#4 Everything in moderation, including moderation
On greenwashing, climate literacy and reductio ad absurdum.
By now, we all know the inconvenient truth about climate change: it’s here, and its impact is colossal.
That’s why today’s issue of The Culture Worm is more about climate and environmental literacy than the usual recommendations within the cultural sphere.
Yesterday, we celebrated Earth Day - or so you’d think until half of Twitterland decided it should be renamed Greenwashing Day. Whilst it’s true Earth Day has become an opportunity for companies to launch new products or even remake their reputations, greenwashing isn’t always malicious. Before you decide to call me out on this, cut me some slack, please.
I understand that the better-than-nothing approach is not good enough, yet it is a stepping stone to green living. I don’t mean let’s start clapping for every PR campaign that uses popular buzzwords associated with protecting the planet; people can see through these inflated words. Instead, let’s praise companies that outline their concrete action plans and intended outcomes. Even though it might not be “good enough.”
Nowadays, it seems like nothing is good enough; no one “understands the climate emergency” and the “death sentence” for our generation and the billions of people at the frontlines of the climate crisis.
If you’re not a climate warrior, suddenly you’re a climate enemy. You can never be in the middle. By using this dramatic, apocalyptic narrative, we rely on people’s reaction to fear to mobilise and take action, when the response is usually either a strong denial (“global warming doesn’t exist!”) or a shurg of resignation (“why bother anyway?”).
Truth be told, it’s become exhausting. What side should I be on? I do recycle, I don’t consume meat, I avoid flying when I can but there are times when I just happen to go on a spending spree, buying “unsustainable” clothes or ordering a pile of books off Amazon. Buyer’s remorse has never felt so real - no wonder climate anxiety is an actual thing!
We need to care about climate change. We must care about climate change.
But perhaps we should stop picking up on the extremes.
Climate change is certainly not a case of reductio ad absurdum aka if no individual can make a real difference to climate change, then many acts together can’t cause much climate change, so climate change doesn’t exist. You can make a difference without beating yourself up for not “doing” or “being” enough.
As for the passionate, angry activists: it’s not all doom and gloom. How about reading some positive climate-related news? You can start with this week’s recommendations!
Happy reading, happy learning,
Teodora x
✨ Are you enjoying The Culture Worm so far? Consider clicking on the 💜 button at the very end of the newsletter. It helps me get noticed by other readers and connect with them too. You can also spread the word on your social channels! ✨
Do you read this on Substack? Sign up and don’t miss out on any issue! 👇
🥁 📚 The latest in the literary world
Penguin Random House UK announces three major changes in their sustainability policy, leading with climate-neutral commitment across its direct operations by 2030. 🙌 💚
A new novel from the bestselling author of “A Gentleman in Moscow,” Amor Towles, is out in October! It’s called “The Lincoln Highway” and the story follows three 18-year-old boys on a road trip through 1950s America. Take a peek at the cover and tell me, is it really possible NOT to pre-order the book? 😍
I usually love a bit of literary gossip but not when it involves sexual assault allegations, as it is in the case of Philip Roth’s biographer, Blake Bailey. The first accusations were made in 2018 but it’s barely this week, after more women began coming forward, the publisher, W.W. Norton, stopped shipping and promoting the (already!) New York Times best-seller. Not cool. Not cool at all. 🙅🏻♀️
The 2021 International Booker shortlist is here and it looks fab! 🙌 The shortlist spans four languages: Danish, French, Spanish and Russian, with settings ranging across Europe, South America and even into outer space. 👨🚀 I didn’t get to read any of this year’s shortlisted novels (yet!), but I wrote a review of the previous year’s winner (the youngest author ever to receive this distinction!), Marieke Lucas Rijneveld for “The Discomfort of Evening.” 👀
🎧 📰 👀 My media diet this week
The contemporary solution to the plastic waste crisis comes from two Hungarian scientists, according to this three-minute video from Reuters. Poliloop's bacteria cocktail is capable of biodegrading a variety of plastics without the need for sorting or pre-washing. Why watch it? You’ll learn about the seven-week transformation of plastic-eating bacteria into sludge and how this idea can bring the plastic industry under a circular economy model. ♻️ 💡
One of my current reads is “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer, a book which, although was published more than a decade ago, is still relevant today, partly because of its investigative reporting on family-run farms and slaughterhouse workers. A more comprised version of Foer’s arguments is this article from the Current Affairs on how the animal rights movement hurts its own cause. Why read it? In order to change the narrative, we need to make workers in animal agriculture part of the solution, as opposed to scapegoats. Let’s play a little game: would you rather be punched and kicked, or would you rather have your body parts cut off while you are fully conscious? The former is illegal animal cruelty; the latter is standard industry practice. 🙈
I know that academic papers aren’t for everyone but this one on fashion media and sustainability is accessible and brief (!) and was also written by one of my former professors (proud! 🥲), Anastasia Denisova, Senior Lecturer in Journalism at Westminster School of Media and Communication. Why read it? You’ll learn about “sancti-marketing,” a new trend of promoting one’s goods as sustainable, linguistic tropes of consumption encouragement such as “must-have” or “upgrade your wardrobe,” and how the majority of magazine fashion coverage pushes the readers towards fast fashion. 💅 🛍️ 👠
Can you turn trash into cash? In Johannesburg, you can collect and exchange recyclable rubbish for a digital currency. 💸 This under two-minute video from the World Economic Forum shows how this scheme has helped clean up the streets of South Africa’s largest city. Another great example comes from Rwanda and its Umuganda (rough translation: “community service”), a practice that takes place on the last Saturday of every month from 8 am to 11 am where people must get outside and clean, fix or do maintenance work. I learned about this during my visit to Kigali in the summer of 2019 and came to understand the capital’s reputation as the cleanest city in Africa. ✨
📌 Random news in brief
“Darling, you look amazing! Who did your hair? Amazon.” 💇🏻♀️ Is this how the world of hairdressing is going to be like? Amazon is launching its first high-tech hair salon in London with an augmented-reality mirror showing clients different colours and styles before treatments. 🤯 P.S: My dear Svetlana, if you read this, don’t worry, I’ll never replace you!
The “idiot sandwich” is back! 🥪 Gordon Ramsay reacts to TikTok’s bell pepper sandwich trend. Sorry, Gordon, I might actually give it a go. 😬
Greta Thunberg has given up on her environmental activist title to become a … “bunny hugger,” in an apparent dig to Boris Johnson at the virtual climate summit led by Joe Biden. 🐰 🥕
Don’t moo-ve on yet! 🐮 Did you know that one cow emits as much greenhouse gas as six Volkswagen Golfs? The Anglo-Swiss startup Mootral has come up with a solution: saving the world, one (cow) burp at a time. 🐄
Before we say goodbye… 🥺
If you liked this issue of the newsletter, please click on the 💜 button. It helps me get discovered by other people who might enjoy The Culture Worm. There’s always the option to leave a comment with your feedback. I promise I’ll always reply!
💡 Knowledge is no power. Sharing it, that’s power. Why not post about this on social media or forward this email to a pal?
I like how the conclusion to all this is just yeah I do my part to help. But people need to chill out with the doom and gloom. What i got from that Making people freak out about only pushes people away from believing it. Thanks for starting my morning off hope you have a lovely Friday. Keep on trucking on.