Revision as of 21:23, 29 April 2023

While going Vegan is for most people the best thing that can be done on an individual level to reduce one's carbon footprint, that isn't the be all end all of helping the environment. Believing that Veganism is pretty much all you need to do to fight climate change is not only objectively incorrect, it also will make you look rather hypocritcal when you claim to care about helping the environment yet not do as much as you reasonably can towards fulfilling that goal.

Make no mistake, the environmental effects of Veganism are still incredibly significant, and going Vegan would easily reduce your carbon footprint more than just about everything else, but you need to go above and beyond if you want to set a good example for others to follow.

Of course we're not going to be reccomending anything overly drastic like only showering once a week, forgoing any and all climate control, not doing laundry, and subsisting only on beans (though we're not necessarily condemning it if you really are willing to do all that), this article is going to reccomend practicable, efficient, and effective ways of reducing your carbon footprint without hampering your overall quality of life significantly.

Within each item we will also quickly compare their cost-effectiveness compared to Veganism in terms of time, difficulty, and effectiveness. Veganism fundamentally speaking is a fairly easy thing to do (especially with so many vegan alternatives that are accessible) and has a huge return on investment, though this proportion will vary depending on the action and your circumstances.

Potential Criticisms

There exists many criticisms against the idea that we as individuals should be concerned about the energy requirements of our lifestyles, many of these are based on ignorance at best and apathy at worst.

It's expensive to be environmentally conscious

Uh yeah no it's not.

As you read the article, you may notice, with some exceptions, that being environmentally conscious is cheaper than living a normal Western lifestyle. Sure, the environmentally conscious option may not be as high quality and convienent, since you aren't paying extra for the luxury. But that's just what they are: Luxuries. Not things needed to maintain a healthful and comfortable quality of life. Often this is due to the energy costs being passed down to the consumers, so generally speaking the more expensive something is, there's a rough correlation to the energy expenditure, except of course in the case of subsidized products. Even going with the cheaper and greener option still allows for a very high quality of life, especially compared to the vast majority of people living on Earth today.

It's actually something of a rule of thumb: If something is cheaper to do, eight or nine times out of ten it's the more environmentally friendly option. We will take care to highlight the exceptions to this rule when they;re brought up.

Rich people have bigger environmental footprints

This is objectively true in the case of 95% of ultra-wealthy individuals. One rich asshole flying a private jet everywhere and living in a big mansion will probably have a lifetime environmental footprint of at least a hundred people. We aren't denying the terrible and unfortunate reality of this. Our response to this criticism boils down to: So?

Yes, they're 100% in the wrong for indulging so disgustingly in their vast wealth that not only could be used for a lot of good to help out other human beings, but pretty much only serves to emit tons of greenhouse emissions at the cost of the world's poorest human beings. What about that exactly means that you shouldn't do anything to help stop climate change? Hitler had the body count of like a million murderers, does that make the murders of people like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer any less terrible?

And just a note, as far as environmental destruction is concerned, the ultra rich are to you as you are to the global poor. Studies have found concerning statistics such as the poorest citizens living in the United Kingdom use five times more resources than almost 85% of India's population, and one American uses as many resources as 32 Kenyans. It's estimated that the richest 20% of the world (which would come out to a household income of roughly $10,000 USD for one person) use 80% of the world's resources, and the poorest 20% only accounts for about 1.3%, and another study found slightly different yet principally similar numbers.

While we should be criticising rich people for their terrible lifestyles, let us not be so quick to cast stones when we have our own indulgences to be worried about.

https://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=08-P13-00004&segmentID=3 https://reliefweb.int/report/world/rich-poor-and-future-earth-equity-constrained-world https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/news/article/5311/shining-a-light-on-international-energy-inequality

Personal Reductions

Public transit

This depends on whether or not you live in or near a big city. Governments ideally should invest more in public transportation since it's an incredibly important service, but that's not really something consumers can do much about. If public transit isn't really an option where you live, then you can skip this section.

If however you DO live in an area with well constructed and maintained infrastructure, it's something you certainly should consider doing. It isn't as fast as having a car, but it is cheaper, and much better for the environment, and bonus points if the buses/trains are electric powered. Motor vehicles account for one of the largest carbon footprints for the average persons

Now note that taking public transit doesn't completely eliminate your carbon footprint in terms of public transportation, it just reduces it to a fraction of what it would have been if you had taken a car. Any emissions from taking the train are divided between you and however many other people take it at the same time as you do (and this isn't even factoring in the different length of time you may be on it for), making a 15 mile (~24 km) commute by train much smaller than by car.

If you've gone a while taking your car to get to work instead of public transit, it can be a bit of an adjustment to go from one to the other, but it's something worth trying out. Again, you'll also save a bit of money by not needing to pay for gas and potential repairs, and you're also helping promote the city's investment in the infrastructure when they see another person consistently using it.

Walking/Biking

Avoiding environmentally harmful foods

Aside from animal products, we also ought to be cautious about other environmentally damaging foods, including but not limited to palm oil, rice, and excessive amounts of fruit. Palm oil is notorious for being one of the most environmentally destructive crops on the planet, responsible for deforestation and habitat loss (and thus accelerating climate change), rice is responsible for 30% of all the world's agricultural methane emissions, and many fruits (sweet fruits in particular) don't have the best yield compared to most other plant foods.

Coffee is also considered to be an environmentally unsustainable crop, but it's nowhere near as bad as palm oil is, and actually has some incredibly useful benefits in terms of productivity (unlike palm oil which is just saturated fats). It doesn't take too many beans to make a single cup of coffee, and there are verified ways of growing it sustainably, namely, shade grown. Buying shade grown coffee instead of traditionally grown would be pretty significant, if it's possible.

It also makes sense to eat more foods that are generally lower in carbon emissions, namely corn, beans, and even many nuts. Walnuts in particular may have a carbon absorption during their farming, which is something to consider. And if you really want to go further, try and get foods that are packaged better; For instance, it's better to buy bags of beans instead of cans (even if the metal cans are recycled, the bags likely still have a slightly smaller impact).

On that note, while we're agnostic on the topic of oyster sentience, farming oysters is potentially environmentally beneficial since when the oysters grow on the ropes they filter water and even absorb greenhouse gases since the oyster shell needs to cultivate CO2 to develop. Whether or not it's a net negative impact is fairly speculative, so take it with a grain of salt. If you are considering buying oysters, avoid wild-caught oysters (which have the same enviornmental concerns that commercial fishing has) and go for the rope-grown ones, since those are the ones that may have the environmental benefits.

Comparing this to veganism, this is pretty much a slightly harder version of Veganism, although this is not a dogmatic and irrational thing to do in addition to a Vegan diet for one who cares about the environment. Ideally, rice, palm oil, and sweet fruits should play a limited role in your diet anyway considering their inadequete nutrient contents. Simply putting more emphasis on beans instead of rice and berries instead of too much sweet fruit is an easy way to compensate for their reduction in your diet, and generally plenty of foods with palm oil in them will have some alternative without it.

Reducing shower time and temperature

Everyone loves a nice warm shower, but how long do we really need in there? How much time does one really need to clean their hair, armpits, groin, and asshole, and do a quick scrub of their chest, face, arms, and legs? Five, maybe six minutes? A pretty big chunk of the time we're in there consists of just standing around like an idiot.

Simply shaving a minute or two out of your daily shower would be pretty significant, as would reducing the temperature on the water a little even. Every bit helps.

Alternatively, you can take what is known as a Scottish Shower, which is pretty much just an otherwise a typical warm shower that has the final minute with the water being set to the lowest temperature (so if you usually take ten minute showers, nine minutes will be warm, one will be ice cold). It's also believed to have a few health benefits, so why not give it a try?

Regardless of what you do, just never outright forgo showering, or at least not for more than a few days at a time. Believe it, people will smell you; You know that oily scent your hair gets when it hasn't been cleaned for a little while? Multiply that by ten and put it all over your body; That's what one week of no showering smells like. Although it's important to care about the environment, you shouldn't sacrifice health and hygiene for it if it's not necessary.

Compared to veganism and most of the things here, this is actually one of the easier things to do, it's just takes a little discipline. But changing habits can be difficult, so it'd be easier to just invest in a lower-flow shower head. A lower flow combined with cooler water (or a more efficient water heater) and reduced showering time is a recipe for a very efficient shower, and would save you quite a bit on your water bill. General rule of thumb: If something's cheaper to do, it tends to be better for the environment.

Better yet, if you're a REAL chad, you can take the whole shower ice cold. You gradually get used to them, but it takes a lot of moxie.

Gardening

OK you know all that stuff we said earlier about not buying environmentally harmful plant foods? Well you can go ahead and forget all that if you grow them yourself!

Industrial production of these foods is what makes them so environmentally problematic. It's necessary to grow food for eight billion hungry people out there so it's fair to make some sacrifices to the environment to that end (unless you're fine with having the overwhelming majority of people starve). But if you have the ability to, it's a great to try elimiating resource investments in terms of agriculture.

Another huge and sometimes neglected environmental blight are lawns. Largely an American tradition (though it originated in Britain and Ireland), lawns are huge wastes of resources such as water, gasoline (powering all that yard equipment like mowers, leafblowers, weedwackers, etc.), and the immense amount of resources and energy needed to manufacture lawn care such as pesticides. It's also a huge opportunity cost to boot. That land can be used for something useful, such as growing a garden for food, instead of just existing to look pretty and serve as status symbols and not offer anything of significant value beyond that.

You can grow pretty much any plant food in a garden, including fruits, vegetables, grains, and even rice. The foods will be fresh if you're even somewhat dilligent, and it's going to save you quite a bit on your food bill (and it's healthy to boot, in terms of diet and physical activity).

We're not going to delve into it here but if you're interested, look up on how to get started on a garden if there aren't any laws on the books preventing you from doing so in your area. It's going to vary depending on where you live, if you have a space to garden in, and if you have enough time to spare (though they generally aren't very high maintenence). It's a helluva lot more rewarding and relaxing than mowing a lawn, that's for sure.

Greywater Systems

Home Insulation

Energy Efficient Appliances

Thrift stores

Buying new things can be pricy, and require the production of new items which has its own environmental footprint. While it isn't terribly significant, if you're looking to minimize your carbon emissions, this is something that should be worth doing, and it's also a great way to save money.

Recycling and Composting

While the environmental benefits of recycling have been greatly overstated, that doesn't mean it's something we shouldn't be doing, and considering how easy it is to recycle means everyone should do it anyway (the EPA gives an estimate of one in three Americans recycling, which has been going up over the past few decades, but still concerningly low).

Really, recycling is not hard. Some places will give you bins to use for free, and even if you can't get them for free you can get them at your local home improvement store for under $30. Sure, the environmental benefits are pretty small, but the effort to reward ratio is pretty even. It's pretty useful if you buy a lot of cans and bottles and are looking to neutralize your carbon footprint on that front, and better yet, if you take these to your local supermarket and put them in the Recycling Machines and redeem 5-10 cents for each can/bottle you put in, which can save you a little on your grocery bill.

Of course it all depends on the material you're recycling. Materials like glass aren't very effective, but metals like aluminum and copper have huge returns.

Reusing items

LED Lighting

Solar Panels

Doing something like this depends on a lot of things, such as your economic situation, whether or not you own your home, the environment you live in, etc.

Now while solar energy as a solution for powering industry and big cities, it just won't do the job (that's what nuclear power's for!), but a few solar panels on a roof can go a long way towards giving you electricity and also significantly reducing your carbon footprint.

Your mileage will vary with this of course. If you live somewhere that's usually sunny like in Los Angeles, your solar panels will be pretty effective year round, whereas if you live in an area with a varying temperature New York City that has cold winters but very warm and sunny summers, you'll be primarily reaping the benefits for only half the year (you still can get some energy during the colder months, but it won't be as significant).

This is a huge investment in terms of money and resources, so it isn't really something we expect most people to do much about, but if it's within your capabilities, we strongly reccomend it, especially if you live in a sunnier area. It'll even help you save a bit on your energy bill too (and if you're REALLY conservative with your electricity usage, you can have an energy surplus).

Freeganism

Arguably even better than Veganism in terms of environmental impact. Whereas a normal Vegan diet significantly reduces a person's carbon footprint from food, a fully freegan diet does away with it completely.

Freeganism is the practice of consuming food that has been discarded as waste products and are thrown into containers such as dumpsters (hence 'dumpster-diving'). All sorts of foods are discarded, including animal products. If that seems hypocritical for a Vegan wiki to be advocating, remember, it isn't the consumption of meat that's unethical, it's the purchasing of the products and supporting the industry. Eating meat found in a dumpster does not increase the demand for it, and therefore is not an ethical concern (well except for deontologists, but that's their problem). This practice creates no incentive for companies to breed more animals into existence and expend immense amounts of energy to produce products.

Keep in mind, just because something is free doesn't mean it's freegan. A bit counterintuitive, but if you were to say eat free meat samples at a supermarket, or non-vegan pastries at a party, even though those are free, it's still displacing meat that will need to be replaced. Once those samples are done, they have to order more, and at the party, the meat-eating party goers will still want to have dairy desserts and will eat more at home. With foods in the dumpster, that stuff's irrelevant to the economy anyway, so consuming it isn't causing any demand for the products. As far as we can tell there exists little to no demand for companies to have more food to be thrown in the garbage (and even if there was some weird elaborate conspiracy to throw more food out, it's not because they want people to eat it).

This doesn't extend to just food; Dumpster diving can be done to get all sorts of things, and it's pretty amazing how good the quality is of a lot of the stuff that's thrown away. If you know where to look and with some luck, you can find technology, clothes, tools, and even furniture. Clean it up a bit, and it's good to go. It's the same principle as a thrift store, but free!

The reasons why it isn't gaurunteed to be better than a vegan diet is primarily because a fully Freegan diet doesn't do anything at all to promote Vegan alternatives (such as plant milks, beyond/impossible meat, etc.), which are important for spreading Veganism in the mainstream to shift production from environmentally destructive animal products to significantly less environmentally destructive plant products.

A somewhat lesser reason is that eating meat is still less healthy than plants (unless you're diving for only vegetables). You generally should be as healthy as possible in order to help promote Veganism to get others to reduce their carbon footprints, and you may live slightly shorter and won't be able to advocate for it as much. These aren't necessarily arguments against Freeganism, we still support it if someone wants to do it, these are more just reasons why Veganism may be better in practice.

And just note, while there are health concerns with dumpster diving, if you do it right the problems are minimal. Otherwise, freeganism done properly is a safe and rewarding practice that can be done to make a huge reduction in your carbon footprint. Just make sure to wear proper personal protective equipment (gloves, mask, eyewear), thoroughly clean your findings after bringing them home, if possible going in a group to look after each other and to help make sure there's a fallback in case someone gets hurt (cut on glass or touches a used needle for instance) or is exposed to something harmful, and all in all just being smart about it. Also, be sure of the law in your area, though in the vast majority of jurisdictions it's legal, provided you aren't trespassing on anyone's property.

While this takes a bit of a stomach to do compared to a regular Vegan diet, if you're someone who desperatelty wants to not contribute to animal suffering and environmental harm but can't give up meat, this might be something you should look into, and given that it isn't all that difficult (just takes some time), this is a pretty big effort to reward investment. Also this saves you a ton of money, which is also something to consider for those who have a hard time getting by.

Influencing Societal Reductions

Donating to effective charities

Promoting Vegan Alternatives

Voting and Political Participation

Activism

Having children