I refuse

I refuse.

The world is going bonkers. War, robots, drones. AI. Self-optimization. Efficiency.

All accompanied by an absurd level of idiocracy.

A never ending race to the bottom. In the holy name of productivity.

Ultimately, a profound disconnect from Nature.

Or a "poverty of the spirit", as the great Martin Luther King Jr. once put it.

Some say: The climate debate went "out of fashion" during Corona.

Riding the fabulous ICE back from the biggest tourism fair in the world in Berlin, I am under the lasting impression of: Flights, flights, flights.

How was your flight? We have a free airport shuttle. To the train station? What?

Heck, even these now omnipresent AI agent demos constantly begin with: Let's say I want to book a flight...

Let us be clear: The next flood, landslide, or heat wave does not give a flying f*ck about whether we currently have other priorities or worries.

Every tenth of a degree will make it worse.

My parents are soon moving into a rooftop apartment in Switzerland. I will have to install ACs for them – probably fighting outdated provincial law that deems them energy inefficient. All the while the neighbours think installing solar panels is not worth the money. Welcome to reality.

I am embarassed to talk about the climate with friends. Fellow geographers, who ought to know best. 20 years ago, during our first year, they made us read and comprehend the IPCC reports. 20 years. Half of my lifetime.

The reports have only gotten worse. Yet, I feel like grandpa reminiscing about something extremely boring. There are so many other pressing topics.

Still, I refuse.

I can count the number of flights I took in the last ten years on one hand and refuse to take any more unless there's a real emergency.

I became an almost-vegetarian two years ago (fish rarely lands on the table). A dream – read: nightmare – opened my eyes.

My devices have an average lifespan of 5-10 years. I don't need the latest and greatest for building actually quite complex software.

With very few exceptions everything I buy is second hand. I am still one of the coolest kids on the block.

I despise cars but when I "had" to buy one, it was a six year old EV. Whenever I hear the sounds of a Dinosaur incinerator I cannot help but find it very antique – and pathetic.

I started a company that has a real impact on sustainable consumer choices (tens of thousands of people are using it every month). I don't earn anything remarkable from it.

Of course, I pursue.

I am just getting started.

Because I refuse. I refuse to believe that we can just ignore it. It's there.

It will destroy the lives of our children. This should be especially obvious for parents. I observe the opposite. Head in the sand. Another exception, what difference does it make?

One day I want to look in the eyes of my son and tell him that I at least tried to do everything that was in my hands. Yet there is so much more to do.

This is the mission of our lifetime.

But let's not forget where the real enemy sits. In goverments, in lobbies. In big corporations and super rich individuals that are fundamentally opposed to the welfare and joy of any living being.

Wake up!

Refuse with me.

Join the fight.

Let's not fight each other.

Start today. Talk to your family. Your neighbours. Your boss. Whatever. Build. Vote. Disobey. Influence. Impact. Every action counts. As cheesy as it sounds, you can make a difference. And even if you don't, trust me when I say: it is rewarding.

PS. I think I have never felt so happy.

PPS. Evidently, a hot apartment in Switzerland is laughable compared to wet bulb temperatures in a growing number of areas of the world.

PPPS. This post was written to the tunes of a looping "Pneuma" by TOOL and you should listen to it now. And then wake up.