effective environmentalism

“Compassion for all Creation is infinitely sustainable.” – Sailesh Rao

“The higher the truth, the simpler it is.” – Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook

Introduction

The Pareto Principle (the 80/20 rule) indicates that less than 20% of activities account for more than 80% of the results.

Effective environmentalism is 1) attaining awareness, 2) making good food, carbon and communication choices, and 3) being a positive influence.  The app videos, articles and tools aid in all three imperatives.

Time is of the Essence

We must rise to the climate challenge. Use the app to exponentially amplify climate solution communication. The science is on our side, but time is not.

When my spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran was asked whether humanity passed the point of no return, he replied, “Fortunately, along with the working of the law of karma, there is the law of mercy also.” 

I see veganism for animals, vegan reforestation for the planet, and food forests for marginalized people in the Global South as acts of mercy.  In this way, perhaps we will all be granted mercy.

The Spectrum of Allies

The Spectrum of Allies is a framework for visualizing the social activism tide-turning process.  According to Harvard Professor Erica Chenoweth, if 3.5% or more of the population are Active Supporters (on the left side of the spectrum below), then the nonviolent campaign almost always succeeds.

Like the Pareto Principle, the core premise of the Spectrum of Allies is that your energy is best spent where it’s going to have the biggest impact.  Stop trying to influence climate deniers and those strongly opposed to diet change.  Instead, try to move Passive Support, Neutral and climate concerned Passive Opposition individuals closer to the Active Support side of the spectrum.  If enough people shift to the left, we could reach a majority and governments may follow suit to create a vegan world. 

Or in other words, we need allies along the spectrum in addition to activating 3.5% of the world (250 million people) to engage in vegan climate activism. 

Currently, it’s unclear how people map out with respect to veganism to save the planet.  I gathered rough numbers based on the assumptions in the table below.  For clarity, I assumed 68% of people consider climate change a major threat – the median percentage from 27 surveyed countries according to a Pew Research Center study. 

It’s worth stating that the vegan message can be quite polarizing.  :) Talking at a person about veganism usually doesn’t go well! 

Over 12,000 vegan respondents were asked what first made them seriously consider going vegan. The results are depicted in the VOMAD pie chart below. United in Heart empowers you to facilitate change in several pie pieces – as denoted by the green checkmarks.

So please consider using the various forms of outreach in the app communication goals section.

But more importantly, pivot away from presenting a black and white call to action – go vegan or not. Instead, win their support to create a vegan world to save the planet. 

Here’s how. Host a climate workshop by watching the 30 minute United in Heart documentary with your friends and helping them download the app.  Then they will understand the severity and urgency of climate change and why vegan reforestation is necessary.

Many people won’t go vegan right away, but almost all of them will be an ally to create a vegan world.

I say this from personal experience. More than half the pledges and donations we’ve received to date (April 21, 2021) were from non-vegans supporting us to create a vegan world.