Dammit

the idea of the people being responsible is the same propaganda that companies pulled with recycling campaigns and "litter" problems of the 70's it's a shift of responsibility to people who are helpless to really have any real impact away from companies who are directly profiting from producing plastics, waste, manufacturing emissions, transportation, freight, ect at a scale that is truly unfathomable

I carry my proportional responsibility for climate change whenever I purchase plastic merchandise or packaging, but not on the same level as the 1%.

There's a difference between being responsible (having the obligation to take action) and being at fault (being the one who actually made the bad decisions that led to the situation you're in).

Most of the decisions that led to this situation were not made by me.

And the few cases where I'm genuinely implicated are 'trolley problems' set up by people who are more directly responsible, because they are more powerful.

The most effective response is probably political action.

I hit qualified no because my contribution is very tiny and even on my worst days it's largely out of my direct control.

Do I benefit from the excesses and abuses of climate change? Absolutely. Do I benefit more than than vast majority of humans? Again, absolutely. Can and should I do more DESPITE IT BEING A MOSTLY MEANINGLESS GESTURE. 100%.

Who is to blame then? Capitalism and it's leaders.

https://youtu.be/6p8zAbFKpW0

When I was younger I didn’t know better, so a little bit. I’ve done my fair share to even out the scales after I realized what’s what. And will do more in the future.

I can do more, but if everybody could do what I do this wouldn't be an issue

Sorry guys, it was me. I did it. My bad.

I'm not the 6 megacorporations causing most of the problem. But I'm benefitting from them, indirectly.

There's no ethical consumption under capitalism, after all.

Should I do more? YES. Can anything I do tip the scale? NO.

I mean... I had a lot of help.

I was raised Irish Catholic - I am predisposed to feeling guilty about things, even if they're mostly someone else's fault 🤣

well shit. Finger fumble and I voted strong no. I’m definitely in the strong yes answer group.

Wait, strong yes. All that Chinese carbon is for my cheap Target goods.
@evan

I was going to say that I don't think "responsible", and especially individual responsibility, is a productive frame through which to examine this; I think both "yes I am responsible" and "no I am not responsible" lead to unhealthy and unuseful conclusions. But then I thought from another angle which is that while I think it's not useful to ask that question about me, I consider that there is a single class of people (oil execs) who are specifically extremely responsible for it, by deliberately investing in increasing demand for petroleum products, creating the industry, creating dependency, and obfuscating the effects they knew would come about.

So I ended up saying strong no because we know who's responsible, and it's not me

All my life I've done and used things that cause climate change, starting from way before I and most people had ever heard about it right up to the present day.

So yes, I'm both responsible and accountable for it, and trying to stop it.

I think the answer is to round up all these Strong Yes people and make them stop it

I'll add that it's a bit discouraging that many people won't take any responsibility and want to put all the blame on "them".

It's human nature, I guess, and one of the reasons it's taking so long to turn things around.

Not all on my lonesome, no.
But wish I was less responsible for any of it.

If the plan for solving climate change is that every individual has to change their behavior, then that's not a plan. That's just a wish, a silly one.

The industries responsible for making climate change worse need us to focus on ourselves so that we ignore their role in it. They need us patting ourselves on the back for using cloth grocery bags, which we fill with their products... packaged in plastic.

I exist, therefore yes.

ngl this poll result is amazing and disheartening to me

we are all responsible. And also responsible to fix it - future generations deserve a future

This is a great set of responses.

As someone who works on climate change for a living, it's heartening to see this level of common purpose.

Thanks to everyone who replied!

@jxself
I could see the question as reading both ways:
1. Am I responsible for the catastrophic collapses we are currently witnessing
2. Am I taking responsibility currently, as a present and conscious life choice.