Author: exs877

 

The issue of climate change and fixing issues with the environment has been something that has gained so much ground in the past few years. This has created an important question that many seem to ask: what will the Earth be like in the future? We are changing many things in our environment, and if we keep with the same rate we have for the past few decades, then who knows what lies ahead. I do think, though, that it is important not to focus solely on the future, which leads me to an important argument of this blog: Worrying and focusing on the future alone is a setback to change. Yes, acting proactively is a great way to help, but focusing on the possibilities in 10 years from now takes the focus away from today. If we put our focus on today, then the issues that we see will no longer be in question when ‘the future‘ rolls around. An easy, and also relevant analogy, is when you are worried about a test so much that you put off studying and focus on the worry instead of doing something productive to ease your anxiety. Focusing on the content of the test will help make the end result something much, much better. This is the same for almost every issue I can think of.

I have talked a lot in this blog about various ideas about how I think people should act, and what I think is the best way to approach something. Because of this, it may seem like I think I know everything about this topic, but I don’t. I think there is a certain way that people should go about enacting change, whether it be environmental or something else, but that all boils down to my core beliefs and what I have taken out of life. Feel free to keep on doing whatever you are if you are so inclined; people shouldn’t always just do what they are told by some college kid on a blog. Rather, take into consideration what I have said, what everyone has said, regarding this issue and form your own way on how you want to progress.

Writing a blog like this is very odd for me. I am a very quiet person, and I am not passionate about anything that is not Star Wars, reading, music, or nature. Because of this timidity, I never share the ideas that fly about in my old noggin, so writing an 8 post long blog where I just kind of let all my beliefs run amok is… different. I am kind of on the border regarding caring about issues and not caring about issues; I have firm beliefs that I hold, but I almost never find it necessary to convince others or go out and make change. I don’t, nor do I ever plan on voting, protesting, or sharing my political beliefs with anyone in this world. This allows me to just stand by and witness how people go about advocating for issues they care about, which brings me to my final point of this blog:

Sometimes, it is necessary to take a step back from what you care about and view it from a different perspective. Continuously being involved in something is exhausting, and exhaust leads to a dangerous area of frustration that causes you to act unlike your normal self. I would say that this is one of the reasons much of America, both politicians and people, has become so radical in their beliefs as opposed to a few decades ago. This fatigue and over exposure has led to people becoming more extreme and obsessive when trying to push their objectives, which has greatly affected the topic of climate change. So please, if there is anything that you truly care about in the world of politics, civic issues, or what not, try to take this step back and relax for a bit in order to return with a fresh mind and a lively heart.

 

I am very content with the direction I took this blog in. This is probably the only area of government and civic issues that I give a shred of care about, so I didn’t want the blog to be like the other approximately 1000 environment blogs on the internet. I wanted to go past the issues of how to make change and what we should be doing. It is necessary to dive past those initial observations in order to get to the steak and potatoes of this topic. Climate change is not just about cleaning trash off the side walk or voting for a candidate, it is also about how you should approach the topic and how you should act in order to complete your goal, whatever that is.

I think a good start is to not panic, as I talked about in the previous post. Additionally, I think it is great to educate yourself on what is really happening, and to do this you should look up academic journals to gain knowledge. I would recommend steering away from the media, as their main goal is to not research and accurately inform the public. This is a great way to assess the situation for yourself based on opinions of professionals and trusted groups. If you react this way to hearing about the ideas that are wrong with the environment, then you can gather your own ideas on how to make a difference and start acting in ways that you know can help. Another benefit of this reaction is that it promotes education surrounding the topic, which helps ease the fear that you may initially feel.

Another way to react is by actually going out and doing things to help. If you research and still feel passionate about the topic, then going out and doing something is a great next step if you feel inclined to help. In my previous posts, I mentioned small ways that one can help reduce their footprint, and ways that some companies can help reduce theirs. Any action, no matter big or small, can make a difference, so I would encourage you to do anything that helps. This type of thing is not for everyone, so going out and doing something like picking up trash is not the only way to make a difference. You can also help educate others, or even voice your concerns regarding pollution to the public; any action, not just physical, benefits the cause. This is something that I think is important to keep in mind, not just for this issue, but for any issue that you feel passionate about. You do not have to get out there and be physically engaged in order to make a difference or be apart of a movement.

Another way to react is to not even react at all. If you research this issue and you think it won’t really affect you, that it does not matter to you, or that other issues are worth you attention, that is fine. I often see people who just don’t care about climate change be berated because they are ‘ignorant’ or ‘lazy’, and I am really not a fan of this. I encourage those who care about a specific subject to try to encourage others to do the same, but not everyone in this world was made to believe the same way that you do, and not everyone cares/wants to be involved in something like that. Some people just want to live the life the way they want, and do not like the politics or intricacies of something as involved as the topic of Climate Change.

What I think many people fail to see is that everybody not only has the choice to do something, but also the choice not to do something. Voting, having kids, going to college, getting married, watching TV, reading: these are all things that many people want to do, but also things that many people do not want to do. Just because I like to read does not mean that I should berate others for not wanting to read. Just because I do not want to have kids does not mean I should scoff at those who do. And just because I care about what is going on in the environment does not give me the right to belittle others for their choice not to. Again, I am getting more into a philosophical side of this argument, but when analyzing the topic at a whole, I think it is necessary to talk about not only the content of the Climate Change topic (how to help, what causes pollution), but also HOW to approach various concepts or actions with it. The latter goes hand in hand with this class, I believe: learning how to discuss (deliberate) in a productive and civil fashion, placing an emphasis on facts and word choice, and many more ideas.

I guess the main idea out of this post is: everybody has different interests and beliefs, and you should not belittle them for not caring about something that you do, because you most likely do not care about something that they do. We are all different, and we should respect that fact when we are trying to convince others to react to an issue, like climate change, that we care about.

The short answer is no, it is not ending, nor will it anytime soon. The majority of contributions of climate change only started around the mid 1900’s, and it is silly to think that humans would be able to end life on Earth within a mere 100 years of carbon emissions from factories and vehicles. I am personally not a fan of the whole “The world is ending” narrative; spreading fear about a subject does not create a positive reaction by the public. Take the recent talk about the Coronavirus for example: people are scared for their lives and have taken to stockpiling goods as if they will not be leaving their houses for months.

To address the rising CO2 levels: yes, they are higher that have been seen on earth for a long time, but the global temperatures and sea levels have fluctuated greatly over the course of Earth’s history and there seems to be nothing alarmingly different about the current temperatures or sea levels now, it is pretty much only the CO2 concentration that is not normal/expected, but this is no reason to panic and buy years of canned goods in bulk.

The contents of out atmosphere have also changed greatly over time. There once was a point where out atmosphere was made up more oxygen, which allowed for plants and insect species to flourish (if you have ever hear about there once being insects the size of dogs or birds, it is because the high oxygen levels allowed this large growth). The atmosphere, like every other aspect on this planet, changes, although the levels of CO2 today are obviously influenced highly by human. I think a reason as to why people panic so much is because they have neither a frame reference nor a comprehension about how vastly Earth has changed due to the relatively short span of significant human impact on our planet. This is similar to something like space and space travel: it is difficult to even comprehend how big and how far things are in our solar system because we do not experience things of that much grandeur in our daily lives.

The big question is: how can we change these carbon levels? Well, as is evident with the cyclical change of our atmosphere and temperature, the Earth is always going to change and it is always going to follow this pattern. This means that we are most likely only accelerating the journey to the next period of high temperature, subsequently followed by a period of declining and low temperatures. In short: the Earth is always changing and I do not think that we can anything to stop this. So what ever we do (reducing carbon intake, move to renewable energy, etc.) will only slow the progression to the next peak in temperature. We will never be able to make the Earth not change and us humans, unless we use something like 1 million nuclear weapons or some large amount of power not even invented yet, will most likely be completely and utterly unable to destroy the Earth forever. We will probably be able to destroy much of life on Earth, but new life will just emerge just as it has in the past mass extinctions that have occurred on this planet. This probably will not happen for hundreds of thousands to millions of years from now though (which is just a complete estimate based on the ice age cycles, temperature cycles, and how long typical species typically live on Earth). The Earth will eventually be destroyed though by some event in space, whether it be the sun or meteor. This Quora Thread has a lot of interesting ideas on it regarding what I have said and will say.

In conclusion, I think a lot of the talk regarding “Humans are killing the Earth” and “Earth will end because of us” is dangerous because 1) it ignores the history and everchanging cycle of our planet 2) it inspires fear in the public that leads to irrational actions 3) it creates the idea that humans are significant enough to make a lasting indent on our planet. Yes, it is sad that a certain species will go extinct, but this is the way it has gone on for millions of years, both with and without human influence. This is more of a philosophical argument about whether you think this planet was made for us and that we should do everything to extend our influence on if for as long as possible, or whether you think that we are just another species like the billions that came before us and the billions that will come after us. My philosophy regarding this is to make the best out of everything in the moment: save a wild animal from slaughter and poaching, clean the plastic out of your neighborhood pond, walk instead of drive. We can do what we want to make ourselves feel the most comfortable on this beautiful planet and make us truly respectful to nature, but acting like humans can truly disrupt the cycle puts to much of an emphasis on human existence and I think changing this cycle is something that is not in our power, nor should it ever be.

 

To actually make a change, you do not have to commit yourself to hours of community service, running for office, or creating a foundation; most of what is extremely effective in enacting changes are the many small actions and decisions that we make during our daily lives. You dont need to be some loaded billionaire to be able to create a change, although I do admit it helps. Simple things like not leaving your light on, keeping the water off when you do not need it, or unplugging devices when not in use can add up, especially when this happens across a large number of people. Like I said in my last post, your actions DO matter, and these small things will add up to create significant change.

See this video for a comical approach on how much weight (literally- kg of CO2) that your actions have on the environment. There is no need to go into drastic measures such as refusing to use a car for a 20 mile commute, but keeping in mind how much of an impact that your smaller actions have is beneficial in reducing your footprint. Most of this reduction comes out of reusing items, which brings me to my first point.

Single use items like water bottles and bags can be easily switched out for reusable versions. I have seen many organisations or places make this switch to help enact change. For example, Penn State has implemented those water bottle fill up stations around the dorms, commons, and building to promote multiple used for liquid containers. They have also recently implemented a reusable bag only policy at the convenience stores on campus like Louie’s in Redifer Commons, along with the Green-To-Go containers to discourage Styrofoam use. I wish they would completely take away the option to get the paper cups and Styrofoam containers; there is no need to have them when Green-To-Go is an option. Still, it is small actions like this that will create a change.

For the second point, turning off/unplugging devices when they are not in use saves a lot of energy. There is no need to keep your phone or laptop plugged in all night. It will take up to an hour total to charge and will end up wasting energy when it is sitting idly at 100 percent (even when it is fully charged and plugged in, energy is wasted). Also, it is harmful to your laptop in general to it plugged in all the time when you are using it. Another way to create a small bit of change is turning off lights when a room is not being used, this counts not only for your own room, but for any room that is not in use. There are many study rooms in my residence hall, and if I leave one and no one else is there, then I turn off the light(s). There is no need for them to be on, and I think if everybody started to be conscious of something like this there would be a significant change.

Thirdly, emissions from vehicles creates a large impact on the environment, so if more people were to take public transportation or walk (when these methods are applicable) then this would cut down on a lot of air pollution. In my high school, there was a teacher whose house was a 2 minute walk down the hill, but she still drove to school. In a situation like this, driving is unnecessary and hurts more than it is efficient. Also, if you are in a city and can take a bus or subway, then that is much more efficient that driving.

I walked to school almost everyday from middle school to high school (unless the weather didn’t allow for it), it was about a 14 minute walk, so think about how that would equate to ~4 minutes of driving each day that were missed out on because I chose to walk instead of drive/get a ride from my parents. I know many other did this as well, and when something that is seemingly small like this gets repeated by many people, it is very impactful.

Going along with this train of though, I see a lot of people who use public transport at PSU, but also a lot who walk, ride bikes, and use skateboards. This is much more beneficial than those who drive or use electric modes of transport like scooters or the electric skateboards (I honestly do not comprehend how lazy you have to be to use a electric scooter to get to class). Not only are walking, bikes, and other non-vehicular modes of transportation beneficial to the environment, but also to your health.

Overall, keeping track of the small actions and decisions that you make everyday can allow you to start making change while altering your lifestyle very minimally. If you are curious on more ways to help, this article gives other general actions you can do to make a larger change.

Imagine walking down the street and you just finish your bottle of soda and you go to throw it out… but wait… there isn’t a garbage bin anywhere in sight. You contemplate throwing the bottle to the side because, come on, it’s just this one time. What is one bottle going to do? You’ll make sure you throw away the next thing I use, right?. But, the next time you do this, the same thing happens: “Come on, it’s just this once”.

What hurts, or helps, a society are the individual actions of each person. When you adopt the lazy attitude that makes you want to toss the bottle to the side of the road, you take part in the actions that create the damage in the environment. When you throw it, you think in a very isolated point of view, but neglect to think about how many others have done that same thing today. This ushers in questions like: “Well what do my actions matter when put against 20 others?”, or “How can I make a difference, I’m only one person?”. The individuals make up the community, and therefore the actions of each individual, like I said before, allow the issues to worsen or become better. So, yes, your actions really do matter. Regardless of whether or not there are other people who counteract you, the act of you throwing that bottle into the dirt does not change the fact that what you did adds to the problem. These are the same ideas that arise when people question if their vote matters.

Now obviously this is a topic that is philosophical and does not have a definitive “yes” or “no” regarding whether your actions matter, but I think this issue is what is holding back a lot of change, therefore discussing this topic is very important.

I think that if more people were to adopt this mindset, then there would be less of an issue regarding climate change today. Yea, the corporations make up a chunk of the pollution, but like I emphasized in my past post, the strongest impacts (the last 3 paragraphs) are created by the community. If the individuals in a city decide to toss that bottle on the ground, then within a day there will be 1000 more bottles on the streets. In each of these cases, each individual thought in the very narrow view. They made a decision because they believed “What’s one bottle gunna do?”, but failed to understand that, when that question is asked by every single person, that “one bottle” becomes thousands.

I think it is effective to see this issue as some sort of race, where, for example, throwing the bottle to the side equates to taking a step back, and recycling it equates to a step forward. Why, in any case, would you want to take a step back? Even if there are 20 people who litter, then why not recycle to try to at least gain back one of those steps. Thinking in the sense of the big picture, and not a narrow point of view centered around yourself, will do wonders in combating a lot of the issues what we currently have today.

It is a difficult process to try to get past the “My vote/action doesn’t matter” state of thought. It is hard to think that, in a sea of 300 million people, one person is able to make a difference. Thinking about it now, It is hard for me to completely grasp that. Going back to another analogy: If a group project has 10 people in it, and 2 decide to actively go against the groups goal, then not only do the other 8 people have to make up the work for those 2 people, but they have to combat the actions that were done to set the group back. I would say that this is a good way to look at the issue of individual actions like littering or using plastic bags. When you do something like throw a bottle on the ground, you not only hurt the environment, but you effectively counteract the actions of someone who decided to recycle their bottle.

As a little note to close: If you come across the question of “Do my actions matter” and decide, after thinking about how one person’s say can possibly make a difference in a group of 300 million, that it doesn’t matter, then there are several thousands of others who went through the same thing and reached the same conclusion. These numbers add up, and when 10,000 individuals decide that their actions do not matter, then it starts to show on the large scale.