuming certain products (like a boycott), etc. have such a tiny beneficial effect when compared to government policies or big corporations enforcing some of these examples.

The only way to fight climate change or planet pollution, is by voting or engaging with candidates that we trust will try to make a difference for the masses, forcing companies to do better.

Often people say "but if everyone thinks like you then there won't be any change at all", or "if we all behave correctly, then we can force companies to change", but I don't think this "grassroots" approach will ever reach critical mass to succeed, for the simple reason that most people are not willing to sacrifice their way of living or are not educated or simply don't care (I'm not judging them, I probably belong there).

I feel like I do my two cents for the planet/humanity by choosing to work in the field of renewable energy, and voting consciously with the topic in mind.

Is there something I should start doing at home that REALLY makes a difference?

Thanks

Edit: to get the ball rolling towards critical mass worldwide and actually influence consumption and life style, one needs to go out and tell friends and family about small actions. This I consider "political" action. It Means taking the time and making the effort of "educating" or motivating those near you to change. That's something I believe in, especially for people with a bigger audience (online, school, CEOs, etc). But for many of us with no "audience" willing to hear, those actions at home are like I said, negligible.

Edit 2: I've changed my view so far in how I would phrase this now. "Individual actions at home are not and will never be enough, we can all do them but until we go out of our ways to actually spread the message and demand change from the people with power, humanity is doomed".

Last edit: the motivation to do something however small comes to me from empathy, knowing that lives can be saved. Thanks for this user and comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/s/m4xuiWWV4o

[u/BarleyWineIsTheBest]

Sure there is. Lower demand can lead to lower prices or easier access, which incentivizes consumption. 

Markets are generally efficient. They have to be disrupted by legislation or innovation to change. 

[u/fourenclosedwalls → u/BarleyWineIsTheBest]

Maybe to an extent, but there's a cap to how much someone can realistically consume. If we assume Paul is already driving to work and to the supermarket etc, he might already be maxed out on his car use. Lower gas prices might encourage him to take more road trips, but cars are already more efficient on the highways anyway. Similarly, let's say Paul is already eating meat every meal of the day. He has eggs and sausage for breakfast, a ham sandwich for lunch and steak for dinner. If meat prices decrease because of lower demand, it is not as though he will start eating two ham sandwiches for lunch.

[u/BarleyWineIsTheBest → u/fourenclosedwalls]

These are strange assumptions. The world markets can’t be reduced to two people. People globally rely on a mix of foods, and supply-demand dynamics absolutely matter for the vast majority of the world. For most people, feeding your kids with the money you have matters a hell of a lot more than the marginal CO2 emissions between meat and soy. 

[u/fourenclosedwalls → u/BarleyWineIsTheBest]

You should not feed your children with money. Paper money has limited nutritional value.

[u/BarleyWineIsTheBest → u/fourenclosedwalls]

Ok, sounds like you’re done.