Have you brought a reusable shopping bag […]? Do you carry a thermos […]? Did you buy an electric car? Let me make one thing clear from the start: these good deeds are meaningless in the end. They can even cause more harm than good.

Saito is not holding back, huh.

He continuous with framing this statement with a comparison to Catholic indulgences, saying that these deeds are “allowing us to escape the pangs of our conscience about consumerism and look away from the real imminent danger around us […]”.

First of all, I absolutely agree with his take about how these “eco-friendly alternatives” are at best a super expensive replacement that is not more sustainable than a product you had in your household anyway and at worst simply greenwashed articles that end up in landfills, to never be composted, recycled or reused. Consumerism = bad, doesn’t matter the color of the packaging.

(I also understand that this is the introduction to his book and he needs a strong hook for people to keep reading.)

Buuut, I still think that these “good deeds” are, if nothing else, at least a conversation starter. They give an entry point to the movement, that can seem overwhelming, and help make people become more environmentally conscious because it’s something they can directly participate in. Saying sentences like Saito here could feel alienating to or spread hopelessness in people who are just starting to care about climate change – and maybe even turn them away, "because if that's the case, that nothing what I'll do matters anyway – so why care?”

Honestly, I don't want to defend grown adults in their decisions to turn a blind eye to our planet dying (obviously!), but unlike Saito, I still encourage these little (meaningless) “deeds” for people at crossroads because they can start this spark of empowerment that gives people energy for more action. I always, always encourage people to use what they already have, to not buy more stuff and to be mindful of greenwashing, but I have had the experience of people giving up completely on this lifestyle because they felt like they couldn’t do anything right.

I feel like people in the climate bubble (which btw should be everyone's bubble because it literally is) often forget how uninformed many people are about this topic. It’s super scary how little some people know – but policing them right from the start doesn’t feel helpful to me. I know I might be a little too optimistic about it, but I think the more people engage with the topic, the more they’ll reach Saito’s conclusions for themselves which in turn makes them stick to them because it doesn’t feel imposed but earned.

On the other hand...we are literally running out of time so yeah, maybe the era of velvet gloves, as we say in German, is over 🙃

I’m very interested – what do others think?

Bonjour dear Boudlings ! I am keeping a diary where I write all the books I have read and overline the one that I liked and wish I could have in my physical bookshelves the day I will move in my true home (you know the student life where you can move for your studies at any moment and books are wheighting waaaay too much for a moving day)... I am keeping this habit since 2016 ! It means I wrote all the books I have read since 10 years ! I would loved to have started this habit way back and this way I could have the titles of all the books I read when little and frustrated because I could only take 10 books per week at my local library, a true reading danger 😆 Do you have a physical place where you keep track of all your readings ? You know in case some mysterious day goodreads or pagebound crash and you can't access these informations anymore ? (yah I have a little fear of forgetting things so multiplying the sources is great and the dopamine high when updating all these sources ahah) Since when are you keeping this habit ? If you just started reading or keeping track of your reading please please keep going ! One day you will look at your little notebook and thanks your 10 year younger self !! Happy reading to you all 🌞