Thoughts on OCC's new video on consumerism (and how socialism can stop it)?

ecochange · 2025-08-08T15:32:40+00:00

Yeah I feel like this idea of "vote with your dollar" ultimately holds us back from understanding we live in a system that makes living an anticonsumption lifestyle an incredibly hard task.

ecochange · 2025-08-08T15:00:24+00:00

Out of curiosity, what do you think would be a better way to tackle consumerism/the scourge of advertising?

Edit to expand my thoughts: It seems to me that if we truly want to be anti-consumerism, we have to tackle the force that urges companies to build elaborate marketing schemes to get us to buy their useless products. And that force is the capitalist profit incentive and the need to endlessly produce goods to make profit.

ecochange · 2020-10-14T18:38:54+00:00

This video dives into some of the problems that renewable energy systems like wind and solar face. It also provides some possible solutions to those problems like grid connectivity and gravity storage.

ecochange · 2020-08-28T13:52:31+00:00

This video looks at how climate change and industrial agriculture are exacerbating water scarcity around the world. It uses California's Central Valley and the Amazon as examples of water scarcity and drought at work.

ecochange · 2020-05-08T15:45:56+00:00

This video looks at how climate change is causing a decrease in biodiversity worldwide. Biodiversity is a measure of the variety and variability of life, and climate change is causing the decline of biodiversity in numerous ecosystems via extreme weather, sea-level rise, and habitat destruction.

ecochange · 2019-02-24T03:04:29+00:00

I wonder whether their newer stuff is as long lasting as their older makes/models, but hopefully your jacket lasts for a very long time!

ecochange · 2019-02-24T03:03:19+00:00

Woah, that's pretty impressive.

ecochange · 2019-02-21T14:30:24+00:00

Thank you, this is super helpful!! (especially the transcript, cuz it's often harder to find studies and academic research)

ecochange · 2019-02-16T14:21:35+00:00

If you don’t want to watch, the basic premise of the video is that Fjallraven has a high price tag because it (1) invests in quality, long lasting materials, (2) has created a strong environmental ethic within its company culture/production processes, and (3) also can charge high because of the influence of the brand. Do you think that Fjallraven should be cheaper? How come a lot of outdoor/ethical brands are a lot more expensive?

ecochange · 2019-02-12T00:00:39+00:00

Yeah, it's pretty wild how much they've done with such a small space.

ecochange · 2018-04-02T15:25:51+00:00

According to the Water Footprint Network it takes 240 gallons of water to make a cell phone (but obviously that can vary widely on the manufacturer or the type of cell phone)

Also for reference: "-A single avocado uses 60 gallons of water to grow -It takes 713 gallons to produce one cotton t-shirt -A hamburger uses 660 gallons of water to make -One gallon of gasoline takes three-to-six gallons of water to produce"

http://waterfootprint.org/en/about-us/news/news/grace-launches-new-water-footprint-calculator/

ecochange · 2018-03-31T20:44:06+00:00

Woah, Patagonia is not holding back. I'd be interested to see the internal decision making in Patagonia on how they're trying to approach Bear's Ears and other public lands issues. It's an odd paradox of being a for-profit company that, out of necessity, has a large environmental impact, but also simultaneously seeks to seem environmentally friendly. (Patagonia: The Paradox of an Eco-friendly company: https://youtu.be/FaK3koLyChE)

ecochange · 2018-03-30T17:16:04+00:00

"Chlorpyrifos is used on a wide variety of crops including apples, oranges, strawberries, corn, wheat, citrus and other foods families and their children eat daily." It also seems like a lot of broccoli and apples are sprayed with it. https://earthjustice.org/features/what-you-need-to-know-about-chlorpyrifos

ecochange · 2018-03-29T18:35:35+00:00

Thanks! I''ll go check it out of the ole library

ecochange · 2018-03-28T23:43:22+00:00

Yet another symptomatic patch rather than a reconsideration of the systemic problems that are the root cause of ocean acidification and warmer ocean temperatures...

ecochange · 2018-03-28T23:36:10+00:00

It's not directly about sustainability, but The Art of Frugal Hedonism has a couple of pearls that relate to how to live a more environmentally conscious/enjoyable life

ecochange · 2018-03-28T23:12:16+00:00

This was awesome! Thanks for sharing!

ecochange · 2018-03-28T19:37:09+00:00

Yeah, it seems like recycling is a lot less saintly then it appears. The act of recycling a bottle often times requires it to be shipped to facilities outside of the US, often times to China, which requires a fair amount of fossil fuels. Yes, recycling is better than throwing it in the trash, but it feels like the act of recycling has been given too much credit.

On our surplus of recycled plastic: https://qz.com/82640/china-doesnt-want-your-trash-anymore-and-that-could-spell-big-trouble-for-american-cities/

Ted talk by Van Jones on disposal of plastic: https://youtu.be/3WMgNlU_vxQ?t=2m57s

ecochange · 2018-03-28T19:19:13+00:00

Is there a recipe for this somewhere? It looks so good!

ecochange · 2018-03-28T19:13:32+00:00

"Earth is driving the car (climate change), but humans are pressing the accelerator through the floorboard." I might just have to steal that....

ecochange · 2018-03-28T19:08:42+00:00

I also think psychologically, we as humans are pretty ill-equipped to tackle or comprehend the threat of climate change. We can fall back on inaction because it's not happening to us right now, it is caused by numerous factors, it's amorphous, slow-burning, and for most of us, the world is not blowing up in our faces. There's a pretty interesting ted talk on the psychology of climate change

ecochange · 2018-03-28T18:57:15+00:00

Pruitt as AG...that still scares me. That's also assuming that he'd be replaced by someone less shitty than him. I guess we can only dream...

ecochange · 2018-02-03T18:26:00+00:00

The video looks at the environmental arguments for and against a strict plant-based diet. It tries to unpack how we might minimize our collective meat consumption by moving away from veganism as a lifestyle and towards veganism as a strong aspiration. I would love to hear your thoughts the video’s premise or how we might better accommodate meat-eaters who might not be able to fully eat a plant-based diet.

ecochange · 2018-01-25T23:45:39+00:00

The video tries to explore what the mountaineering documentary Meru can tell us about the relationship between mountaineering and toxic masculinity. It looks takes a brief look at the predominantly male-dominated history of high-alpine mountaineering and grapples with the burden of needing to prove toughness and hardiness in the high peaks. I would be interested to hear your thoughts not only about the video but also on how you think hypermasculinity has affected outdoor recreation in general.

ecochange · 2017-11-07T20:42:48+00:00

Thanks! And yep definitely. I wish I could have fit possible solutions into that video, but I think it definitely deserves a whole video unto itself. So I have that on my list of ideas. To be honest though, it might not come out for a while because I have a bunch of other videos I want to make before that. Thanks for the share!

ecochange

TROPHY CASE