1076

It’s That Easy [Tommy Siegel] (lemmy.nz)

submitted 2 weeks ago by cannedtuna@lemmy.world to c/comicstrips@lemmy.world

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Transcript

Comic in 4 Panels:

Header: It’s That Easy!

Panel 1: The year is 1994. A dad with short black hair, in a blue shirt, red shorts, and white sneakers with calf high white socks, kneels with one arm resting on a knee and the other raised demonstratingly in front of a kid in a green ball cap, yellow shirt, blue pants, and green sneakers. There is a round metal trash can behind them.

Dad: Pick up your litter and save the Earth!

Panel 2: The year is 2004. Same dad, but in brown cargo shorts, brown shoes, and ankle high white socks speaking to the same kid. There is a green recycle bucket behind them.

Dad: Recycle and you can save the Earth!

Panel 3: The year is 2014. Same dad, but wearing a bike helmet, black athletic pants, and black sneakers to the same kid. A bike is behind them.

Dad: Reduce your carbon footprint and you can save the Earth!

Panel 4: The year is 2024. Same dad, but he’s in the same outfit from panel 1. There is a massive fire behind them.

Dad: Completely restructure global economic systems and you may be able to save a remnant of humanity!

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[-] Xerxos@lemmy.ml 113 points 2 weeks ago

One of the most brilliant (and evil) tricks that big corporations have used is to shift the blame for climate change to normal people: just recycle, don't use plastic straws, and buy our CO₂-neutral products, and everything will be fine!

While not unimportant, it's a very small change compared to the pollution of corporations and private jets. It's easy for them to pay lip service to the environment while the real pollution goes on unimpeded.

Environmentally inclined people feel like they do something and don't rally against the real problem. They just have to convince everyone to live like they do and the environment will be saved!

[-] late_pessimistic@slrpnk.net 25 points 2 weeks ago

Environmentally inclined people feel like they do something and don't rally against the real problem.

Actually we have already been lobbying and protesting and trying to change the system for decades.

The work might not be visible, but it's due to resource constraints, not because we are delusional and think that decreasing global CO2 emissions by 0.000000027% will fix the biodiversity loss.

[-] Xerxos@lemmy.ml 16 points 2 weeks ago

Oh, I'm not saying that there are no activists anymore, just that the corporations successfully distracted large parts of the population by shifting blame to the consumers.

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[-] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 14 points 2 weeks ago

Billionaire oligarchs flying in to climate conferences every year on private jets by the thousands, where oil executives are regularly invited to give the keynote speeches, while not accomplishing anything policy-wise or binding to materially reduce the rate or impacts of climate change, is the epitome of greenwashing.

"What menial lifestyle changes should we tell our consumers to adopt this year to keep them off our backs?"

[-] Strider@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

And even worse, it split us up again because if you point that out, the environmentalists are against you too. Because everything counts. Well yes, but..

[-] blazeknave@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

It's abusive victim blaming by psychopaths

[-] WakeUpSmashPots@lemmy.today 3 points 2 weeks ago

I feel like "psychopath" is very dehumanizing language, the correct term is "people with antisocial personality disorder".

That's a joke by the way, lol. Not sure what the Lemmy equivalent of /s is...

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[-] FishFace@piefed.social 4 points 2 weeks ago

The vast majority of emissions are to serve the desires of the masses. The "pollution of corporations" is mostly used in making stuff for ordinary people, not private jets.

[-] NotEasyBeingGreen@slrpnk.net 17 points 2 weeks ago

You make it seem like these desires arise spontaneously. Corporations have been using advertising in a systematic way since the 20th century to induce demand and shift behavior patterns of the masses.

With your logic, all business decisions can be laid at the feet of common people. "Yes, shrinkflation exists and is terrible, but it is for ordinary people, so they are to blame." "Sure, companies sell bullshit insurance to consumers, but the people buy it, so it's really the masses who cause it." And so on.

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[-] Eq0@literature.cafe 9 points 2 weeks ago

Yes and no.

With stricter ecological protections, corporations would be forced to decrease their carbon footprint. In their absence, the choice for the consumer is limited, and likely leaving you without a properly ecological option.

(Bad) Example: plastic straws. Before the ban, finding alternatives was difficult. Now suddenly it’s possible.

Same goes for computers with ecologically sourced rare metals. There is just no good option at the moment, and this will be the situation up until stronger regulations will come in effect.

[-] arrow74@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 weeks ago

We could ban single use plastic containers globally, we have alternatives that work quite well. Bamboo can replace all plastic utensils.

Hell most of the plastic alternatives if scaled would likely be a carbon sink. Grow plants to make packaging, as plants grow they absorb carbon, packaging is discarded, then sealed away in a land fill trapping the carbon.

It probably wouldn't be net 0 given the industry around production and transport, but still a lot better than what we're doing.

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[-] WakeUpSmashPots@lemmy.today 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

This point exactly. It seems to me that a lot of people don't really understand how profit motive works in our capitalist world. Corporations will burn the entire planet so long as the burning is far enough down the road that it doesn't affect today's profit projections. I find it sad, because we as a species learned quite a while back that the only way capitalism can actually work is with a strong hand steering it to make sure it doesn't drive us right off (another) cliff. This is the entire reason for the rise of modern liberalism (not talking liberals as in Democratic party, talking liberalism as in liberal democracy, which was a political/economic movement to protect capitalism from eating it's own tail).

Of course this is why I'm not a liberal, I think the idea that capitalism is a beast that can be tamed is flawed, liberalism and capitalist regulations are just Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a hill. Ultimately under capitalism we have individuals with far too much power, basically kings, but instead of kings of land, kings of industry, which is actually a far more dangerous form of power, because it's significantly more versatile and can reshape itself for survival when needed, it can even run PR campaigns to fool the populace into thinking it's changed, when in reality it's just the abusive narcissistic spouse convincing you to come back for another beating.

Anyways, I digress, corporations will ONLY prioritize profits in the short term, to ensure things are built that benefit society we must have strong regulations guiding them, paired with charismatic leaders who can push back against the "wah wah baby doesn't like big bag government" messages coming from their corporate PR campaigns, claiming "we can't possibly survive" even though they are swimming in massive profits.

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[-] creamfresh@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

private jets

that seems a bit too specific. what about all the other planes? ships?

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[-] ceenote@lemmy.world 56 points 2 weeks ago

What was the post on lemmy earlier today? The solutions are very simple, the problem is the people profiting off keeping things broken.

[-] HerbGrower@slrpnk.net 49 points 2 weeks ago

I already reduced my carbon footprint. For some reason people get really mad when I try and blow up an oil refinery to reduce theirs.

[-] EnsignWashout@startrek.website 7 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not mad.

[-] HerbGrower@slrpnk.net 7 points 2 weeks ago

Well if I could rely on people like you being on the jury, I just might be more willing.

[-] huey_m@piefed.social 3 points 2 weeks ago

Jury nullification? Never heard of her!

[-] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 32 points 2 weeks ago

The individual action PSAs were a deliberate fraud perpetrated by the worst polluters.

[-] EntheoNaut@lemmy.ml 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Precisely. It was strategically designed and marketed to shift the blame/responsibility from manufacturers to consumers.

It was a scam and distraction from the start created by advertising agencies.

[-] Shindo66@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

"If they knew that to save .03 a unit we are dumping this byproduct in the river, they would have our heads on a platter. Get the PR team in here" "Why dont we tell them its their fault for buying it in the first place, but never really blaming any specific product" "Yeah, its all their fault"

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[-] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 19 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Also 1994, don't use ac refills that are bad for the environment. (Freon)

1984, don't use these aerosaw cans that will kill the ozone layer.

Make sure you have a catalytic converter to not hurt the environment.

1964 Oil companies noted oil will have marked climate changes by 2000. (We just didn't do enough to stop it)

[-] overcast5348@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I man, the Montreal ~~product~~ protocol absolutely succeeded at protecting and eventually repairing damage to the ozone layer. So, if nothing else, that one's a win on multiple levels.

It's just that the powers that be decided that they didn't want to go through all that hassle again and the "people" decided that they were done sacrificing.

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[-] ISOmorph@feddit.org 8 points 2 weeks ago

*aerosol

[-] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Hang on though, I want to hear more about these ‘aerosaws’. They sound cool.

[-] brsrklf@jlai.lu 4 points 2 weeks ago

I can only picture Half-Life's manhacks.

I don't think they're cool.

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[-] huey_m@piefed.social 18 points 2 weeks ago

"Just don't use AC (during a heat wave killing thousands) and you can save the Earth!" (2026)

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[-] Malica@lemmy.zip 18 points 2 weeks ago

We failed them like our parents failed us

[-] WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 2 weeks ago

All generations suffer from the same issue: the system is designed so that only the narcissists make it to the top. This will repeat again for eternity if we don’t change the system, and the failure isn’t generational when we are presented with only two options that both work for the elite in some capacity.

[-] balsoft@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 weeks ago

It will not "repeat for eternity", both our societies and the planet's ecosystems which we depend on all have breaking points after which they will not be able to sustain capitalism. We have a few decades until human civilization collapses if we don't overthrow the system.

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[-] Snapz@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago

Just pick up that trash and YOU'LL BE SHOT IN THE FACE BY A MASKED GROUP OF PARDONED JAN 6 TRAITORS IN ALL DIFFERENT HOMEMADE ARMY MAN COSTUMES, CHARGED WITH "ULTRA LEFT WING" TERRORISM AND DEPORTED, AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN, WITHOUT A TRIAL, FOR WOKE MARXIST CANCEL CULTURE AND DOUBLE TRANS!!!!

[-] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 weeks ago

I kinda feel like the years are all 10 too late. I definitely remember “reduce reuse recycle” as more of a 90s thing and the city I lived in got a recycling program around 1994. The no littering thing was already well engrained by then.

[-] Tiger@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 weeks ago

2030: Run

[-] sirico@feddit.uk 9 points 2 weeks ago

Think recent events have shown you can't outrun nature

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[-] AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 weeks ago

Great comic. Good to see this is finally starting to dawn on people.

Good news is that we're facing an incredible economic crash worse than anything we've ever seen, and the degrowth of GDP is going to be great to reduce greenhouse gasses.

[-] whereitsat@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

drawing attention to that is cool, i guess, but doesn't shed light on the underlying issue.

america loves victim blaming the individual rather than ever admitting that there's some kind of issue with the system or wealthy people.

every single house in america could be built on the edge of a cliff prone to landslides and someone would always come out of the woodwork to act like it's your own fault you bought it.

'shoulda lived in a shopping cart.'

[-] NewSocialWhoDis@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 weeks ago

Isn't that the whole point of the comic? None of the advice the Dad gave to the child was ever going to solve the problem. Presumably the kid tried, and the problem just kept getting more dire.

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[-] cranakis@reddthat.com 7 points 2 weeks ago

I actually said something similar to the 2024 pane to one of my teenage kids just the other day.

[-] merc@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

If individual behaviour didn't matter, Canada wouldn't have 307% of global per capita emissions, and the US wouldn't have 285% while Finland only has 118% and Sweden has only 71% of the world average.

I picked those European countries in particular because they're rich, have cold winters, and have a low population density in a lot of the country.

The reality is that the US and Canada are decades behind Europe when it comes to these things. Sure, this guy in panel 2 is telling his kid to recycle, but Americans never took recycling seriously. Meanwhile in Zurich you have separate bins for green glass, brown glass, clear glass, along with the normal paper and plastic. If you don't want to recycle, you can do that, but it's going to cost you. You have to buy expensive special garbage bags to throw out anything that you don't recycle.

In panel 3 the guy is shown with a bike, but less than 0.5% of people bike to work. Meanwhile, in Finland, it's about 10% of people who commute by bike.

[-] Echo5@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

I loved the recycling outposts in the apartments in Korea (they even took styrofoam, probably just burned everything anyways though), but in US I asked my local politician about recycling, even said I’d pay a couple bucks extra a month in taxes for opting in, and he said it’s been tried before but people abused the system :(. Not sure what he meant by abused but now I procrastinate taking my recycling to a center until my garage is stuffed and it’s a major chore.

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this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2026

1076 points (98.6% liked)

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