The world has 10 years to control climate change
I chose this article for the blog post because the title grasped
my attention right away. The article addresses global warming and the effects
it is having on everyday life, while also posing possible solutions to the
problem. The Paris climate agreement that was created to reduce global warming
decided to have all countries strive for a change of 1.5 degrees Celsius or
less; however, this requires that all countries and companies work together to
decrease things like carbon emissions. Another problem is that the population
is supposed to grow by about 2 billion people by 2050 which could result in the
land used for food being used to grow trees in order to help take up some of the
carbon emitted into the environment by society. Global warming has been causing
the coral reefs to vanish and many wildfires to arise, and another change of up
to 2 degrees could cause 99% of the coral reefs to be wiped out. The article
also says that people are just trying to “buy time,” which reminded me of the
Junot Diaz article when he said people are “hiding behind veils of denial.” This
article shows that people need to accept the idea of global warming and move
towards more renewable energy sources to actually have an impact on the world.
Do you think it is possible to convince the vast
majority of people to convert to more renewable energy to reduce global
warming? What are some ways you think would be effective in spreading knowledge
about global warming? Why do you think people keep “buying time” instead of
trying to fix the problem directly?
I think one of the most major roadblocks in terms of combatting climate change is that so many people push it to the side because they don’t believe it will have a direct impact on them in their lifetime. I think that this is the exact mindset that must be targeted and influenced. We must acknowledge the importance of protecting the environment for future generations. There is also so much evidence of damage that is already manifesting today. This suggests that there are many effects and types of damage that we likely will see in our lifetimes, especially since as the article mentions our population will drastically increase by 2050. The article mentions again and again the importance of countries working together to combat this, and I agree that that must be done and that this issue must be seen as a priority. I also think that there are some people who are still in denial of the entire concept of climate change as a whole. This calls for further education and spread of information on the issue. People must know how real and detrimental climate change is. In terms of the use of renewable energy, I think it should be pushed/ advertised more and made increasingly accessible since the article mentioned we need to more than double our use of renewable energy in the next ten years.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely think it's possible to convince people to switch to green energy, but I think it's going to be pretty difficult. Green energy will have to be cheaper, more efficient, more profitable, and more convenient than fossil fuels before that happens, and that's a long way away considering how entrenched fossil fuels are in the world economy. I think we need better education. A lot of states still teach that climate change isn't real or that it's "just a theory" as if theories don't hold just as much weight as laws in science. As for why people keep "buying time," I think a lot of people don't care because there aren't any negative effects in their day to day lives for it to matter. If there were more clear signs, there would be more lasting changes.
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