Climate change is very much a spectrum issue whichever way you look at it, outside of sociology.

But people, especially in the politically charged herd behaviour in the US, are making it a black and white issue.

For some people, there can not be enough done, and a few of that group actually put significant effort into doing their part, like not taking flights. On the other side of the binary switch, are people distrustful of big money and big government, who have been led to believe it is a massive scam that decisive action will hurt them financially.

Both of course are wrong. But to be spectrum-minded can take a whole lot of math and thought and inquiry…

For the do-gooders, most of them do not understand the entire picture. For example, flights taken by the average person are quite small relative to the massive problem we are facing (2-3% when you count all aviation, but includes freight and private jets and the relatively bad people who fly when a train is almost as quick). They are possibly virtue-signalling and maybe missing out on the positive benefits travel might bring them in terms of mental well-being.

A do-gooder who buys only locally-produced beef would be surprised to know that transport accounts for only 1% of the emissions from eating beef. It is the type of food that matters most, and vegans are being greatly helpful. We can decrease climate change easily if the entire planet turns vegan. No structural changes or money needed.

Some components (around 10%) of wind turbines cannot currently be recycled. Car batteries involve metals that are mined. These are the types of cherry-picked gotchas that right-wingers love, but the same logic pretty much applies to all life on this planet, regardless of whether we are discussing climate change. Everything has a cost.

Big money is the other common argument. Big money goes anywhere they think they can get some action with something new, not just climate change. Look at online gambling in the US, recently, for example. Especially if governments are involved and they can get cushy contracts. There is a reason why Elon Musk only invests in industries with a lot of government subsidies!

Conservatives (simplistically speaking) don’t like change. With no change, there is no noticeable money shifting, so they can smugly believe they are not being ripped off and no corruption occurs.

The biggest killer of the planet is GDP. Governments worship that artificial construct, and are fearful of it dropping while they are in office. So they don’t want to affect our society doing more of things, because less doing means a drop in GDP. Climate change is much more easily fixed if politicians are willing to do the right thing, and care less about their reelection prospects.

Your flights are meaningless if you help keep fast fashion stores in business, with shoes and clothes manufacture contributing 8% of carbon emissions. Food is a major factor because of the belching of ruminants. Complaining about any small negative aspects of renewable energy doesn’t help us get the clear and obvious, big picture, overall benefits of purposeful action. “Your Tesla is powered by coal”. Yes, correct in some places but improving rapidly overall.

For any conservative concerned about the negatives… get quality solar panels for your house roof, and a battery. Buying the batteries secondhand from a data centre, is a great ecological and economical option!. And power your Tesla with your own electricity that nobody is getting rich from, and enjoy the pollution-free acceleration.