196: How to do right by your child – and everyone else’s with Dr. Elizabeth Cripps

Do you worry about the state of the Earth? Climate change perhaps above all else, but also resource extraction, air pollution, and the injustice that goes along with the ways the impacts of these things are distributed?

You're not the only one.

I know not everyone goes this far, but one of the reasons I waited so long to have a baby, almost didn't have a baby, and will only have one child is to reduce my impact on climate change.

We all know we're supposed to fly less, drive less, and eat less meat. But how can those actions ever be enough, when (I read somewhere a long time ago) that there aren't enough resources on the planet for everyone to consume the resources that an unhoused person in the United States uses?

In her new book Parenting on Earth: A Philosopher's Guide to Doing Right by Your Kids - and Everyone Else's (affiliate link), Dr. Elizabeth Cripps walks us through the moral arguments involved in taking action on these issues - as well as the ones we use to justify not taking action.

I really enjoyed this book. There are so many ways it could have gone wrong. Dr. Cripps is a White European philosopher writing about ways we can reduce our environmental impact.

The book could have been dense (ever get lost trying to follow a philosophical argument? 🙋‍♀️)

It could have been preachy.

It could have been completely tone-deaf, and say that we all bear the same responsibility to make changes.

It doesn't do any of those things.

It's easy to understand, practical, and acknowledges Dr. Cripps' (and many of her readers,' including my own) place in society. This is our responsibility - but also not just our responsibility. We need systemic change at the State, national, and international levels as well.

This book helps you see what you can do by yourself, and also when you combine your efforts with others, which is a lot bigger than the sum of its parts. And that makes it an interesting, hopeful read. (I worked in sustainability consulting for a decade and I learned some things!)

Elizabeth Cripps' book:

Parenting on Earth: A Philosopher's Guide to Doing Right by Your Kids - and Everyone Else's (affiliate link)

Jump to Highlights

01:20 Introduction to today’s episode and featured guest

 02:39 Dr. Elizabeth Cripps gives a brief overview of what climate change is and how it is already affecting and will continue to affect us in the future

04:40 The moral aspect of climate change 

06:39 The challenge of differentiating individual and governmental responsibilities regarding climate change

12:20 The connection between shame and topics like White supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and climate change

17:51 How broader societal concerns, like climate change, influence your everyday decision-making

26:10 Exploration on whether the Western-developed framework for climate change can be adapted to different cultures with varied moral perspectives

28:20 The choice of having children and how climate concerns influenced that decision 

35:20 The concept of fairness and how children often have a strong sense of morality and fairness

37:18 A playful approach to life and problem-solving can inspire creativity for solving complex issues

38:54 How parents can engage in climate activism and justice alongside their everyday responsibilities

 43:28 How parents might justify not taking action or not fully acknowledging climate change as a significant problem

45:20 Addressing climate change as a shared responsibility

48:12 Nurturing environmentally responsible children 

51:42 Wrapping up discussion

References

Cripps, E. (2022). What climate justice means, and why we should care. London: Bloomsbury Continuum.

Cripps, E. (2017). Do parents have a special duty to mitigate climate change? Politics, Philosophy & Economics 16(3), 308-325.

Cripps, E. (2017). Justice, integrity, and moral community: Do parents owe it to their children to bring them up as good global climate citizens? Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 117(1), 41-59.

Seebach, N. (2018). Is classroom boredom hidden guilt? A comparison between teaching Aboriginal history in Australia and Post-Holocaust history in Germany. NEQ: Emerging Scholars in Australian Indigenous Studies