The Long Emergency: The petty and the existential

While it is true that fossil fuel interests have been the most important force behind climate change denial and effective policy responses, they aren't the only one. The meat industry, as far as I know, hasn't invested a lot in denialism but they are scared that people will stop eating their product. Obviously plant based foods are also produced by farmers but the overall demand for agricultural products is several times as high in a carnivorous dietary regime than it would be if people mostly ate a plant based diet.

The result is some really ridiculous state laws. Yes, state legislatures are trying to ban labeling vegetarian foods with labels historically associated with meat and dairy. Arkansas wants to ban labels such as "veggie burger" and "soy milk." This is downright silly because, obviously, nobody is going to actually buy veggie burgers thinking they are hamburgers, and if people want to eat veggie burgers they'll probably do so no matter what you call them. But I imagine it could slow down marketing of these items if it's harder for the manufacturers to explain what they are to consumers. At least that's what the meat purveyors must be thinking. Anyway, as the Vox article explains, these laws probably won't pass constitutional muster.

As lapsed economist Duncan Black explains, there is also just the foible of human nature that people don't like their habits disrupted. It's actually not a problem to take reusable shopping bags to the supermarket -- in fact it makes your life easier.  And the vast majority of us don't need to drink through a straw. Giving up single use plastic items is actually a matter of extreme urgency. Not that they're a major contributor to the climate crisis (although there is fossil fuel used for energy in their manufacture as well as feedstock) but they are creating a terrifying environmental crisis. Plastic litter is devastating marine life around the world. Is it really so important to you to suck your sugar water through a plastic straw that it's worth exterminating whales and turtles?

There are many other vested interests that resist needed change, from automobiles to construction to beverages (Can we please put an end to bottled water?) to yes, the lawn care industry. No, you don't need a perfect carpet of emerald green rye grass surrounding your house in Phoenix, or anywhere else for that matter, which means you don't need to irrigate your lawn or soak it with pesticides and fertilizer. The whole lawn thing is nothing but an inane cultural fetish, but in some towns it's required by law.

Now, changing your individual habits is not going to solve the problem. We need massive changes in public policy. But it won't hurt to give up stupid stuff that you'd probably be better off without anyway.

Update: This Kos diarist points out that plastic recycling is mostly a scam. The recycling bin makes you feel okay about single use plastic but in fact the vast majority of what you toss in is not recycled. It's landfilled, burned, or winds up in the ocean.

Also: When you're banned, you're banned.