You order a new pair of sneakers. They are made mostly out of recycled materials. There’s a bit of rubber in them, but the manufacturer has a plan to recycle even that when you are done with them. The factory these sneakers are made in is powered by wind and solar. The workers are paid fairly and treated well. The sneakers are flown over on a plane partially powered by bio-fuels and any remaining emissions are offset by purchasing carbon credits. When your sneakers land, they are sorted and placed on an electric powered delivery truck that brings them right to your door. Cool sneakers. They look great on you.
Sound like a fantasy? It is… but it doesn’t have to be.
We have the technology to make this story happen today. We can make electric cars, we have bio-fuels, solar and wind power are cost competitive. So why don’t we do it? That’s actually pretty simple… greed. The truth is, we’re going to let our world burn in order to maximize shareholder value and keep a few rich people rich.
These vested interests want you to believe that if you only car-pooled to work and ate veggie burgers that climate change would go away. In other words, they want you to believe climate change is your fault, not theirs. Bullshit. Individuals cannot stop climate change. Only aggressive action from the world’s governments can solve a problem of this scale.
The title of this article is “Climate Change Is Not Your Fault”. This is true, but it is your responsibility. It’s your responsibility to vote for politicians who support aggressive action on de-carbonizing our economy. And it’s your responsibility to hold them accountable for doing it.
Don’t get guilt tripped into think climate change is your fault, we have the technology to live comfortable lives without the need to burn carbon. We just need the political courage to make it a reality.
And hey, if you want to car-pool and switch to veggie burgers, that’s cool too.
Indubitably Dubitable 