.Let’s get one thing out of the way - climate change is a threat to our civilisation. Always has and always will be. In the 1800’s, the idea of greenhouse gases raising the Earth’s temperature was speculated, but it wasn’t until the 60’s when our government thought it was a “real concern”. It’s been 60 years since then, and not much has changed towards actively reversing climate change around the world. So now, the biggest question is, why? Here are some reasons climate change isn’t at the forefront of our policies, and why it should be.
People don’t like negative thoughts
When you think of climate change, what do you think of? Doom and gloom. I know, I do too. Turns out, this mind process isn’t the best tactic to win over the public into caring about climate change. It instead makes us passive. If you hear so much about how we’re ruining the planet, it feels hopeless, and can make us think “I’m simply one person, no way could I help.” And it’s easier to just ignore it all. After all, ignorance is bliss, right?
“It isn’t a now problem - it’s a future one”
Obviously at the current moment (I’m writing this in the evils of 2020 in December), climate change isn’t on everyone’s mind - our first problem is how to keep safe. But what about pre-covid? Climate change simply seems like a problem for our kids’ kids’ kids’ and if we’re not affected by it, why care? First off, we are affected by it - hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires are getting worse globally, and the worst is yet to come. Secondly, don’t you want to leave a sustainable world for your great grandchildren? I may not know them yet, but I sure do! As a species, it is psychologically our goal to survive, and letting an inevitable problem get the best of us isn’t going to get us anywhere.
We can’t see the problem directly
This is my favorite point of them all because it to me is the best example of why we don’t care. Right now, I’m socially distant and stay at home as much as I can, and I’m not on the frontlines saving people. To me, COVID-19 isn’t my war to fight. I’m just an onlooker who can never really help. Society might feel like this about climate change too. My house didn’t get burned down, so why care? I’m not dying from lung diseases, so why care?
We underestimate the severity of the virus because we’re not seeing it in action. If you haven’t had a loved one get sick from the virus, nor seen first hand the incredibly large amounts of deaths everyday, it doesn't seem as large of a problem as it is. If we actively try to keep learning, to keep stepping in others’ shoes and to keep learning about the severity of the situation (be it COVID or climate change), we can see the problem head-on, and maybe we’ll start to care.
This really interesting video by Vox inspired me to write this article. I hope that by seeing it, you too can understand that even the most fervent of climate activists may have to learn a thing or two about climate change.
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