Personal Responsibility Is A Key Component of the Climate Change Battle
Photo Credit: DisobeyArt/Shutterstock.com
By Alekhya Maram ’21
“Climate change.” Though the phrase is rooted in science and data, it has become fraught with emotion, evoking images of inundated islands, raging forest fires, and cities choked with pollution. Despite the near consensus of the scientific community, the growing body of climate research, and the pleas of younger generations, the United States (and much of the Global North) has failed to make any substantial headway in combating the issue. Emissions have continued to rise steadily, and we have already exceeded 1 degree of warming.
The question begs to be asked: how have we allowed this to happen? Why have we elected an intellectually impotent president bent on eviscerating environmental legislation? Why are we constantly highlighting the economic costs of transitioning to green energy when the cost of warming-induced damage is slated to exceed today’s global GDP? Why have we continued to turn a blind eye to the crisis when we have seen an uptick in the prevalence of climate-related disasters within the last decade?
At the heart of the climate crisis is convenience. Plugging your phone into the wall, taking a bite of your tri-tip sandwich, climbing into your car each day—none of these actions necessitate any thought. For better and for worse, capitalism has created a culture of convenience, where anything and everything one could possibly want is at one’s fingertips. Everything is just so easy, and for this reason we have allowed ourselves to be lulled into a kind of complacent inertia.
It’s not just convenience that makes this crisis easy to ignore. It’s the distribution of the climate burden. Despite the fact that the United States and Canada emit some of the highest levels of CO2 (both per capita and overall), the Global South will be most impacted by the repercussions of climate change due to its proximity to the equator, poor infrastructure, and a dearth of funding. South and Southeast Asia will be hit particularly hard, as hurricane-fueled deluges, extreme heat, sea level rise, and malnutrition converge to create unlivable conditions. If we do not take action now, millions—if not billions—of people will suffer.
If we are to have a chance at preserving humanity, we in the Global North must understand that we cannot continue living in excess. The importance of tackling emissions produced by corporations, and transitioning to 100% renewable energy cannot be overstated. But the change can’t end there.
We must also acknowledge our individual responsibility in creating this crisis. Even if we were to become 100 percent net-zero emissions today, our overconsumption would still be driving Earth towards the point of collapse. Halting global warming will require nothing less than a lifestyle change. We must downsize our homes, make a switch to public transportation, eschew meat in favor of plant-based diets, preserve our fresh water, and much more. We must give up the simplicity of convenience, and most importantly, the privilege of not having to think about the consequences of our actions. Because pretty soon, they'll be impossible to ignore.
