The current climate crisis is a hot topic of debate right now—but many articles and arguments depend on the assumption that everyone knows the ins and outs of what’s being discussed. Below is an extract from Global: An Extraordinary Guide for Ordinary Heroes by Lyla Bashan, where she gives an overview of some of the challenges facing our environment today. Order your copy here.
Let’s not beat around the bush.
There’s no point in making life better for humans if we’re destroying the planet that those humans live on, or if the impacts of environmental
degradation undermine all our efforts to raise living standards around the world. Climate change isn’t just a problem for people living in the global south. It’s everyone’s problem. The impacts of natural disasters (many of which are linked to climate change) simply don’t respect national borders. Climate change causes all sorts of crazy weather events (floods, storms, torrential rains, typhoons, etc.). When it does, poor people often pay a higher price because their infrastructure is typically poor-quality, and therefore less resilient to extreme weather, and because many are farmers at the mercy of the weather and Mother Nature.
In 2013, 21 million people were displaced because of climate-related disasters. That’s nearly three times the total population of New York
City. Worse, most of that displacement happened in countries with weak, or non-existent, coping mechanisms. With more and more of the world’s land becoming uninhabitable (due to desertification or flooding) and governments unable to respond, global migration is increasing.
Environmental disasters can also compound the effects of man-made disasters, creating complex emergencies that lead to increased global instability. For example, a climate change induced drought in Syria magnified the impacts of the civil war and could have contributed to the rise in power of the Islamic fundamentalist terrorist group, Daesh.
Politics and the Environment
Where the environment and global affairs intersect, countries need to work together to slow environmental destruction, especially climate change. The Paris Climate Conference held at the end of 2018 is the latest round of talks between countries to reduce carbon emissions. Through the United Nations, countries are making commitments to reduce their carbon emissions and strengthen climate resilience, in the hope of slowing climate change.
While climate change affects everyone, it doesn’t affect everyone equally. Developing countries tend to produce less carbon than their developed counterparts, yet are more affected by environmental shifts caused by climate change. Also, most developed countries started emitting more carbon dioxide when they began to industrialize their economies (following the example of now-developed nations, like the US and the UK). Today, however, rich countries are asking poor countries to develop their economies without damaging the environment. Fortunately, rich countries have committed (through the UN) to give poor countries $100 billion every year to help them reduce their carbon emissions and to help them mitigate the effects of climate
change.
Politics and the environment also get tangled up when it comes to the question of oil. To put it bluntly: Americans are addicted to oil. Oil gets turned into gas for our cars and is also used in manufacturing (to produce all that plastic you see everywhere, to give you one example). The US is currently one of the largest global suppliers of oil, but we need more than we produce, so
we rely on Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria to make up for the 50 percent shortfall in domestic production.
Our reliance on imported oil means that we are beholden (economically and politically) to oil-producing countries whose values or political goals we don’t necessarily share. Worse, changes in the price of oil tend to hit our economy, when it goes in the wrong direction. Not to mention that oil is running out. Some estimate that we’ve only got 47 years left before supplies dry up.
As a short-term (some say short-sighted) solution to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, US companies are increasingly using environmentally-destructive methods of sourcing natural gas, such as fracking. Fracking means drilling into the earth and pummeling underground rocks with a high-pressure water mixture to release the gas inside. Environmental concerns around this practice are high — especially on the question of whether it
causes earthquake tremors.
Adding insult to injury, our reliance on wood for construction and consumer goods means that every year, around the world, we cut down roughly the size of Panama in forest (an estimated 18 million acres). And our dependency on coal creates air and water pollution that crosses state and international boundaries.
Here’s the bottom line: when it comes to the environment, the choices we make today affect the future of our planet, and our endless appetite for cheap fuel, cheap food and cheap consumer goods is ravaging the ecosystem. (Remember that next time you drive to the mall to buy that new t-shirt that you want. It’s not always easy to shop ethically, but here are some helpful tips.)
The good news is: renewable energy sources offer a clean alternative to energy production. And, when it comes to developing renewable energy sources, the government can and should have a significant role to play in encouraging business innovation and encouraging individuals to adopt new technologies (such as providing tax breaks for installing solar panels). These alternative energy sources (including solar, wind and hydroelectric power)
are gaining in popularity, and are a great way of cutting carbon emissions — especially in developing countries.
Climate Change
Global temperatures are becoming more erratic and menacing, which has been proven to be linked to climate change. Climates everywhere are becoming more unpredictable. We’re seeing more floods and rising water lines. If these trends continue, much of the land that’s currently inhabited by humans will soon be underwater.
Climate change is primarily caused by having too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Increased carbon dioxide creates the ‘greenhouse effect’. Greenhouse gases love to linger in the atmosphere, forming a ‘blanket’ that covers the earth. So: when heat from the sun hits the earth, it should (under normal circumstances) be reflected back through the atmosphere; however the blanket of greenhouse gases traps the heat, raising the earth’s
temperature. Most scientists point toward human activity as the primary cause of the recent climate change, because deforestation and burning fossil fuels significantly increase carbon dioxide emissions, which then worsens the greenhouse effect.
Cleaning up industries costs money (and polluting the environment is
cheaper than being green). The question then becomes: Who pays to clean up the environment? Governments or companies? Between these two, if you’re the one meant to be picking up the huge bill at the end of the industrial meal — it’s unlikely you’re going to lobby hard for strong action on climate change in the first place. Of course, not cleaning up industries also costs money, it’s
just that the bill for doing nothing tends to arrive late. Getting the
balance between theory and practice right can be tricky business.
The Kyoto Protocol is a United Nations treaty committing member states to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It acknowledges that the main responsibility (ethical and financial) for climate change falls on developed countries since it’s their industries pumping most of the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Alas, the Kyoto Protocol hasn’t been very successful in getting countries to reduce their carbon footprint — in large part because the US Congress refused to ratify it. The US is the second largest polluter in the world (behind China), which is why any meaningful action on climate must have US support if it is to succeed.
Small Changes
Reducing global carbon emissions might seem like a really big effort. And I bet you think that there’s very little that you can do to help. But, don’t discount small differences: they really do add up. Whilst the 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions are (frustratingly) slow to take action, we can still do our bit.
Climate action movements are especially prominent in 2019. You can join in strikes, join an organisation fighting for change or support environmental charities and nonprofits. If you’re old enough to vote, research which candidates and parties have the best mandate to tackle climate change. The Green Party took a record number of seats in the European Parliament during recent elections in Europe because people were doing just that!
Cutting down on plastic use is another essential move as the presence of plastic in our oceans reaches unprecedented levels. There are obvious choices, such as refusing plastic shopping bags and ditching single-use plastics. But remember that some plastics make living easier for disabled people, so be considerate when sharing your own advice and lifestyle tips.
When I was living in Washington, DC, I signed up for the more expensive, environmentally-friendly electricity source for my house. While I know that just one home using green energy isn’t going to save the world, without market demand for alternative energies, market supply will dry up. And the more of us that get on board, the bigger difference we can make. Of course, some efforts to reduce our carbon emissions aren’t financially accessible for everyone—we can only do what we can.
Another way you can help to reduce carbon emissions is by eating less meat. Raising cattle (and other livestock) takes a toll on the environment in several ways. I say ‘other live-stock’, but cattle are the biggest culprit because they need the most water, food and land for grazing. If you ate just two fewer
hamburgers every month, then it would reduce carbon emissions and free up farmland to grow more sustainable crops. You would have an even bigger impact on reducing climate change if you stopped eating red meat than you would if you stopped driving your car. Chew on that!
Doubtless, you know the slogan ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, which dates back to an effort in the 1970s to help tackle the problem of waste (including food packaging). Sadly, most people only heard the ‘recycle’ part; and even though recycling is better than not recycling, the very act of recycling our waste uses up precious natural resources. If we did more reducing and reusing, we could have a more positive impact on the environment. ‘Reducing’ means looking for products that have less packaging, or buying products from the bulk section of your grocery store. You can reduce the number of disposable water bottles you use by investing in one reusable water bottle, and take your coffee with you in a travel mug rather than grabbing coffee in a disposable cup.
‘Reusing’ means washing out your sandwich baggies after you use them rather than chucking them in the garbage can. These are simple, easy things that you can do that, when they’re all added up, really do make an impact. Even something as little as turning off the faucet when you’re brushing your teeth makes a difference!
