What’s a middle school teacher supposed to do about it? There’s little to nothing we can do at the personal level beyond reducing our personal tiny footprint.
I think the point of the comic is that it is really depressing to hear this as a kid, in ways the teacher doesn’t understand.
I was an environmental educator for a while and part time activist in college but I gave up.
It really seems like an intractable problem. But I recommend Kim Stanley Robinson’s Ministry for the Future novel for a speculative fiction / near future grappling with how society might respond to a warming world.
Spoiler: it starts with a heat-wave natural disaster which radicalizes India into a rogue state, which then does geoengineering on its own, but this isn’t enough by itself.
Just based on that summary, I immediately thought of the book Termination Shock, which has a similar premise of an actor beginning to geoengineer with global reprecussions - though it’s heavier on the politics of the situation than any actionable info. If you haven’t read it, I’d recommend. I’m definitely going to pick up Ministry For The Future.
I’m Asian. Don’t take my just-rising living standards away from me.
Also, we can reduce our footprint, but it’s small compared to corporate bullshit. We could ALL reduce our footprint and it wouldn’t be enough to make the environment not-the-next-generations problem.
Just because its small doesn’t mean it doesn’t have an impact. I want to be able to tell the next generations I tried in ways thst made my life less convenient.
On my street alone (in thr US), half the houses have massive lighting setups and inflatables for Halloween and they’re about to switch them over for Christmas. Three months of absolutely unecessary electric usage. Sure one can argue that if they shut them off it wouldn’t have a world changing impact but it’s hard not to look at that and go wtf?
I’m Asian. Don’t take my just-rising living standards away from me.
edit: how did I forget: every time I hear someone say they can’t do anything why bother, I want to say you sound exactly like the boomer in the cartoon, it’s funny how so many people blame boomers for doing nothing but then simultaneously argue that it’s not worth doing anything
You have an opportunity unlike the rest of us to have rising living standards in addition to not contributing to the problem
Solar + Battery + EV’s will save you billions of petro-dollars not going to the likes of Russia/Saudi Arabia/Iran etc
I can already see that this is not reality:
we can reduce our footprint, but it’s small compared to corporate bullshit
Recently announced in Vietnam:
Hanoi plans to ban fossil-fuel motorcycles from its city center in July 2026, part of a national drive to cut emissions and air pollution. Its commercial capital, Ho Chi Minh City, is weighing a similar step. By 2030, Vietnam aims for a third of cars and more than a fifth of motorbikes to run on electricity.
Vietnam’s motorbike market, at about 3.5 million units a year
What’s a middle school teacher supposed to do about it? There’s little to nothing we can do at the personal level beyond reducing our personal tiny footprint.
Teach kids about it, like the artist’s did
Isn’t the concept of the comic that it isn’t enough?
I think the point of the comic is that it is really depressing to hear this as a kid, in ways the teacher doesn’t understand.
I was an environmental educator for a while and part time activist in college but I gave up.
It really seems like an intractable problem. But I recommend Kim Stanley Robinson’s Ministry for the Future novel for a speculative fiction / near future grappling with how society might respond to a warming world.
Spoiler: it starts with a heat-wave natural disaster which radicalizes India into a rogue state, which then does geoengineering on its own, but this isn’t enough by itself.
Just based on that summary, I immediately thought of the book Termination Shock, which has a similar premise of an actor beginning to geoengineer with global reprecussions - though it’s heavier on the politics of the situation than any actionable info. If you haven’t read it, I’d recommend. I’m definitely going to pick up Ministry For The Future.
I guess he should be overthrowing the oligarchy and writing a new constitution with environmental protection as one of the main focuses.
But he’s a drawing, so he can’t. Will you?
I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make. No, that’s not within my capabilities
That’s exactly the point
assuming you’re American your tiny footprint is one of the biggest in the world
as to what you can do about it, tons!
but you’ll just have to do some research (on ecosia.org i assume 😀) to find out more about what you can do
I’m Asian. Don’t take my just-rising living standards away from me.
Also, we can reduce our footprint, but it’s small compared to corporate bullshit. We could ALL reduce our footprint and it wouldn’t be enough to make the environment not-the-next-generations problem.
Just because its small doesn’t mean it doesn’t have an impact. I want to be able to tell the next generations I tried in ways thst made my life less convenient.
On my street alone (in thr US), half the houses have massive lighting setups and inflatables for Halloween and they’re about to switch them over for Christmas. Three months of absolutely unecessary electric usage. Sure one can argue that if they shut them off it wouldn’t have a world changing impact but it’s hard not to look at that and go wtf?
edit: how did I forget: every time I hear someone say they can’t do anything why bother, I want to say you sound exactly like the boomer in the cartoon, it’s funny how so many people blame boomers for doing nothing but then simultaneously argue that it’s not worth doing anything
You have an opportunity unlike the rest of us to have rising living standards in addition to not contributing to the problem
Solar + Battery + EV’s will save you billions of petro-dollars not going to the likes of Russia/Saudi Arabia/Iran etc
I can already see that this is not reality:
Recently announced in Vietnam:
https://apnews.com/article/vietnam-evs-motorbikes-yamaha-vinfast-4ab76826787a806392655b843c374f3a
That’s 3.5 million small footprints that will soon be making a positive impact :)
This is not a zero sum game, every single little bit helps