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Is fighting climate change a losing battle?
Climate change is and will impact us all. As alluded to, there are many countries who unfortunately stand to make very substantial financial gains from this.
What is likely to be the most successful way of fighting this battle? Who is likely to make the biggest impact - our fellow citizens or our Governments?
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gale kooser 20+
I have yet to hear anyone say: To heck with profits lets work together to save the very home we depend upon.
Greed in this world has reached a point, that compassion is shoved aside for profit.
But can you bring all the people together to save our home? No! Cause it's all about the money.
Megan Blackwell
It may seem that we have become a generation of greed and selfishness. It is sad, but I do not believe that all hope is lost and that if we just worked harder on making people aware of the facts (and not scaremongering which most media seems to be good at), then I think it could change peoples perspectives. I am not talking about the in-depth scientific facts that would make the average man feel out of his depth, but the basic facts, that small changes can make a difference, and evidence of climate change that has already occurred. How can we expect the people to understand if they are not even educated on the matter? I think that if the media went about it more subtly than they have done in the past, people wont get as frustrated with it all.
As for the money side, yes this generation is all about making a profit, but that can be turned in our favor, where we can set up industries to generate and promote green technology.
I just feel that during this time, we need to be optimistic, otherwise we will just spiral into a void where we have just given up and no longer care.
Arjuna Nagendran
I completely agree with Megan, we have to steer clear of spiralling into a void, even though it's all too easy. While the world seems like an evil place, I believe that humans are fundamentally good people. It is when you create situations where people lose identitiy and accountability for their actions that the bad actions or the lack of good action occurs. Something well illustrated by Philip Zimbardo in the talk below:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil.html
We have to find a way to change this world we live in where you buy a pint of milk and don't realise that only 1% of the profit goes to the farmer, where you rush for an iphone and don't realise the human cost it may be having, or on a bigger scale where we waste just so much unnecessary energy e.g. through unnecessary heating/air conditioning.. I'm sure you can all name another 10 examples.
I don't believe that any person would use a shampoo, heavy with palm oil if they saw the animal that lost it's habitat die. Nor do I believe that any Manager of a company who had the power to change things would allow such waste in their organisation if they had to watch the people of the Maldives become displaced from their homes.
We need to find ways of making people look at the impact of their decision in the face and ways of giving those people in Industry who have the power to change things A FACE, so that they know the public can see them.