Although I know it's pathetically naïve, young people around the world trying to make their voices heard about the issue of climate change this past Friday has given me some hope.
Of the signs I saw on Friday at an event in Red Bank, the one being held by a ten-year old that said "Respect Our Future" was the most powerful and the most heartbreaking. That sign prompted me to imagine a conversation with my future grandchildren should they ask me what action I took to draw attention to climate change. If you're already a grandparent, how would you answer?
Given the overwhelming scientific evidence, what reasonable explanation can any world leader offer for continuing inaction to begin addressing this crisis? My concern deepens with every article I read, every podcast I listen to, every rally I attend. But I'm committed to continuing to do the little I can and hopefully influence the small network of people in my life to do the same. I owe that much to the future.
https://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2015/09/awaking-my-activism.html
About Me
- Pat Barton
- My most recent single release - "My True North" - is now available on Bandcamp. Open my profile and click on "audio clip".
My first thought is how do we get China and India to feel the way we do about climate change.
ReplyDeleteEd; Thanks for reading and your comment. Given China is already ahead of us in their use of alternative energy (i.e. not fossil fuel) sources, and they are still aiming for the goals established at the Paris accords (which the U.S abandoned in early 2017), I'd be more inclined to think we should be thinking like them vs. the other way around. India, though they also have agreed to adhere to the Paris goals that the U.S. no longer stands by, is, I agree, more of a problem. But I was always taught we were the country that the rest of the world looks up to and follows. Is this no longer so? Based on the info quoted on page 6 of the current edition of "The Week", the only way we're leading on this issue is in the number of climate change deniers vs. the citizens of every other developed nation. 15% of Americans deny the science. Huh?
DeleteHi Pat, I am going by a graph of carbon emissions since 2000, which I posted on Facebook. China +208%, India +155%, Other +53%, USA -10%, Europe -16%. Since the USA was going to be the major financial contributor at the Paris accords, Trump did what was best for the USA. We are doing our fair share. I find most of us agree on things when we get to the truth. The problem is we are all being fed different facts. I am all for cleaning the environment but not to the point of crippling our manufacturing to the point that we cannot be competitive. I think whatever we do should be in moderation. I think we have a long way to go but I also think we are doing a good job.
ReplyDeleteEd; Thanks again for continuing the conversation. I sincerely appreciate the reasonable way you presented your information. And, you are right that we all select different facts about complex issues to support our view on that issue. Psychology calls this phenomenon "confirmation bias". So, rather than continue an online conversation - the next part of which for me would be to parse out what that graph (factual as it is) does not say - why don't we talk on the phone? BTW, kudos for using real vs. "alternative" facts in your response. As you also point out, you and I are aligned in another way, i.e. we are probably closer on this issue than most of the jackasses who scream at each other on TV. In my view, many of those fools get paid big $$$ to disagree just for the sake of cheap entertainment. Their audience? Idiots watching just so that they can confirm their own biases and stay in their comfortable bubbles.
DeleteI agree, what's being said on TV is a show. Just so you know, I looked up total CO2 emissions by country and we are #2 behind China. Although the graph shows we reduced it by 10%, we have a long way to go. By the way, China is 4 times greater than the USA. So I'm glad they are doing the things you said.
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