Voting for, not against

What's happening in US politics right now provides a good parallel for the sustainability world in my view.

As confidence in President Biden's ability to continue running the country fades across the aisle, I think the polls reflect that voting against a candidate isn't always enough. At this point, I think low-propensity voters desperately need to be inspired to vote for specific solutions -- including environmental progress, affordable education, childcare, etc. -- rather than hoping they'll turn out to vote against Trump.

When it comes to sustainability, a similar dynamic seems to be at play. I do believe many people want to help the planet and leave a better future for the next generations, but it's hard to act in ways that are simply against the status quo.

It's easy to be against Big Oil, for example, but not to the point where enough people are so against it that they'll stop heating their homes, driving less, etc. Instead, what seems to work is having something that's easy to vote with your dollars for -- like electric vehicles that are catching up with gas-powered cars on affordability.

Or look at the food system. I don't think many people actively want to support harmful agricultural practices, but not enough people are so against factory farming that they'll swap burgers for beans. But if you have a good replacement to vote with your dollars for, like putting oat milk in coffee instead of dairy, then it's a little easier to make that positive change.
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In my latest article, I interviewed a program director at Lonely Whale, a nonprofit focused on preventing plastic from entering the ocean. The organization recently ran a contest to find alternative solutions to thin-film plastics (used for things like packaging clothes for retail) and chose three seaweed-based materials as winners.

While it's still early, I think these types of alternatives to plastic speak to this same issue of voting for vs. against. Not enough people are so against plastic that they're going to simply stop using it. They need something to vote for instead.

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