Fighting Climate Change (Globally)
“The world needs new sources of reliable, affordable clean energy, but it has been dramatically underfunding the research that would produce these breakthroughs.”- Gates Annual Letter
“In philanthropy, you look for problems that can’t be fixed by the market or governments. The clean-energy problem can be fixed by both—as long as governments fund basic research and create incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and investors are patient while companies turn that research into marketable products.”- Bill Gates
Climate change is an issue we can no longer ignore. From children in the South Bronx to farmers in Bangladesh- there are millions of people across our world, who aren’t causing this crisis, yet will be the most affected….and are being affected as we speak. Children in the South Bronx have some of the highest respiratory diseases in the country, while farmers in India and Bangladesh are already seeing their land dry up without other sources of income or livelihood to turn to.
I believe that our optimal health is reached when our bodies are whole- through good, slow food, a loving community, and a sustainable environment. That includes our climate.
So why is it so hard to create policy and reform that will reflect the need to aggressively reduce our carbon emissions and our bloated dependency on fossil fuels?
is it because our politicians are getting funded by oil, coal, and gas companies so they refuse to even listen to resolutions that would mean less money in their pockets?
is it because we have made climate change political?
is it because we are scared of the transition period that would happen with workers and training?
are we just scared of change?
Whether we pay now or pay later, some way or another we will. And the cost remains high.
Whether we pay attention to our environment now or wait until it’s too late— it will be better for us to act in haste and it be unnecessary in the long run than to not act all.
Within the U.S alone, California and Colorado are burning up, there is flooding in Nebraska, there are hurricanes along the east coast, and Florida is basically sinking before our eyes. Internationally, flooding has caused massive death tolls along Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and heat—related deaths across the Eastern Hemisphere are only going to increase.
This issue is hurting us in other ways as well:
disease-carrying mosquitoes are traveling further than respective borders as our global climate continues to increase.
the growing and frost season will lengthen, making agricultural production harder which is not something we want to be facing as our population increases.
countries are preparing in wild ways— Pacific Island Kiribati, bought land in Fiji to pace themselves for a move of its entire population, for the inevitable disappearance of their own land—- especially as the coral reefs diminish.
So…..what do we do? What is being done? How do we get people on board?
For those of us who are and can— vote out politicians who don’t have an aggressive stance on climate reform. Not everyone has to agree with the Green New Deal (why wouldn’t you?), but if this is an issue that is important to you— vote for some change that reflects what you want to see for the future!
Here are some more educational resources, literature, and news to take you further:
Watch these documentaries to understand our issues visually:
Climate Refugee: “Climate Refugees is the first feature film to explore in-depth the global human impact of climate change and its serious destabilizing effect on international politics. The film turns the distant concept of global warming into a concrete human problem with enormous worldwide consequences. Experts predict that by mid-century hundreds of millions of people will be uprooted as a result of sea level rise and an increase in extreme weather events, droughts and desertification. Little is being done to plan for the potential mass migration of millions of refugees who will be forced to cross national borders. According to the UN, there are already more environmental refugees in the world than political or religious refugees. The Pentagon now considers climate change a national security risk and the phrase "climate wars" is being talked about in war-rooms.
The filmmakers traveled the world for nearly 3 years to document the impact of climate change, witnessing inhabitants of countries forced to leave their homes by climatic events with little or no protection. The film features a variety of leading scientists, relief workers, security consultants, and major political figures, including John Kerry and Newt Gingrich. All make a strong case that, whether human-caused or a product of nature, the changing climate is already creating humanitarian disasters and will inevitably lead to worldwide political instability. Climate Refugees was filmed in Bangladesh, Tuvalu, China, Fiji, Chad, Sudan, Kenya, Maldives, Europe and the US.”
I would also read this IMPORTANT criticism of the documentary as well!
Chasing Ice: “In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change. But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk.
Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.
As the debate polarizes America and the intensity of natural disasters ramps up globally, Balog finds himself at the end of his tether. Battling untested technology in subzero conditions, he comes face to face with his own mortality. It takes years for Balog to see the fruits of his labor. His hauntingly beautiful videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. Chasing Ice depicts a photographer trying to deliver evidence and hope to our carbon-powered planet.”
An Inconvenient Truth: I would try to describe it, but this article does a lot better.
Read These!!
Get an intensive understanding of what exactly we are up against!
These are the two countries that are already leaning into the green!
Which R (out of reduce, reuse, recycle) should we be pushing more aggressively? What should wealthy countries do with their plastic waste now that China no longer is buying it?
Chile and Solar Energy has never looked so good together!
Looking towards the past to solve current issues? Sounds pretty cool if you ask me!