Owen Wendell-Braly
WP1
Climate change is defined as the long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place, in large part due to the usage of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil. Scientists predict that if nothing is to be done about the current situation, by the year 2050 the effects of climate change will be too severe to reverse — at which point we are all essentially screwed.
While the nationalist perspective on climate change argues that pollution as a side effect of economic prosperity is justified, the primary focus of the world should be to preserve the planet rather than to prosper from its resources. In order to achieve this goal and slow the trends of climate change, it is imperative that we view ourselves globally rather than nationally, because solving climate change will require a global effort to accomplish.
I view myself as a global citizen because I believe the primary solution to solving climate change is to understand the effect we have as individuals on our environment. Although our singular impacts on the environment may be small, the effects of a large population in terms of climate pollution are generally very high. If we think globally — as a single species; the aggregate effect of human-related pollution is colossal. Some may argue that laws prohibiting highly polluting factories or anti-fracking legislation is a solution but sadly — although it does seem somewhat logical — it is not. An interesting article on the effects of climate change and how to stop it by Rob D. van den Berg and Lee Cando-Noordhuizen discusses an idea they call the “micro-macro paradox” — hence the title of their text “The Micro-Macro Paradox: Successful Climate Action But No Global Impact?”. They state that although there have been many interventions in relation to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from various specific sources, said interventions have made no measurable impact on global environmental trends overall. The climate has only continued its downward slide. This is to say that although one might think specific legislation cracking down on greenhouse gases and companies who produce it the most might end climate change, in reality the scope of the world is so large that it will take entire populations changing their ways of life rather than a few companies being more bio-friendly. Therefore, encouraging more people to be global citizens is imperative to stopping or even slowing global warming and the increasing effects of climate change on earth.
A common and unfortunate thread through American nationalism in regards to climate change is that the opportunity for economic gains outweighs its negative ecological effects and therefore, why should we — Americans, have to take responsibility for the climate and lose money when other countries around the world who also pollute it do not. Although there is a conversation to be had regarding the commitment of other countries in regards to slowing climate change, if every country were to think this way, the world will surely be doomed. I believe as “leaders” of the free world and as the most wealthy nation on earth, it is in large part our responsibility to care for the climate and at the least, clean up the mess that we have created. As Americans we pollute more than any other country in the world besides China, however we do not even make it into the top 10 in national spending to offset our emissions. This disparity shows our lack of commitment to the environment and an area in which the United States could and should experience massive growth and as a result, do massive amounts of good for the global community.
Thinking globally means far more than to just recycle your bottles or not use styrofoam. It is a social responsibility we as Americans and more importantly we as human beings owe to each other. Although a global mindset is not something that should be forced upon one another, in certain areas of life — notably climate change and the overall health of our planet, it is (in my opinion) selfish and destructive to both ourselves and future generations to ignore the responsibilities of repairing the damages our species has created. It should be the responsibility of every American citizen to be aware of their individual and communal impact on the environment, and it should also be the duty of said people to try their best to offset their impact. Only when we think of ourselves as global citizens can we truly begin to make a change in combatting the effects of climate change.
Sources:
- Cando-Noordhuizen, Lee, “The Micro-Macro Paradox: Successful Climate Action But No Global Impact?”, Springer.com, January 12, 2017, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-43702-6_2
- Figueres, Christiana, “What the World Will Look Like in 2050 If We Don’t Cut Carbon Emissions in Half”, Time.com, April 22, 2020, https://time.com/5824295/climate-change-future-possibilities/
- Editors, “Climate Change”, Nationalgeographic.org, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/climate-change/
