If you truly care about our planet, stop talking about climate change.
You are exacerbating environmental degradation rather than solving it. You are convincing people that carbon emissions are the biggest threat to the planet and that everything is the fault of industries and politicians. By promoting this view, you absolve individuals of personal responsibility for environmental stewardship. In reality, carbon emissions are not nearly as serious as pollution, water waste, and loss of biodiversity--and those are all things that are directly impacted by the everyday actions of individuals.
The mainstream conversation about climate change is controversial and counterproductive because it isn’t actually about saving the planet--it’s about blame. Blaming industry, blaming politicians, blaming other countries, blaming everyone except ourselves. I am not here to argue about whose “fault” it is or why any of this is happening. I am here to ask you to change the future by changing the narrative: to stop talking about climate change, and to start talking about environmental sustainability instead.
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| Vancouver, whose Greenest City Action Plan is an excellent example of forward-thinking planning for a sustainable future. Image: https://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/greenest-city-action-plan.aspx |
Environmental sustainability is about accountability, not blame. It’s about us as individuals being conscious of the resources we consume, the businesses we support, and the people we admire. It’s about making difficult decisions and sometimes sacrificing to preserve our planet and protect quality of life for everyone.
So I’m asking you to stop inciting fear and helplessness around “the threat of climate change,” and to start envisioning the future of environmental sustainability. As we enter the fourth industrial revolution with unimaginable acceleration of technology and human progress,1 we have the unprecedented opportunity and ability to build clean, healthy, sustainable societies. The first industrial revolution was good for the economy, but not so good for the planet. This time, we can do things right--if you show people a better way forward.
I’m asking you to stop telling people it’s all big industry’s fault, and start teaching them that they have the power to change industry. Right now you advocate revolution in the grand style of the Romantic Era, with people rioting in the streets and disrupting infrastructure under the banner of Green, but that’s not what the planet needs. We need people to take personal accountability for their impact on the planet and start changing the world through mundane, daily decisions. We need people who conscientiously purchase sustainable goods and experiences, avoid wasting water, and patronize cleaner forms of transportation. That is the “revolution” that will save the planet.
I’m asking you to stop worshiping people who are making no real contributions to the future, and start showing off real changemakers. Greta Thunberg is not a hero. She was taught (by you) that grownup politicians and CEOs and celebrities should take care of the planet. They won’t, and they can’t, because legislation is not nearly as effective as grassroots movements and widespread individual change. The real heroes of environmentalism are not currently well-known. Gabe Brown is a hero. He’s teaching people how to transform environmentally-catastrophic industrial farms into healthy, productive ecosystems. Gator Halpern and Sam Teicher are heroes. They’re using cutting-edge technology to regenerate coral reefs and save marine ecosystems. Daniel Blake is a hero. He’s making organic fertilizer out of food waste that would otherwise rot in a landfill. His website includes this quote: “As a country I think we are too smart collectively to not be able to innovate and develop sustainable solutions.”
I’m asking you to listen to people like Daniel--to stop discussing environmental issues in terms of trying to outrun a catastrophe, and to start igniting minds with the possibilities of the sustainable future. John Muir, whose boundless imagination and commitment gave us the National Parks, said, "The power of imagination makes us infinite." We can imagine a future of clean energy, clean water, clean air, healthy and abundant food, beautiful places, connection with nature, and greater economic prosperity, but only if we stop focusing on the problems and start focusing on what we’re capable of.
I’m asking you to stop trying to determine whether technology is good or evil, and instead to recognize that it merely amplifies our capabilities.2 With technology, we can run faster and faster down the destructive spiral of unsustainable development, overconsumption, waste, and blame, or we can use networks, design thinking, and other tools of the modern age to rise into a future better than we can now imagine.
You, the media, hold the power of shaping opinion, inciting action, and defining history. Right now you are failing the planet and the human race. We need you to take accountability for the narrative around environmental issues. We need you to teach us about our individual responsibility toward the environment. We need you to stop the cycle of counterproductive blame and start the process of innovation and growth. We need you to bring us into the future.
1 Slack Post by Eliza Anderson, November 7 on #5 - Empire and Industry↩
2 Slack Post by Jacob, October 24th on #4 - Romanticism and Revolution↩
I thought this post was very well written and the requirements for this post were integrated seamlessly! However, one argument I might change is redirecting the emphasis from CEO’s and big industry can’t save the planet to CEO’s and industry can save the world if we use our grassroots and purchasing power to enable that change. Then give examples how. Your section on who the real heroes was great, I think more specific examples of what we can do would only improve it (some specifically related to how we can keep big industry accountable while we stay accountable at the same time). Similarly, mentioning networks and design thinking as tools available to us today could be contrasted with previous eras of time where lesser technology has been used to make bigger positive changes in the world than we see today, and emphasize that we need to be more productive and responsible with our resources and abilities.
ReplyDeleteKaylee,
ReplyDeleteThe reference to Daniel Blake’s quote perfectly sums up the attitude that should prevail, at the very least, among the general public. While industry and big business may be too entrenched in self-serving paths to ever change their courses of action and/or media personae, brighter minds may prevail if the general public bands together to create a more individualized force for good. This leads me to believe that a change in audience might cause your message to reach a greater good. While advocating for less focus on climate change in the media would certainly be helpful, I believe that an emphasis on raising awareness on the effectiveness of grassroots movements would lead to more positive change. Rather than tear down inaccurate media representations, I believe that the most good will come to reaching out to the well-minded Gator Halperns of the world who are willing to make change, and informing them of the possibilities of their actions.