Brenna Quinlan

Commodification vs Commonification

Drawing

People be like "be sustainable", and sometimes you just wana scream "but it's so hard to do!!"

I hear ya. Here's a distinction that's helped me figure things out. Yes, we need clothes, we need to get around, we need stuff (even if we don't 'need' an iPhone we still 'need' one to function in society), and we need to have fun, too.

All of those needs can be met through consumerism. That's commodification, where things are made into products or services and we buy them and they create waste and around and around it goes. But there's another option. For our transport, food, clothing, childcare and even our financial needs, we can go the path of 'commonification'. It's a cool concept. For each thing we could purchase, there exists an entire ecosystem of alternative ways to meet that need. Need to get the kids to school? Well there's the car, with all the costs and emissions that come with that. Or there's the bike, the bus, the train, and if we dig deeper there might be other options, too. Are there families in the same street who can help out walking with the kids one day while you do the next? Maybe a friend walks their dog that time of morning anyway, and would be more than happy to take the kids to school at the same time? Maybe the kids are getting older and can walk, bike or scate themselves? And on that walk, will they pat a dog? Will they see a magnolia bloom? Will they stop by the street library, or the 'free lemons' stand?
2023
  • Brenna Quinlan

Intersectional environmentalism: what is it?

Drawing

It's all about inclusivity in the environmental movement. It's the answer to that uneasy feeling you get when people talk about the planet being better without us, or the tension that arises when climate action and social justice are painted as two separate and competing causes. It's a focus on climate justice, a conscious acknowledgement that people and planet are one, and that environmental action is stronger when it uplifts the people involved.

The phrase was popularised by @greengirlleah when she called for the environmental movement to stand in solidarity with #blacklivesmatter. It builds on the important work of @kimberlecrenshaw who described intersectionality as an exploration of the way overlapping systems of power affect those who are most marginalised by society. It is a wholistic way of understanding oppression, and when applied to activism, it helps us to consider all bases, and understand the disproportionate impacts that climate change and other forms of environmental degradation have on certain groups.

Intersectional environmentalism helps us walk towards a world where people and planet are thriving. To get there, we work to amplify the voices of those who are marginalised, encourage solidarity between social and environmental movements, and push for systemic change to address the root causes of inequality.

We are in a time of great change, and it's exciting to see how the movement morphs and shifts to improve itself as it matures, too the benefit of everyone.
2023
  • Brenna Quinlan

Be Present

drawing, 2022

Is shopping really a hobby? Is it really be a pastime that leads to happiness? Who does Black Friday really benefit? Us? Shop owners? GDP?

I took a quick look at instagram today and it was full of ads. I walked through Fremantle yesterday and had a similar experience. Black Friday is the day when people go into further debt. Where the Earth's finite resources are chewed up at an increasing rate. Where marketers are paid big money to convince us of scarcity and to incite a buying panic.

We are more than what we own. Convenience always has a cost. Our stuff burdens us in other ways that the shiny adverts don't ever hint at. I'm spending today doing something meaningful, and I'm certainly not going to buy something.
2022
  • Brenna Quinlan

We are stronger when we work together

Illustration with a purpose

I had a big conversation with someone last week who has very different views from what I do on a number of issues. But we agreed that staying friends is important. When our town had a peaceful climate protest (we formed a human sign saying 'We Can Do It' and sent the drone photo to parliament), he was there with his family. When tragedy struck another local family, he was there to support them in their grief. And when we needed help with our house build, he was first in line.

Wherever we argue amongst ourselves, we're distracting our energies from the bigger issues, and we're damaging the most important things: family, friendship, community and our capacity for collective activism. Of course, we need boundaries in our lives to protect ourselves from people who harm us. But for everything else, we gain so much from being able to disagree in a healthy way.

I don't want to be caught arguing with my neighbor while another gas plant is snuck through parliament overnight.

Let me know how you're going with this - have you been able to overcome differences?
2022
  • Brenna Quinlan

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