Happy DonkeyMay 22, 2023

What have you done recently to reduce your consumption and carbon footprint? I'll go first.

1. Switched to bamboo toilet paper (sustainable, grows fast) and towels (one roll bamboo = 17 rolls of paper towels)

2. Earth Breeze laundry detergent. No more plastic bottles

3. Homemade Oat Milk. Three ingredients. (oats, water and maple syrup) No more bottles or cartons.

4. Homemade hummus (ditto)

5. Homemade pizzaa and spaghetti sauce

What should I do next?

Show threadSteven BodzinMay 22, 2023
@t3rrybowman get a train network built
Show threadHappy DonkeyMay 22, 2023
@guacamayan Hey Steve, trains are one of my hot buttons. I live in Philly which has excellent subways and light rail. But if I want to take a train home to Columbus, I have to Amtrak to Cleveland or Pittsburgh and transfer to bus. I ATE that with a passion. #OhioSoDumb #NeverMovingBack
Show threadSteven BodzinMay 22, 2023
@t3rrybowman i feel you. It's so bad even in places built for transit like Philly or NYC. Which is my point. I am vegetarian, don't have a car, and generally try not to contribute too much carbon. But the changes you mention - while wonderful -- are so marginal that they literally make no difference. The real change happens wholesale, through political organizing, and not from one individual avoiding a bit of packaging.
Show threadEva ChandaMay 22, 2023
@guacamayan @t3rrybowman
And from intelligent regulation, like making companies responsible for their products at end of life. Bottle & can deposits, but for cars, appliances, clothes, etc. IMHO markets work best when government sets & enforces rules (health, worker safety, environment, etc), like a referee, then companies channel their innovation & competitiveness into following those rules. #Deregulation is a disaster! #CircularEconomy
Show threadSteven BodzinMay 22, 2023
@echanda @t3rrybowman you know that there was a serious movement in that direction in the 90s. The Bush election and then 9/11 really stopped a lot of initiatives cold
Show threadEva ChandaMay 22, 2023
@guacamayan @t3rrybowman
Earth 2.0 with Presidents Gore ➡️ Obama ➡️ Hillary Clinton ➡️ Biden would look pretty different, with much lower CO2, cleaner air & water, #UniversalHealthcare, #TransRights, #AccessibleAbortion... maybe even #ERA as 28th Amendment? #VotingMatters
Show threadHappy Donkey
@echanda @guacamayan They would look pretty different if they stood up to the fascists like Goldman, Plaskett, AOC and Moskowitz are doing right now. Obama had a huge mandate and he was too genteel. You'll never please everyone, so go for the thorat. That's what the enemy does.
May 22, 2023 at 7:08pmWeb
Show threadEva ChandaMay 22, 2023
@t3rrybowman @guacamayan
Maybe if Gore had been allowed to win, progressives would have gained momentum & made the party bolder. That's what happened in Earth 2.0...
Show threadHappy DonkeyMay 22, 2023

@echanda @guacamayan as someone who has worked in politics for 12 years including beating Kari Lake and Hershel Walker last year, I can definitivley say that 'allowed to win" is a boondoggle, and we need to take all the guesswork out of it.

Democratic voters and Republicans are different in one key area. Democrats demand purity on their key issues (see:Bernie stans et al), whereas Repukes are herd voters. They wait til the General and vote as a block for whoever the schmuck their candidate is.

Show threadHappy DonkeyMay 22, 2023

@echanda @guacamayan

Trumpers might test this theory next fall.

Show threadEva ChandaMay 24, 2023
@t3rrybowman @guacamayan
But Gore lost Florida because of Repug dirty tricks in the recount—and now they're trying all kinds of voter suppression tactics. Dems need to scrap purity tests, turn out voters, *and* fight voter suppression. State-level fascism is happening.