It’s Time to Alt-Consume

We are all mad at Trump, at governments, at corporations which do not seem to get that our actions will soon lead to disastrous consequences.

It’s crisis time, tipping point time, no time to waste, right?

We want them to take action, change their business practices in fundamental ways, ways which will cost them money in the short term, reduce profits, work directly against the system as it is currently set up.

Huh, what a surprise to hit so much resistance, right?

And when they don’t act in ways that conform to our wishes, we condemn them and mock them and disdain them. We are aware, we are smart, we are looking at the bigger picture.

Well, we might be all that, but I would also suggest that WE-THE-CONSUMERS are the main reason corporations and governments are not moving — or not moving fast enough — in response to this crisis.

No existing, in-place, stable, profitable system is going to change voluntarily. It will change when it has to. And you know what? When CEOs and Prime Ministers and their behind-the-scene billionaire friends evaluate how serious the situation is, how much pressure they face to change, they realize that we are not all that serious. We are blah blah blah, all talk, all “Hey, CEO, change your evil ways!”

But, notices the CEO, WE-THE-CONSUMERS are not changing our ways. We are not making changes in our lives reflecting our awareness of this crisis moment. We are not saying “OMG, there is no time to waste, we must change out individual behaviors to do less harm, reduce impact, reduce waste.”

And that’s the way CEOs and so forth know they can get away with keeping on doing (or not doing) what they are doing (or not doing). Because we have not yet truly accepted and internalized that the good times are over. WE-THE-CONSUMERS want to keep rocking-and-rolling with the latest iPhones, AI-powered home assistants (“OK, Google, wipe my butt for me.”), mineral spring water delivered in by plastic-wrapped cases in plastic bottles, flying by jet all over the world, and so on.

Our words are loud and angry. But our actions are all “Hey, somebody needs to give me ‘clean energy’ so that I can keep wasting energy and planet resources and feel OK about it as I toss down another Big Mac.”

Look, I hate to say it, but some fundamentals are clear: corporations will continue to pillage our planet in search of resources and low labor costs as long as we keep buying their crap.
But if we do not purchase all that crap, if we start to buy only what we need and not what we desire, then corporations will produce less, meaning they will destroy less.

Will consuming less really make THE difference, stop the onslaught of climate change? Probably not, but there is no way in hell all the changes we demand of corporations and governments will make a difference if we are not ready to make some sacrifices ourselves.

In other words, consuming less (doing less harm) is necessary, even if it may not be sufficient.

It is, is even other words, time to Alt-Consume:

• Consume only what you need, not what you want.
• Buy used instead of new whenever possible.
• Choose the less-harmful path of consumption whenever possible (example: make meals from actual food, not food products).

So the next time you find yourself bitching about Trump or GE or whatever, ask yourself: “What did I do today to at least not contribute to the problem? What less-harmful action have I taken? What harrmful action did I choose NOT to take? And what more can I do, myself, right now, with my own two hands, two legs and one stomach, to slow the onslaught of climate change?”

In other words, it is time

If the answer is not much, then I suggest you bitch about yourself instead of Trump.

Generally, I try to avoid bitching and focus on doing. Here are some of the things I try to do each day to do less harm and reduce consumption:

• Use stainless steel water bottle
• Reuse plastic produce bags when I go back for more veggies and fruit
• Don’t flush after every pee
• Ride bicycle or walk instead of drive for anything within a few miles
• Don’t eat meat, for the most part (not only am I eating the flesh of fellow sentients, but the impact of the Meat Industry on our planet is grotesque)
• When traveling, bring my own bamboo cutlery to avoid using plastic forks, etc.
• Get coffee (or tea) in a reusable container
• Walk past 90% of the “food” in the supermarket and “just say no” — no processed foods
• Buy milk in glass container (and jelly and peanut butter and juice and…)
• Buy organic whenever possible (and when you can afford it!)
• Don’t watch TV or other screens
• Get books from library instead of ordering from Amazon
• Go outside whenever possible (almost always)
• Capture “warm up” water for shower and use it to water plants or flush toilet or rinse out tub
• Hang my clothing on a drying rack instead of using the dryer
• Wash my dishes by hand
• Turn down (or up) the thermostat when leaving the house for more than an hour
• Go to sleep early to avoid burning fossil fuels to keep lights on
• Buy used instead of new whenever possible
• Buy local instead of over Internet — since Sept 2016, I have placed just three orders online.
• Buy fruit, veggies, soap, etc. at farmers markets (when in season)
• Use bio-compostable poop bags for my cute puppy