Do individual green choices matter?
Hank has made personal green choices since 2007, such as selling a car and eating less meat, while holding that corporations and governments must act; in 2021 he said individual action spurs people to push for systemic change. John embraced household green changes in 2007, and in 2024 said cutting emissions needs many technologies and norms together, more than beef-free days.
Axis: individual action matters ... only systemic change matters
Positions by date: 15 records in 15 videos. The position was refined (2010, 2021), never reversed, in these records.
John
| date | how | position | video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-09-06 | first on record | Since everyone owning a car would make life impossible, John is bothered that he feels entitled to own one and wants a life everyone could live. | September 6th: The Book Club Returns 00:02:26 |
| 2007-12-06 | restate | John presents the household green changes of the Green Green Manifesto as ways to live better lives in line with their values, and shows their effect (garbage from four bags a week to less than one). | Dec. 6th: Peer Pressure and the Green Green Manifesto 00:01:38 |
| 2024-06-11 | restate | John says beef days are not a solution to climate change: many technologies and norms must come together to speed the decrease in greenhouse emissions. | BEEF DAYS 00:04:55 |
Hank
| date | how | position | video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-04-13 | first on record | Hank says individuals are acting (Priuses, lights, CFLs) but what needs doing can't be done by individuals alone; corporations and governments must act. | Friday the 13th: Step It Up! 00:00:29 |
| 2007-06-01 | restate | Hank says America has too many cars and he needs one less; selling a car is putting his money where his mouth is. | June 1: Barack Saabama 00:01:58 |
| 2007-06-21 | restate | Hank argues individual lawn choices matter: water spent on lawns should grow food, and home vegetables use no more water than farm ones. | June 21: Gotta Get Outside! 00:02:18 |
| 2009-03-03 | restate | Hank argues that meat eaters each cutting back on meat they don't really need would do the world a tremendous amount of good; he himself can eat less. | Eating Man Meat 00:02:44 |
| 2010-05-26 | refine | Hank says personal green acts are important but only reduce your own impact; understanding the problems and helping create solutions is what matters. | How to Be Green Without Being a Prick 00:01:56 |
| 2011-06-03 | restate | Hank restates that eating meat is objectively bad for the planet and asks people to cut back a little rather than give it up entirely. → refers to Eating Man Meat | I AM A BAD PERSON! 00:01:01 |
| 2019-05-10 | restate | Hank says disposable DVDs are not okay, but we should think about throwing away a DVD every time we buy a Coke, since in waste terms they are about the same. | The Worst Product Ever 00:03:24 |
| 2021-07-09 | refine | Hank says science shows individual action never makes people more lenient on systems; it empowers those acting and their neighbors to push for more systemic change. | Wrong on the Internet 00:03:28 |
| 2021-08-13 | restate | One of the most important things anyone can do is be informed about the policies and laws governments create to solve these problems: we can't do this without an informed public, and policies need advocates. | How We Fix the Climate 00:02:55 |
| 2021-08-27 | restate | People use reusable bags fearing their bag ends up in the ocean, but the reason to use one is that making things to throw away is a bad idea. | Is it Better Not to Know? 00:02:48 |
| 2022-02-18 | restate | Since induction beats gas, one of the most important things a person concerned about climate change can do is drop the belief that gas stoves are best. | You Don't Want a Gas Stovetop 00:02:39 |
| 2024-06-14 | restate | Hank says stopping beef seems obviously easier than making solar panels far cheaper, but that is wrong: if it were easier it would have happened; it is harder because we lack the technology. | Some Reasons why People Suck 00:01:09 |
Background
| date | how | position | video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-09-05 | background | In his song Hank tells a new SUV owner that a war is being fought for his driving and to trade his H2 for a Honda Fit. (playful) | September 5th: I'm Gonna Kill You 00:01:31 |