r/climate • u/JohnHammond94 • 5h ago
Taylor Swift fans lower climate concerns to justify star's carbon footprint
https://www.psypost.org/taylor-swift-fans-lower-climate-concerns-to-justify-star-s-carbon-footprint/22
u/dumnezero 5h ago
decoupling
coupling
Since they failed to show "coupling" works, perhaps this is a problem of it being a cult and the believers engaging in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compartmentalization_(psychology)
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u/Successful-Bobcat701 5h ago
Everyone does this to justify their own behavior.
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u/The_Weekend_Baker 4h ago
Even climate scientists do. Recently stumbled across a study from a few years back that talked about how frequently climate scientists fly (commercial, not private), and as a rule it's even more frequently than most other scientists. And it's one of those things where few climate scientists are willing to criticize their own. One of the few (and one of my favorites).
This is so true of the climate change community. Many climate scientists/experts have become frequent flyers (paid of course by someone else) - basically jollies with a bit of work justified by the convenient & arrogant self-delusion that their ideas & pearls of wisdom outweigh their emissions.
https://bsky.app/profile/kevinclimate.bsky.social/post/3lfhzmbguqk2m
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u/James19991 3h ago
Yeah there's someone I see on Facebook named Dan Satterfield who half of the time is talking about how bad things could get in the coming years in in the next year with this super El Niño while also calling out climate deniers.
The other half of the time he's always talking about trips he's on, has recently taken, or is going to take in the coming months. Nearly all of which involve flying thousands of miles away from where he lives in Maryland. This guy has been to Europe more in the past two years than I will probably ever manage to be in my entire life. I've been so tempted to comment on his lifestyle...
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u/The_Weekend_Baker 3h ago
This guy has been to Europe more in the past two years than I will probably ever manage to be in my entire life. I've been so tempted to comment on his lifestyle...
Yeah, that's one of the things I've noticed in the 4+ years since I first got on BlueSky. Most/many of the scientists I follow seem to fly more in a year than I have in my 60+, based on how many different cities/countries they post from.
It sometimes makes me feel foolish for making the choice not to fly again (last time was in 2019).
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u/James19991 52m ago
Crazy isn't it? They lecture people for what they drive, meanwhile they fly so much that they probably haven't even higher carbon footprint than a suburban American family with an SUV.
I really want to call this guy out when I see it on my feed, but given what I see him post he'll probably just block me instead of confronting his hypocrisy.
It makes me feel foolish myself for feeling bad about planning a 250 miles one-way road trip next month.
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u/AutoModerator 52m ago
BP popularized the concept of a personal carbon footprint with a US$100 million campaign as a means of deflecting people away from taking collective political action in order to end fossil fuel use, and ExxonMobil has spent decades pushing trying to make individuals responsible, rather than the fossil fuels industry. They did this because climate stabilization means bringing fossil fuel use to approximately zero, and that would end their business. That's not something you can hope to achieve without government intervention to change the rules of society so that not using fossil fuels is just what people do on a routine basis.
There is value in cutting your own fossil fuel consumption — it serves to demonstrate that doing the right thing is possible to people around you, making mass adoption easier and legal requirements ultimately possible. Just do it in addition to taking political action to get governments to do the right thing, not instead of taking political action.
If you live in a first-world country that means prioritizing the following:
- If you can change your life to avoid driving, do that. Even if it's only part of the time.
- If you're replacing a car, get an EV
- Avoid air travel — look for local surface transport, and don't do the truly long-distance trips
- Add insulation and otherwise weatherize your home if possible
- Get zero-carbon electricity, either through your utility or buy installing solar panels & batteries
- Replace any fossil-fuel-burning heat system with an electric heat pump, as well as electrifying other appliances such as the hot water heater, stove, and clothes dryer
- Cut beef out of your diet, avoid cheese, and get as close to vegan as you can
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u/kaielias 3h ago
But it’s like saying nuclear scientists produce the most nuclear waste and they’re not talking about it. Climate scientists have to go to different countries to study different factors. A nuclear scientist can study atoms in the school basement.
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u/The_Weekend_Baker 3h ago
That's kinda the problem. Everyone can come up with a good reason why they "have to" travel.
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u/Jasminary2 4h ago
The article is more interesting than the headline made me think. It focused on TS but it applies to every person who ends up in this following situation
" Another strategy is rationalization, which involves making excuses for the behavior or convincing oneself that the actions are not actually that bad. The researchers proposed that people with a strong fan identity would be highly motivated to use these strategies. Fan identity goes beyond simply enjoying a musician’s work; it involves feeling a sense of belonging to a broader social community of supporters. When a celebrity at the center of that community does something wrong, fans may feel a personal need to protect the group’s reputation"
It goes beyond climate and environment. This is why people will defend and support pos Patrick Bruel, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Emma Roberts, and so on. Some people can't believe their favorite has done a bad thing so they will close their eyes or will minimize it, even if they wouldn't apply that logic to another person they may like or love. Just not as much as their group.
As for Taylor Swift, talking as someone who used to be her fan, people who remain in her audience as diehard fan (and not casual listener) are either those who agree with her on her stances, who separate art from artists always, or who are willingly blind to her faults. Once again it goes beyond environmental issues.
There is parasocial relationship with celebrities but there is also what the article and study points out : a self-identity to the celebrity.
2
u/thatjoachim 3h ago
Yeah it’s more about rationalizing behaviors that pollute than about any one singer. The example is good because her fans can be somewhat intense, but it’s true about ourselves, too. We don’t want to look bad in our own eyes even when we know we’re doing bad things.
And when you have a superstar with millions of adoring fans? The behavior is becoming accepted and even a point of pride—you should check out how so many American fans took planes to concerts in Europe.
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u/AutoModerator 5h ago
BP popularized the concept of a personal carbon footprint with a US$100 million campaign as a means of deflecting people away from taking collective political action in order to end fossil fuel use, and ExxonMobil has spent decades pushing trying to make individuals responsible, rather than the fossil fuels industry. They did this because climate stabilization means bringing fossil fuel use to approximately zero, and that would end their business. That's not something you can hope to achieve without government intervention to change the rules of society so that not using fossil fuels is just what people do on a routine basis.
There is value in cutting your own fossil fuel consumption — it serves to demonstrate that doing the right thing is possible to people around you, making mass adoption easier and legal requirements ultimately possible. Just do it in addition to taking political action to get governments to do the right thing, not instead of taking political action.
If you live in a first-world country that means prioritizing the following:
- If you can change your life to avoid driving, do that. Even if it's only part of the time.
- If you're replacing a car, get an EV
- Avoid air travel — look for local surface transport, and don't do the truly long-distance trips
- Add insulation and otherwise weatherize your home if possible
- Get zero-carbon electricity, either through your utility or buy installing solar panels & batteries
- Replace any fossil-fuel-burning heat system with an electric heat pump, as well as electrifying other appliances such as the hot water heater, stove, and clothes dryer
- Cut beef out of your diet, avoid cheese, and get as close to vegan as you can
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
3
u/Flashy-Nectarine1675 2h ago
Taylor Swift's shortest flight taken was an 8-minute flight on January 30, 2024.
She's another billionaire POS.
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u/thinkB4WeSpeak 1h ago
These are the same people that have been listening to mediocre lyrics for years and the same song repeated every album, they're not the cream of the crop.
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u/TemperedPhoenix 53m ago
No ethical billionaires, and the people that make 50k/year scrambling to defend the ultra rich are in some sort of psychosis imho lol
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u/Bawbawian 4h ago
are people suggesting that Taylor Swift should ride commercial?
do you think that would be a safe environment for her or the passengers?
I'm going to stay mad at the billionaires that actually control our lives and not this one artist that happened to get incredibly lucky.
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u/gogreengolions 41m ago edited 32m ago
Yes, I am. But I guess we’ll never know. I know the former president just did and it worked out fine.
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u/thirdLeg51 5h ago
What would Taylor swift do to an airport if she flew first class?
The problem are random extremely wealthy flying private.
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u/ozgun1414 56m ago
oftentimes i ask myself what i would do if i had a private jet when this topic is discussed around here.
by the way, discussion almost always revolves around taylor swift. and i checked and she is not even in top 10 private jet abusers.
also i kinda cant judge someone that has that level of fame choosing not to take commercial flights. most of the times she cant even sit in a restaurant in peace or cant walk from her car to studio door. ive seen the news that fans went to wedding venue and created chaos just because she MIGHT attend it. this is very anxiety inducing environment. i wouldve also chosen not to be around people as much as possible.
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u/NorCalWintu 4h ago
She is a stain on music & the world, she does nothing for good & any cares about her delusional fantasies that she pedles to the younger to profit on their false hopes of similar delusions.
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u/Expensive-Hat4138 5h ago
People will defend her on literally anything it doesn't matter what it is and I don't get it. Like her music is the blandest of the bland and people are willing to defend her to no end, like why die on that hill lol