Empiricism @Empiricism_Reloaded@social.cleverlibre.org

The enemy of reason and nature.

This article is a response to the reply (in quotes) I received from someone about my One Planet #Sustainability article. That article can be read here https://empiricalperspective.home.blog/2023/06/08/one-planet-sustainability/

Or here https://qoto.org/@Empiricism_Reloaded/110511036586999020

The reply to my article “Yes. What ideas do you have on how we XR (Extinction Rebellion) Psychologists could promote One Planet development? Always good to encourage methods that enable change, and to share examples of where action has made a tangible difference in reducing power and resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and increasing fairness. Wales as a small country is surely ahead on this… as explained in your links. Maybe Jane Davison's book would be a good read for the future https://janedavidson.wales/book “

The response. How to promote One Planet Development (OPD)?

Fundamentally, it’s all about resources and power (to sustain a modern way of life. e.g., a health & education system).

The core message of OPD is that living an ecologically low-impact lifestyle is achievable because it’s evidently practically possible and, for an unknown number of people, is a desirable way of life. This core message is important as many people either falsely believe that OPD is difficult or actively try to suppress the relevant knowledge (e.g., industries using disinformation against their competition). Reducing power and resource consumption will mean many industries will be scaled down in size (e.g., the aviation industry, the private transport industry, the agricultural industries and of course the fossil fuel industries). There is a world of business-as-usual related bias that promotes a short-term monetary agenda (not an OPD agenda). So, we can refer to the OPD (& its location-dependent variations. Should other countries adopt similar planning policies as Wales) as an evidence-based example of how OPD policies can encourage low ecological impact ways of living (At the moment, politics generally hinders OPD. E.g., the land is expensive & most often not used for OPD).

In the context of improving equity (fairness), the OPD approach should ideally provide land grants for those that agree to develop the land sustainably (however, due to politics [business-as-usual] that’s unlikely to happen in the short term). Basically, we have to turn the tide on ecological degradation sooner (as the OPD shows, it’s relatively easily possible. Politics is the problem). The longer we wait, the harder it becomes to conserve and restore natural habitats (due to the effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, etc.). To be clear, the OPD doesn’t have to be for everyone, the OPD is the general method that enables the overall society to have more of a resource and carbon budget (e.g., evidently, healthcare workers are as important as people that are taking care of nature whilst growing food & producing other sustainable products)

The OPD meets all the criteria for a sustainable (low ecological impact) and equitable culture by:

1. Conserving & or restoring nature via growing food within a (science of) agroecological framework.

2. Permitting (not restricting) people to have more agency by owning (part sharing \ cooperatives) their own land that they work, rest and play on (a culture).

3. Low-impact construction (low resources) and low power requirements (e.g., locally, using solar, wind, water and thermal energy to generate electricity when required. Batteries from non-mined biodegradable materials are physically possible).

There are also many social aspects to OPD. However, point 2 (an agency in a transparent democracy) will mitigate many of the social problems & ecological problems associated with big industries (i.e., privately owned corporations). The 2nd core message relates to freedom. Governments should be “encouraged” to develop policies that enable the people that want to, to live ecologically light lifestyles (rather than being in rent traps and working for a minimum wage for polluting industries, for example). The OPD paradigm should be scaled up locally, nationally and internationally. For example, public transport (not private) is the method that uses the least amount of resources and power. Furthermore, OPD will also have other cost and health-saving benefits. OPD will encourage a healthier way of life than sitting in polluted traffic Jams, for example. A healthier OPD lifestyle will reduce the resources and power requirements required for a national health system. Free health care, education, housing [land] and a transparent (accountable) democracy are the pinnacles of social equality.

The OPD is a paradigm shift in political and economic thinking (i.e., it’s the opposite of the unsustainable business-as-usual ideology of economic “growth” [i.e., expansion]). That shift is putting people (social) first within an ecologically sustainable way of providing resources and power. (then, anything is possible. Within reason).

The following is a side note regarding what I term the enemy of sustainable development. Therefore, fundamentally, the enemy of nature.

A side note regarding the general human population. In any population of adults, there are liars, cheats and abusive people that walk among us. For them, evidence or truth is merely more ideas that are mixed up with their overall sense of subjective reality. Because of their psychology, they are mixed up in their own web of lies. Because their ideologies are not based on sincerity, they only use science or truth within the context of trying to win an agenda. Whilst these people may be more or less honest in their social in-groups, in the context of what they perceive is their competition, they will lie and manipulate people if they associate that behaviour with “winning” and covering up their personal moral transgressions. “Winning” is the core point. They’re not trying to find the evidence like a diligent scientist or investigative journalist, nor do they care about the truth when competing against what they perceive is their social rivals (e.g., what they accuse others of). In fact, they intentionally make up stories about the people that they perceive are their rivals. Mr Trump, the former president of the USA shows all these antisocial behaviours. He doesn’t care about scientific facts (e.g., climate change), other than when he is promoting his core political agenda. Trump will slander his political opposition with no evidence to back up in claims. For example, during the last presidential election that Trump lost, even though the evidence suggested that the election results were generally accurate, Trump intentionally spread the lie that the election was rigged (& gaslit his followers by calling the election a “big lie”). He was speaking to his faithful followers – folk that do not base their understanding on science – if the evidence doesn’t align with their beliefs. Basically, they trust a source of information (Trump) that will lie and cheat if he believes that will help him “win”. Mr Trump has rich financial backers that regularly express their distaste for democracy. Therefore, when Mr Trump says that other people are a danger to democracy, that’s simply more gaslighting (Trump lives a web of lies – he also doesn’t know fact from fiction because he doesn’t understand the difference between fact and fiction). Trump is a socio-political and business animal (& not a sincere one at that). Trump's financial supporters and followers are a mix of very rich sociopaths (e.g., fascists that express racists views) that intentionally spread propaganda for socio-political and economic reasons and everyday folk that believe that Trump is on their side (e.g., because Trump says he’s an American Christian, etc. Although, his rhetoric conveniently doesn’t mention that the teachings of Jesus were against greed and corruption (the rich and powerful). i.e., another example of simply spreading the information that promotes Trump's financial agendas (& those who financially support his brand of geopolitics). Trump has been known to be a supporter of President Putin. It’s difficult to know what goes on behind closed doors (e.g., private corporations), however, it’s evidently corruption.

One Planet Development (OPD) is a way to establish a sustainable economy & culture in general. Climate change is generally caused by the neo-liberal wealthy group think culture (e.g., a free market capitalist economy that is badly regulated). For example, the more money people have, the more they tend to consume resources in the neo-liberal economy. The “Billionaire” class are an extreme example of how the neo-liberal definition of success is a death sentence to our planet. However, OPD means shrinking the many wasteful sectors of the present dominant economy. That means that many of the “successful” business-as-usual agents will lose out financially. Their definition of “success” (“wealth”, “power”. i.e., social status) is the unsustainable losing side.

In a world where there are many liars and cheats (especially when money is involved – they even lie to themselves), the OPD approach plus mitigating climate change in general, attracts the worst of humanity. They have and do try to spread doubt about environmental science (e.g., climate change, air pollution). They will and do try to slander those that are trying to inform people about science (e.g., scientists). Because the evidence would cost them (money, etc). To add to this web of lies are the people that simply don’t know how to inform themselves of empirically based information (information that’s based on evidence. e.g., real-world scientific experiments). These people often trust the false sources of information that the liars and cheats spread. Therefore, they unknowingly spread false information as they believe it’s true.

Facts and Truth are not technically the same. People can learn the technical facts about how an electric motor works. Humans constructed electric motors because humans learnt the facts about electromagnetism and mechanics in general. However, a person could lie to another about the science of electromagnetism, climate change, medicine, etc. To reiterate, liars and cheats may or may not understand the facts – the point is, they only promote the facts that they believe are promoting their personal agendas and lie about those facts that don’t (honesty isn’t their general policy).

In summary – you can’t trust a liar! But, many people do unknowingly trust liars. Broadly, a habituated liar (lying is a norm for them) is a form of anti-social behaviour. Whilst they also lie to the people in their in-groups so as to try and slander an in-group rival, they also lie about the people that they perceive are their out-group rivals. Generally, they lie about those people & organisations of people that they perceive are their political or economic rivals (e.g., propaganda).

This represents the mere tip of the “iceberg” – “For nearly three decades, many of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies have knowingly worked to deceive the public about the realities and risks of climate change.” https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/climate-deception-dossiers

What lies beneath is a world of business and lifestyle as usual people and their personal biases. Whether that misinformation is intentional or not, makes no difference within the context of ecological sustainability – for it is human actions (activities) that either sustain the planet's life support systems or not. So, next time you hear a rich person saying “climate……blah blah blah”, judge them by their actions, not their words (excuses won’t mitigate climate change).

“many of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies have knowingly worked to deceive the public”

Many of the general public were (& are) deceived because they trusted the source of information that they want to believe in (i.e., “faith”). They trust the information that tells them what they want to hear. That makes them feel good about their air-polluting lifestyles, etc.

The One Planet Development approach is based on practical guidance that clearly shows how to mitigate climate change by reducing resource requirements, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generally developing low ecological impact lifestyles that grow food whilst also conserving and restoring nature. We have the solutions (no doubt) to mitigate ecological degradation, therefore, climate change. Therefore, the core problem is psychological (e.g., the politics of gossip). The liars and cheats, the ignorant and greedy that are not seeking solutions to mitigate climate change. They’re trying to sustain their unsustainable ways of life. “Business-as-usual” is human social psychology as usual.

I realise that this may sound like a conspiracy. Who are they? However, they are not some unknown secret organisation. They could be the person that abusers people behind closed doors (i.e., domestic abuse) though seems OK when out in public. They could be the salesperson that lies to your face so as to try and make that sale. They could be the person that intentionally tries to make a cruel remark but tries to gaslight the offended by saying it was “only a joke”. They are the haters that are prejudiced. They are the nationalists that hate all people from a country because of what their governments did or do. They are the people that generally have extreme forms of social psychology (e.g., religious, political and economic agendas that are extremely competitive against those they perceive as their rivals in their in-groups and out-groups). They are the aggressors that use propaganda to justify a war that they intentionally started. They are the fuel industries and their economic and political associates that lie about science. “They” are a long list of moral transgressors. However, ultimately, they can’t win for they’re unknowingly competing against the force of nature (reality. e.g., the physics of climate change). Climate change is their nemesis.

The One Planet Development approach is a method to mitigate the ecological negative effects of their losing ideologies. Their unsustainable ways of living. Their maladapted social psychology (e.g., antisocial behaviours).

#climate #sustainability #psychology #politics #economics #nature #wildlife

The unsustainable lifestyles of the successfully wealthy.

Imagine if a government encouraged people to live sustainable lifestyles.

This would be in stark contrast to the current neoliberal sociopolitical and socioeconomic paradigm that has encouraged unsustainable lifestyles in the name of economic growth. Ways of living that are based on increasing the amounts of resources society consume (e.g., bigger cars, houses and not sharing products)

"Consumerism" is an umbrella term. However, the most ecologically damaging aspect of consumerism is due to a "free" (where products are not free) market economy where business activities have not been linked to sustaining the planet's life support systems.

A market trades products and services. In other words, supply and demand. Therefore, to critically evaluate a business's environmental impact, the supply and demand environmental impacts of the businesses' and end consumers' activities must be analyzed.

Let's take a worst-case example of an extremely unsustainable lifestyle.

A Fuel Company Executive (FCE) who relatively receives a high income (e.g., millionaire +). The FCE managers business activities that use various methods to extract "fossil" fuels (Coal, crude oil, gas). "Fossil" fuels are Carbon Based Fuels (CBF). These industrial activities degrade (damage & pollute) or destroy natural habitats so as to extract the CBF (or metal, etc) that are under the ground (on land or the seabed). These extraction activities also use machinery that burns CBF (combustion engines. e.g., diesel) to extract the CBF, and transport and process the CBF (e.g., crude oil refineries > fuel stations). At the end of all these power and resource-consuming activities, the final product is incinerated (to fuel machinery). That's a linear-based economy that is burning finite materials. That's an unsustainable economy.

A Fuel Company Executive (FCE) generally works in an office. These office blocks or skyscrapers also burn Carbon Based Fuels (CBF) & use electricity generated by burning CBF (e.g., for construction, maintenance, heating, air conditioning, etc). Wealthy FCE live lifestyle (including personal business activities) that burns a relatively high amount of CBF and uses a relatively high amount of resources in general (e.g., large car, regular trips on Jets, etc).

Generally, people that are living lives that are only taking (e.g., consuming materials) and polluting (e.g., burning fuels) can not be sustained (evidently).

Imagine if a government encouraged people to live sustainable lifestyles. "Government" is fundamentally management. For a government to promote ecological #sustainability it must understand the relevant subjects such as #ecology and #climatology. It must also have a long-term plan (e.g., hundreds to thousands of years). Generally, for a population of people in a democracy (e.g., in a country) to develop a sustainable culture the general population must have a form of intelligence that understands how the Planet's ecosystem functions (based on the evidence of the science of ecology). Also, the government must align with the voter's motives to live sustainable lifestyles (e.g., not greenwash the public as has been the norm with many governments. e.g., the UK's Conservative Party tend to greenwash the voters that they will mitigate the environmental problems in twenty years or so. Rather than dealing with them now by developing the appropriate fast-acting environmental policies now (they've been greenwashing the voters for decades)

Fundamentally, because a sustainable lifestyle is practically possible - https://qoto.org/@Empiricism_Reloaded/110511036586999020

- the fundamental problem that is causing ecological degradation, therefore, climate change is political. More broadly psychological (e.g., uneducation, misinformation, corruption, disinformation, greed, vanity, ideologies, delusions, etc)

The Planet's biosphere (e.g., weather or more broadly in time and space climate) is the regulator of all human lives and activities. As human activities degrade (e.g., pollute) components of the Planet's biosphere, this is causing ecological negative events (for humans) such as climate change. These events will increasingly regulate human activities.

Consider a spectrum (e.g., more or less of a variable). The variable is human activities. On one extreme of the spectrum is the Fuel Company Executive (or the millionaire or billionaire lifestyle). These are the people that are evidently living High Ecological Impact Lifestyles (HEIL). At the other end of the spectrum are people that are living Low Ecological Impact Lifestyles (LEIL). For example, those people that have incorporated sustainable living into their lifestyle (their thinking). In fact, in practice, LEIL can repair the damage that the HEIL has historically caused to natural habitats by restoring the local ecosystems (whilst also growing food & providing other goods and services to the local economy)

Further reading and guidance about Low Ecological Impact Living. https://qoto.org/@Empiricism_Reloaded/110511036586999020

#sustainable #climate #economy

#euhaveyoursay

The European Commission is launching a public consultation to gather people’s views on the EU’s intermediary #climate target for 2040.

You can answer the public consultation here. https://climate.ec.europa.eu/news-your-voice/news/have-your-say-eus-climate-target-2040-2023-04-04_en

#sustainability