CLIMATE CHANGE IS ALREADY UPON US!
Anyone who pays attention to current events or has experienced the affects of severe and unusual weather knows this firsthand. An article in The New Yorker written by Jonathan Franzen, recently crossed my inbox, “What if We Stopped Pretending?, The climate apocalypse is coming. To prepare for it, we need to admit that we can’t prevent it”. Franzen’s writing caused me to think hard and prompted me to express myself in this essay. How does one individual do something about this planetary catastrophe? It becomes more crushing when the people who do have the power to make a positive impact are indifferent to the issue. I applaud and fully support the climate activists of students and young people around the world who boldly act by their protests. I have no doubt they will eventually prevail; however, I fear it may come too late.
As a regular citizen of the planet without much political power, stopping, mitigating and adapting to apocalyptic environmental damage can only start with community, according to Franzen. It is too overwhelming otherwise. The big picture is frightening. I continue to push against the so called, non-believers by doing what I can on a small scale. Non-believers…. what does that mean? A professor I worked closely with at Northwestern University said climate change is not a ‘belief’. That seemed to make sense to me, yet it is described as a belief all the time. What I do know is many people simply do not pay attention. As Al Gore said, “there are very intelligent and well-meaning people who refuse to acknowledge climate change because they would have a moral imperative to act”. They do not want to act. It may disrupt their economic status. “The economy is doing so well…you will read one article that says it’s critical, then the next thing you read says it doesn’t exist, what am I to BELIEVE”. These words I hear often. Does that mean climate change doesn’t matter because my bank account is full and growing? That argument doesn’t work for me. When that 100-year storm that occurs annually, takes your loved ones or destroys your town the bank account may become insignificant. Some wealthy folks seem to be certain they can buy their way out of anything. That may be true, but what about the rest of us? While some enjoy their financial status without any concern for the hardships coming down the pipeline, others are stuck trying to cope, not only financially, but with what is seen as inaction taken toward mitigation and adaptation of upcoming apocalyptic events. The goal to reduce the use of fossil fuels was made clear decades ago, and despite some effort there is essentially no progress toward reining in global carbon emissions that could have kept the planet from melting down. This was evident in 2019 when two global climate conferences attended by world leaders failed to produce any real progress or plan of action.
As an advocate for all kinds of environmental issues, I find myself surrounded by people who do not care because it is not affecting their day to day life. But it’s coming and it is their children that will bare the brunt of the change. I do not have children, yet I seem to care and take whatever action I can while parents simply do not. Contentment is the reason. I am far from content in any area of my life. I am single, sometimes lonely, hate my job, and constantly wonder what I need to do next to find some sort of sustainable joy. In my observations I have come to see that people who are happy and content with their simple lives don’t want to know about anything that may rock their world in a negative way. “I’d rather not pay attention”, I often hear. Oh, okay! What about your grandchildren? They will have to pay attention.
I live in the Midwest and except for heavy rains and occasional drought conditions we seem to be insulated from the very severe effects of climate change. (Although the farmers may say something completely different). We do not experience major forest fires or have rising sea levels in our back yards. We also have the Great Lakes and plenty of freshwater, rivers and streams. But what about the bottom billion. Paul Collier wrote a book in 2007 called, The Bottom Billion, where he talks about the plight of impoverished countries. These are low lying areas where people live in rural villages and sustain themselves by spending their days just finding water. This goes on while the rest of us have plenty to eat, drink and have no problem burning fossil fuels.
The entitlement of certain human beings is bringing this planet to the brink of catastrophe. We even have space junk now; the oceans are full of our plastic waste and man-made orbital debris circles planet Earth. The superiority of the western culture and behaviors of some older people is difficult for me. I am an older person and I agree with the younger generations who are out fighting for their futures.
What can I, or anyone do? Jonathon Franzen wrote two essays in the New Yorker on climate change over the past five years. In the one referenced above, Franzen says, “……Today the scientific evidence verges on irrefutable. If you are younger than sixty, you have a good chance of witnessing the radical destabilization of life on earth — massive crop failures, apocalyptic fires, imploding economies, epic flooding, hundreds of millions of refugees fleeing regions made uninhabitable by extreme heat or permanent drought. If you’re under thirty, you’re all but guaranteed to witness it”. Sounds scary enough to push me into action. But what action? Awareness at the least, seems crucial. To carry on like nothing is changing and we are somehow miraculously going back to the “old days” of no worry, is ludicrous. Yet, many comfortable people truly think all is well!
Franzen takes the position of accepting that catastrophe is inevitable and is taking the approach of hope as he explains in his article. He understands the denial, lack of action by world leaders and regular folks doing nothing because things continue to move forward. Seasons change, an election year is upon us, new shows on all our favorite streaming services, we have plenty to eat, drink and new clothing to wear. What if the consensus is yes, it’s messy and even though it will take the form of an increasingly severe crises bringing on chaotic conditions until civilizations begin to fray, maybe it won’t happen too soon; maybe it won’t happen to me.
There are ways we can prepare from the bottom up. No matter your political stance on this issue or your belief in its’ potential impact, one way we can prepare is to engage in collective will. Available to us now is the power to create a civil society by, as Franzen points out, taking the following climate action:
1. Maintain functioning democracies and fair elections
2. Combat extreme wealth inequality
3. Shut down hate machines on social media
4. Prepare for mass immigration, forest fires and extreme weather, etc. etc.
Above is just a sample of grassroot actions people can start to consider. All are dependent upon the collective will and agreement to work towards adaptation. The carbon problem cannot be solved by the individual, but this list of action items can be. Rising temperatures can possibly be survived if every system, either in the natural world or human world, is as healthy and solid as we can make them. Fighting smaller local battles that have some realistic hope of winning can take the form of preserving the things you love. An institution, a wild place, a threatened species campaign, become a citizen scientist — and take heart in small accomplishments. “As long as you have something to love, you have something to hope for”, Jonathan Franzen.
In the meantime, I see what has occurred in 2019 alone and am sad and frightened for all living creatures on Earth. I do not have faith in the action items Franzen describes above. At least not while this current crop of older men remains in charge of world politics. Unfortunately, the small and perceived insignificant species, which includes humans, are at the mercy of the policies set by politicians all over the globe. What a shame! It seems so nonsensical that certain individuals enjoy that magnitude of power. Especially when they are blind to reality. I do praise all the leaders who try and continue to push agendas in the direction of adaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change. And I pray the younger generations vote and run for office so we may possibly be somewhat prepared for what is coming. I apologize for my older generation that has put these kids in a critical position and I will support them any way I can. May the force be with us!