Global warming has been a well studied and advertised issue across the globe for the past few decades. With a threat level of possible human extinction, you would think this issue would be on global populations priority list. But the truth is, not everyone can afford to worry about global warming.
In almost every corner of the globe, there is a political party or an NGO that is pleading for people and lawmakers to turn their attention towards the spiraling effects of climate change and combat this growing threat. A noble and worthy cause no doubt, the issue of climate change is one that threatens the very existence of the human race and has already caused the endangerment of much of the earth’s wild-life. Unlike 40 or 50 years ago when the term was only heard by climate scientists and experts in the field, today, global warming is widely studied across the globe and its causes and effects are well known by most.
This begs the question, why haven’t we seen any significant change in combating this social and environmental catastrophe?
Despite the urgency of the matter and plenty of scientific evidence to support the claim made by environmentalists, the world is still far behind uniting global communities to even begin to care deeply for climate change, let alone act against it.
Although it’s evident the world is beginning to take notice of this looming threat, the efforts of intergovernmental bodies such as the U.N. and Environmental Organizations to slow down and eventually reverse the effects of climate change are beginning to prove futile. This isn’t surprising when you consider that the percentage of people around the world who view climate change as an urgent matter and are able to contribute to the fight against it are a small minority of the earth’s population.
As things stand, many families would not consider global warming a top concern. Although they may accept that is a great threat to upcoming generations, it is not necessarily viewed as urgent as providing food and shelter for their families, maintaining a steady income and ensuring the immediate safety of their loved ones. When you consider that nearly half of the world is living on less than $5.50 it is quite easy to understand why climate change is not on the top of their priority list.
A cry for attention or an effort to raise awareness is always a positive step, however, in the case of climate change, we are not facing a lack of awareness or knowledge towards the matter. The main issue is that the large majority of the world is unable to worry or consider climate change when they are struggling to fend for themselves, a community where people are worrying about food, shelter, hygiene and other immediate needs does not allow for the contemplation of global warming or it’s long term effects. Before we shove campaigns about the negative effects of climate change in the faces of these people, we must ensure that everyone can afford to turn their attention towards an issue as pressing as this without worrying about their basic needs on a day to day basis.
How can we expect most of these people to deeply care for the environment and prevent it’s demise when they are starved or their fundamental human needs. It is completely delusional to think that human beings living in life threatening conditions will pay attention to a concept as distant to them as climate change is. As counter intuitive as it may seem, the first step to combat climate change is to uplift global standards of living in order to allow for the luxury of caring about global warming.
