So this week the IPCC Climate Report was released giving off a Code Red for humanity. The interesting thing is that the report didn't tell us anything we didn't know. It's main conclusions hadn't changed since the last report, the calculations just got more precise. It described a bleak future: if we met all our climate goals we might just be able to keep it to heating up the planet with 1.5 degree Celsius. But hotter it will get. Since none of this is new, as neither is scientists warning us for the grave consequences of what we are doing to the planet, then the question is: Why are we not acting upon that information?
It seems mind boggling that while we live the results of our pollution every day: forest fires in southern Europe and California, big flooding in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands for example, yet we are not willing to do enough to turn the tide.
The Report
So a little bit about the picture of the future that the IPCC Report paints:
- Increasing heatwaves and forest fires
- Melting polar ice meaning rising sea levels, threatening those who live by the coast
- Warmer oceans that become more acidic, meaning less life in them
- Droughts at some places, heavy rainfall at others, meaning crops will struggle
We will arrive at 1,5 degrees warmer, the question is just when? If we carry on like we do now, we could hit it already in 2040. The more we cut our emissions drastically now the longer it will take us to get there.
So Why Are We Not Acting?
The more I read about it the more incredulous it seems that we are not doing enough! So I've tried to come up with some reasons of why people are not acting upon this very bleak future picture:
- It is a long-term problem that requires short-term sacrifices and boy, we suck at those. Giving up things we enjoy now (driving in our cars, using plastic bags, cheap electricity etc) for some unforeseeable future when we will be long dead is just really difficult for humans. Ignoring the problem therefore brings a lot of short-term pleasure, even if they may ruin the planet for our great-grand children. For not everyone the problems associated with climate change are visible either, making it seem even less worth it to change.
- It is a complicated problem that accelerates One cigarette won't kill you right? But smoking 20 years every day will have negative health consequences. That knowledge though won't stop you from smoking that one cigarette. Climate change hasn't been visible to a lot of people for long yet, meaning we are already at the point where the years of smoking have deteriorated someone's health. The planet is already sick now and we have missed the best window to act upon it...
- People suck with abstract concepts Say you have a noisy neighbor. That is pretty annoying and you would want to do something about it soon right? This is something that directly affects your daily life! Global warming and it's consequences however don't disturb you the way that noisy neighbor does. They are often quite far removed from you, making them less important to your busy brain...
So where do we go from here?
Will this upcoming Climate Summit in Glasgow be like all the others again? Leaders of the world make big promises, shake hands, smile and then... break these promises? It is up to us, citizens of the world, to elect leaders who will fulfill their promises and keep them to their promises, forcing them to take action. Because even though we cannot save the world by ourselves, we can do it with collective action from all the citizens! What do you think? What suggestions do you have that could help us mitigate this problem?
It's very frustrating to see people denying and ignoring this, for fear of having to do something themselves. It's also simply shameful that people still vote for leaders who value economics and growth over the one and only home we have.
We need to vote better, buy less and eat plant-based. It's really not that hard to make a big difference yourself, but even that is asking too much. I'm at that point where I think humanity deserves to be wiped out.
Haha I know what you mean, I am getting to the same impatience with our species (it was even worse when Trump was elected I have to say)
Kinda forces you to laugh about it, because the alternative is to cry for humanity's stupidity 😞
If not wiped out, then cleaned and woken up. Some people simply do not know what (and/or why) they are doing. And this is not necessarily their own bad/mistake. I also said/made/done some (bad) things that I cannot explain. I forgive everyone, and I hope that everyone forgive me too.
I feel very strongly about people's own responsibility. All of the information is out there, slapping you in the face. People willfully go against science, fully aware of what they are doing. Well... I guess there's an IQ factor there aswell. With producers having to write on the box of dishwashing tablets "It's not safe to eat", we are not breeding the best and brightest. We are encouraging even the most ignorant people to reproduce and then get surprised we are fucking things up as humanity.
I don't forgive stupidity and I don't forgive any needless action that harms our planet. I find parents who don't do everything they can to make a better world for their children to be moronic and the definition of selfishness and I think they should have never been allowed to procreate.
Oh well, I am a very unforgiving person and I guess I shouldn't even care. I don't have kids and the sooner we wipe ourselves out, the sooner the planet gets to heal. Hopefully there'll be some animals left by the time we're done wreaking havoc.
Humans are self-absorbed animals with delusions of grandeur
The world does not need saving. People do. The world is not in danger. People are (in danger). Or people are the danger? Maybe both of these are true on some level.
But the whole planet was fine without humanity, and it will also be fine after or if humanity disappears. By ignoring the climate change, people only hurt themselves (and indirectly the other living beigs on the planet, because they also suffer from it).
Very true, let's save ourselves then before we make it impossible for us to live on this planet!
Our children will be born on a sinking ship. 🌍
Yes I am afraid you are right, we are not leaving a nice situation for the next generation
Congratulations @plint! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Your next target is to reach 2500 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOP