So, global warming.
(Yes, we’ll be referring to it as “global warming” instead of “climate change” because the research shows the general public finds that terminology “more pressing,” which it should be.)
As I’m sure many of you have seen, global warming has been making all kinds of headlines this week mostly due to The UN Climate Summit & Greta Thunberg’s incredible speech. If you haven’t given the incredible sixteen year old’s speech a listen, it’s a powerfully moving four and a half minute watch as is her speech during the opening track of The 1975’s forthcoming album “Notes On A Conditional Form.” The escalating visibility of climate activism & mountainous pile of evidence in favor of the fact that we are destroying our planet got me thinking, & really it got me thinking about one tiny little question I want to ask those who don’t seem to believe the truly dire situation we are in. Before I pose my question I guess I should preface by clarifying that this blog post is more targeted towards those who are deniers than believes. My question follows:
What if it’s true? What if only one tiny iota of it is true? Out of all the data & concrete science, what if even one gram of it is truth? Is that not enough to take action?
I know majority of the denier demographic falls in the boomer category & I know, I know this is going to sound like just another millennial whining about the older generation messing things up for us, but we share the fault in this as well. It seems however that the reason Gen X, Millenials, & Gen Z are rapidly joining the fight against global warming is, to put it plainly, that we’ll actually be alive to see it. We’ll be the ones left to “survive” on the earth we killed., forced to live with the horrendous conditions we’ve created. Not only will we have to live with this, but so will our children & our children’s children. Those who are innocent to the cause will suffer the effects of the negligence of the previous generations. My prompt to those who are in the older generations, content to let the world burn, is what about your grandchildren? Hasn’t your goal as a parent, as a grandparent, always been to create a better way of life for those that come after you? If that’s the case I think I would mark this down as a major failure on your part & say in the worlds of Greta “How Dare You!”
If there’s one iota of truth to it all why are you fighting the change required? What do you lose by being just a little more green? What are you really giving up to save the planet? Think of all the things you’ve sacrificed over the years to make a better life, how if this any different? I guess the main difference boils down to selfishness. We don’t want to change because they’re not, we don’t want to change because it doesn’t benefit us or our families immediately, we don’t want to change because it may cost us a few dollars more a month. I would argue “an eye for an eye” leaves the world blind, or in this case, dead. You’re right, the change necessary wouldn't improve the quality of just those around you, it’d improve the quality of life for everyone living on this planet. The money you inevitably save on allergy medication or other medical bills, the money you save because food is becoming increasingly hard to grow or catch due to the death of pollinators or decimated populations, the amount you’ll save not having to deal in home maintenance due to the ever increasing ferocity of weather, heat, & cold, will be more than worth the investment you put in to choosing the greener path.
I guess I’m just frustrated, my generation is frustrated. We’re tired of screaming stop just for the wheel to keep turning without regard for what it’s trampling in the process. We have to make a change, all of us. We have to pressure corporations, that make up 72% of the carbon footprint to change. We have to be better, not only for ourselves but for those who come after. We cannot allow selfishness & laziness to win. None of these changes are things you have to make over night, but little by little we all can help save the world. Start by getting a recycling bin, move to purchasing reusable containers to take with you to the store, cut out single use plastics, buy from sustainably farmed sources, don’t run your heat or air conditioner at full blast all the time. Take baby steps adding more and more as you go along, you’ll be amazed when you look back & see how far you’ve come just how easy the journey actually was.