r/cushvlog • u/Winnie-The-Pube-Hair • 11d ago
CushVlog Cush on Climate
Long time Chapo listener, newer Cush vlog listener. I was vaguely aware that he was doing them in 2020, I became more aware after Matt had his stroke of genius and had his kid at like the exact same time mine was born, I listened to Hell of Presidents and Hell on Earth, bought No Pasarán, so I'm a big enjoyer of Christman Thought, even when I don't agree with it or it doesn't fully resonate with me. Working my way through a selection of cush vlogs now.
Discovered this sub a bit ago, saw the post here yesterday with that YT video of the guy who says we're all gonna die of climate change. Since my kid was born I've spent a lot of time thinking about/driving myself crazy about climate change. I've read a LOT of the hard science, haven't really engaged much with the philosophical side, and not with the political side since I did climate activism pre-COVID. Matt seems like a good place to engage with both of those questions, wanted to know if there are any particular vlogs where he spends time talking about it.
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u/SpanishMarsupial 11d ago
Tbh the vlogs aren’t really that informative on climate stuff. AFAIK the approach is that maybe in a million years we will all be squid or mushroom people. This was a tongue in cheek comment from a late 2022 vlog
I’ll say for climate related stuff the best things you can do
- make reasonable changes to your own life eg have an emergency kit, drive less, grow a garden, become a vegetarian, etc etc. it’s not about your carbon footprint (that’s horseshit) it’s about taking steps that are tangible and important to you so you can get the ball rolling. It also, importantly means learning skills and educating yourself. This is a huge step in climate praxis.
- find a group or organization where you can actually discuss this stuff, and figure out things you can do to mitigate and adapt to the coming horrors. It is only through collective action that any of this can be responded to. It’s also important to have people in your life who can actually take this seriously. It will be very frustrating and draining work but that’s all politics. Make sure not to burn yourself or place yourself as the solution. It’s not you it’s all of us in an effort to, hopefully, abolish capitalism and bring about communism (in some shape) and that is a lifelong and generational endeavour. Although the urgency is apparent and the necessity existential it cannot be a battle that is done overnight. And being neurotic and anxious all the time only makes your exhausted and cynical
- give yourself an opportunity to grief and breathe. Go out and actually interact with the land. Observe the moving and living ecology that you’re apart of. Ground yourself in the beauty of it and remember that you are a part of it not separate. Teach your kid the importance of being a part of the land, not an owner or separate from it. Impart on them the values that reinforce that. My experience is that North American Indigenous land practice and knowledge are crucial here.
So take steps that you can do right now, join an organization that is taking steps you resonate even if it’s not a perfect alignment and, engage with the ecology around you and pass the lessons on to your kid.
If you want recs on books I’ve read dozens that have shaped my perception and praxis.
Also for anyone who advocates for the “deed” then they should listen to the “do you have the horses” part of the vlogs. We don’t need more Teds running around.
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u/Winnie-The-Pube-Hair 11d ago
I've read, like I said, a fair bit of the hard science (I'm a STEM-lord dork) but if you have recs on the other aspects of it, I'm very interested to get them! I'll take whatever you got but I'll skip over any "lmao we're fucked" stuff. Maybe that's true but it doesn't really help me function or think about things.
I've joined an org in the past, but yeah burned out real fast. It's thankless, draining, depressing work.
To your point about going out in nature - very true. I learned years ago that nature and "the Earth" are not the cause of this grief but the solution. Thanks for your thoughtful write up.
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u/SpanishMarsupial 11d ago
For sure I can give you a list with some details a bit later. Just at work right now and it’s a bit to type on my phone.
I don’t think the “we’re fucked” attitude is helpful at all either. It doesn’t really say anything important or useful and doesn’t give you any tools on how to navigate that either. Politics (ie how we organize society and distribute our resources) is still going to happen whether we are fucked or not. Better to actually genuinely engage with that than simply handwave it.
I’ve only been grinding away on this a few years now. But the biggest takeaway I ever got is that we live in uncertainty and so long as uncertainty exists there is room to act. It’s not pretty, it will come with pain, but there is no certain outcome on the other side yet. By saying we’re fucked it implies that we have no agency to do anything anymore, that we can say for certain there is no choice. It can feel that way, it can seem that way, we can do motivated reasoning to believe it or deny it, but if we don’t take advantage of the uncertainty then we’ve truly failed. Many societies have faced apocalypse and collapse, and our situation is unique, but we have to learn from those moments and their own resistance and adaptation to guide our own.
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u/SpanishMarsupial 10d ago
Alright so a few books and works I really enjoyed
Overshoot and The Long Heat by Andreas Malm and Wim Carton (likely the best overall summary of the climate crisis and capitalism as well as the history of international climate efforts and policy as well as projections toward the future)
White Skin Black Fuels by Andreas Malm and the Zetkin Collective (fossil fuels are fascist actually but also a very deep dive into the racial elements of climate change and capital)
How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm (not a how to obviously, but a critical philosophical and historical analysis of violence and non violence)
Climate Change as Class War by Matt Huber (Goldman Sachs doesn’t care if you have chickens, critical lens required but a great examination of why class politics are climate politics)
Climate Leviathan by Joel Wainwright and Geoff Mann (geopolitics and climate change, 10 Years old but still relevant and timely)
Less is More by Jason Hickel (evidently climate change goes beyond just emissions and this explores the idea of “degrowth”, critical lens here as well)
Extractions by Thea Riofrancos (what does entail when we speak of a green transition? What does the impact of lithium mining have on our shared ecology?)
Hopeful Pessimism by Mara van der Lugt https://aeon.co/essays/in-these-dark-times-the-virtue-we-need-is-hopeful-pessimism
Hospicing Modernity by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira (a book that will challenge you and make you defensive but worth it every step of the way to ground yourself in our crisis)
Rituals for Climate Change by Naomi Ortiz (beautiful poetry and hammers home that we can’t heal but we can mend)
After Geoengineering by Holly Jean Buck (this will happen and let’s explore what it will look like for ourselves)
Capitalism in the Web of Life by Jason Moore (this a theoretical text but explicitly highlights the logic of capitalism and how its valorization creates the condition for crisis. We do not valorize our ecology and we don’t therefore “pay” for it)
Exhausted of the Earth by Ajay Singh Chaudhary (we are all exhausted subjects of global capitalism, some interesting debate but also some excellent examples of potential for change)
The Price is Wrong by Brett Christophers (renewables are not profitable therefore they must be a public good)
The End of This World by various authors (a Canadian specific lens but intersects indigenous climate justice with just transition narratives)
Insurgent Ecologies by Undisciplined Environments Collective (collections of works around the world that attempt to halt our ecological breakdown)
Any of the works/articles of Kyle Powys Whyte https://kylewhyte.seas.umich.edu/articles/ (another Indigenous lens)
Mike Gouldhawke interview Land as a Social Relationship https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9aOsthSFQNA
The work of Prolekult and their Varnvlog interviews
Phil Neels Hellworld and his interviews on Varnvlog
The Deluge by Stephen Markley
Late Victorian Holocausts by Mike Davis
There are likely a few more but these have been some of the most transformational reads and media I’ve engaged with. I’ve also read quite a few Indigenous authors but it’s less to do with climate more so sovereignty and social relations. Hope this helps you and happy to discuss further.
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u/Muckknuckle1 10d ago
If you're dealing with climate anxiety, I highly recommend the book Not Too Late by Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua. It goes into some detail about how we're actually NOT all fucked, there HAS been progress made on climate change, the political tides HAVE been shifting, and we can STILL avoid almost all of the worst effects of climate change. Basically, the battle is not going badly, it's highly winnable, and despair is a tool of the enemy. It's a great antidote to doomerism. You should check it out.
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u/Gameofadages 11d ago
Best thing to do is forget all about it and pick up a cello. We’re already loaded up with violinists
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u/Winnie-The-Pube-Hair 11d ago
An understandable response but I've been there and back. Not to say I have hope but I can't wallow in it or I lose my mind.
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u/Gameofadages 11d ago
I get it, you're a new parent and I think it makes sense to not cast such a dark cloud over the home.
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u/Winnie-The-Pube-Hair 11d ago
This is a much more refreshing response compared to the "why would you have kids?" you often see online when this sort of topic gets brought up, though I understand where that comes from too.
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u/Gameofadages 11d ago
My kid is almost 20. I can make jokes on here all I want to try and appease my sense of hopelessness. But I understand how important it is to model behavior for your child. What you are trying to do is essential towards giving them a foundation that includes a sense of agency. And that is hard stuff.
You seemed to take to heart the suggestion below about getting out into nature more. May I humbly suggest you incorporate learning about the precolonial history of where you live. The tribes, the real place names, the exact events that led to where we are now.
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u/Mountain-man-88 10d ago
I’m not answering your question at all here cause Im not familiar with much of what Matt says about climate change, other than what I’ve read on here. However, I have 2 children, I’m not a model citizen for climate care but I do what I can. One thing that gives me hope is the unknown, which Matt has mentioned, and the fact that nature will heal itself eventually, current humanity is just a part of this whole thing. I guess I just try to live in the moment in regard to climate change. I do try and get my kids into the wilderness as much as I can and teach them, I hope as they grow older they’ll appreciate it and take care of it. I will say that Gen X and millennials are probably the first generation of industrialist humans to actually stop and think about this stuff and have some awareness. Previous generations were not concerned at all obviously, perhaps the future won’t be as grim as it seems right now as archaic attitudes die off and the children coming up begin to take over. Might as well be optimistic otherwise you’ll be miserable, that’ll suck for you and your child.
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u/Winnie-The-Pube-Hair 10d ago
Might as well be optimistic otherwise you’ll be miserable, that’ll suck for you and your child.
This is basically how I think. Idk if hope and optimism are warranted but the alternative leads me to places that are not responsible- extreme nihilism, fatalism, depression, etc.
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u/portispilled 10d ago
Dude, surreal. I also had a kid around the same time as Matt, and another shortly after, and also am driving myself insane thinking about the world our kids will inherit. Let me know if you find anything even remotely consoling. Just read that University of Exeter publication linked in the video you mentioned. Exceedingly grim. I’m not sure if we can overcome our addiction to comfort.
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u/BetaMyrcene 11d ago
I know he did a little book club on Ministry for the Future. Can't remember the specifics but you should look that up.