Being the reasonable, far-sighted and moderate entity that it is, humanity is irreversibly destroying the habitability of the planet it was given. I hope (man, I *hope*) I don’t have to convince anybody about this *fact*. Most of us are not concerned about this. Some of us are a tad concerned about the fact that the IPCC has declared that keeping the excess temperature below 1.5 degrees has now become fairy tales, or about the estimated 3.5 billion people that might be forced to migrate by 2070 because of unliveable climate conditions. Kabir is one of the concerned ones and asks:
What can we do to fight climate change?
Dear Kabir,
Make noise. Flip some tables. Take part in protests and demonstrations. Call your local representative and urge them to act. The time of the half measures is over. Gone. Finished. R.I.P., time of half measures! Riding the bike to work and taking a train rather than an airplane is good and nice. But the perception that it is the responsibility of common folk to solve this, rather than the governments, is one of the biggest victories of the oil industry.
We got our act together when the ozone layer was collapsing. We managed to implement real solutions overnight to slow down COVID-19. Why is it so difficult to do something about a crisis we know it’s coming since 50 or so years? And no, nothing serious has been done yet. Only resources that could be spared have so far been timidly invested by our governments in solving the climate crisis, and only to gain a couple more votes when the elections loom.
So, demand change. Now! Leading climate scientists say we are too late to revert the climate crisis. Best we can do is damage control. The earlier true change happens, the more we can save of our home.
And don’t let anyone tell you that scientists shouldn’t meddle in politics. That’s bonkers! And if people start muttering “but the economy…”, “but the markets…”, “but the GDP…”, good! They got to the real issue here! So let’s overhaul our nonsensical economical system, since we are at it! Obviously an economy that makes us believe in the myth of eternal growth and claims that it doesn’t have the resources to save our home just needs to be put in the drawer labelled “Unbelievable lunacies”.
Do you want to truly know how bad is it? It’s so bad that the people in charge of telling us how bad it is are willing to turn guerrilla and get arrested to raise awareness about how bad it is. That’s how bad it is. Obviously I am not here to suggest you do something illegal. But I can suggest you to get out there and get mad, get outraged, get furious! Because we only have one home and we are suffocating it.
Yours truly
The Sassy Scientist
PS: In case that wasn’t clear enough, I am furious! I am outraged! I am mad!
