Got Climate Doom? Here’s What You Can Do to Actually Make a Difference

Matter of Opinion

New York Times Opinion

Society & Culture, Ross Douthat, News, New York Times, Journalism

4.2 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 November 2021

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What's an individual to do about the massive, systemic problem of climate change? Recycle? Compost? Give up meat or flying or plastic straws? Protest in the streets? To parse which personal actions matter and which don’t, Jane is joined by the climate activist and author Genevieve Guenther, who argues that for the wealthier citizens of the world, there are real steps that can be taken right away to help fight the current and impending climate catastrophes. Guenther lists them according to one’s ability, time and resources. Also joining the debate is the author of “The Uninhabitable Earth,” David Wallace-Wells, who argues that while individual behavior is a good start, it won’t bring the change needed; only large-scale political action will save us. In this episode, Guenther and Wallace-Wells disagree about extinction and blame, but they agree that when individual political pressure builds into an unignorable movement, once-impossible-to-imagine solutions will be the key to saving our future.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Today on the argument, in the fight against climate change, what actions actually matter?
0:15.5	Climate changes are doing, and the way we humans are occupying the planet isn't just
0:19.6	unsustainable, it is actively causing present and future harm.
0:23.5	Clearly, large-scale changes are urgently immediately needed at the country and corporate
0:28.7	level, for everybody, everywhere.
0:32.1	But what's an individual like you or me to do?
0:36.7	Should we stop flying on planes, eating meat, using straws, having children?
0:42.6	Should we get better at composting?
0:44.7	Just recycling matter.
0:46.3	Not to get all existential, though I guess this is existential.
0:50.5	But does any of it matter?
0:54.6	I'm Jane Kostin.
0:56.2	And today I'm talking to two people who think really deeply about this question.
1:00.2	My guests are author David Wells-Welles, who wrote the book, The Uninhabitable Earth, and
1:05.1	Genevieve Gunther, Climate Communication Activist and Founder of the Organization and Climate
1:09.9	Silence.
1:16.1	David, Genevieve, could you give me a one-sentence nut shell as to where you stand on the issue
1:21.0	of personal responsibility on climate change?
1:23.8	My basic feeling is that the changes that we need are all systemic, and so the things
1:28.0	that individuals can do to make that change are primarily through the political realm,
1:33.2	not through their individual behavior.
1:34.8	If we want to really halt this problem and get a handle on it, it means large, large-scale
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from New York Times Opinion, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of New York Times Opinion and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.