2023–08–10

Personal responsibility and action during two crises: Covid and Climate

When Covid arrived in the spring of 2020 there seemed to be two responses: those that masked and those that refused because it infringed on their “personal liberty”. Those that masked did so regardless of whether there were local, state or federal mandates requiring them to do so. The science at the time suggested that the best any one of us could do to stop the spread was to wear a mask. The responsible, ethical, compassionate behavior, regardless of government mandate forcing the behavior, was to mask up and limit social exposure.

Now, it’s 2023 and we can plainly see that we are in a climate emergency. There is no doubt that we are in it. Will you wait to be forced by government mandates to do the right thing by limiting your negative behaviors? Will you cry, scream and complain that your personal convenience and liberty trumps the ethical and compassionate changes that you can make to limit your contribution to the climate crisis.

Pick your fucking side.