Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

It's great to hear that the group you belong to managed to make a difference. Maybe I've become a little resigned with age as well as the do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do approach that seems to be the daily fare around here.

It's a laudable goal to become climate neutral 20 earlier than agreed upon and even better when it's done with the support of the public. That's something that, in my opinion, isn't done very well in Germany. Instead of convincing the people to get behind a worthy goal we punish those who speak out against whatever it is that's being pushed.

However, avoiding something because of the fear of punishment doesn't really further understanding. I'm a big supporter of leading by example, and in my eyes it would help a great deal if those who enforce the rules weren't or didn't act as if they were exempt from them.

Did you really feel the lecturer was being fatalistic? To me, if anything, he felt terribly optimistic about something that, as you pointed out correctly, is still so far out of our reach.

I love PI's public lectures and it's pretty rare they ask somebody to give a presentation who isn't linked to the hard sciences, but I felt they made a good pick with Dr. Smith.

@Leila Well, political dynamics are understandably different on a local level vis-à-vis national level. local political parties from left to right are less ideologically dogmatic than their national counterparts. Even right wing parties are more receptive to projects that are generally considered 'leftwing' like environmental issues.

But the main thing is to develop a common strategy to promote a cause and develop many different tactics to draw attention from people and parties with different ideological backgrounds. So the strategy is simply an objective: make the city climate neutral in 2030. Tactics are small branches attached to it and should begin with 'how?'' questions.

E.g. How can we convince party X (for example a conservative-liberal party) to adopt climate neutral policies? We know for example that right wing parties strongly favour job growth so we framed our message in a way that adopting carbon neutral policies like investment in local energy cooperatives (e.g. solar farms) would generate more jobs in the region.

So, do you mean that Germany strongly favours a top-down approach when it comes to implementing pro-environmental policies? I would understand if this approach contribute to the NIMBY attitude that some people may have

I meant that it sounds fatalistic based on your observation of Smith's lecture. I haven't watched his lecture completely.

I do agree with you that it's good to invite someone with a background in humanities to tell his side of the story. Culture and philosophy are often overlooked, but it's also of importance because it helps define our place in history and what we should be aiming for as a species in the future.

You're right, I probably phrased that in a rather fatalistic way. But once the Dr. Smith pointed out the principle I started seeing it everywhere

And yes, in my opinion, our politicians are very much in favour of the top-down approach and also seem to forget their election campaign promises rather quickly. But I guess that's probably a universal thing.

I try to contribute to environment protection / climate neutrality on a small scale by buying things locally and unwrapped / plastic free. I also trade rather than buy something new or throw it away. And because I hate how poorly our "food" animals are treated I don't eat meat. I know, they're things that won't make a difference on a global scale but they make a difference to me.

And if more people took more of these small steps, it would have a far more direct impact on our world than some dubious declaration of intent. After all, it's nothing but supply and demand.

@Leila I think it's (sometimes unfortunately) inherent to parliamentary systems that promises often end up being watered down by compromises. With the FDP in a coalition, I'd understand that some people may be disappointed with Germany's climate goals. A lot of people feel the same way here in NL with our government

But on the other hand, de facto one party states like Hungary, Russia and Poland are very authoritarian and could easily follow their own elitist interests against those of the civil society. In that case, an often perceived milquetoast system like a parliamentary institution may provide the necessary brakes to avoid oligarchy and dictatorial rule

You're truly leading by example. Are there also other people who share the same ideals like you in your city/town?

I think what you're doing is pretty hardcore (in a positive way!) and I wish I had the same sturdiness like you to avoid products wrapped in plastic or going full local. But I do avoid meat (vegan) and follow a step-by-step approach of adopting eco friendly rules (e.g. swapping non-organic vegetables for organic grown ones).

But considering that more and more people are taking small steps in a positive direction, do you reckon that maybe in 50 years a majority will go vegetarian & go 100% eco-friendly ?

It's maybe a nice thought that perhaps in the distant future, people would consider eating meat an act of barbarism and that preserving the planet is a no-brainer for the majority of society.

I sure hope so, although, I'd already be happy for people to realise that when eating / buying animal products they are going to consume something that comes / has once been a living, breathing and feeling being. And if they can't go without meat they, at least, make sure to buy the quantity they actually need

instead of getting the family-package because the single or double package is a couple of cents cheaper per kilogram.

I don't feel that these little things I'm doing are "hard core". When I was a kid, my parents had their own garden they would tend to spring to autumn. They only needed to buy the essentials in the shop and all the fruit and vegetables came from our own garden.