Sometimes it’s hard to realize that you are on the verge of something. Often it’s difficult to understand that you’re balancing on the edge. And most of the time it’s hard to predict that one specific issue will define the period of your lifetime.
But today these are all clear to me: climate change is quickly becoming, and will be, the defining issue of our generation.
It may be hard to see, simply because we are smack-dab in the middle of it. I have only recently been convinced, by talking to activists that have been involved in climate change issues for over 20 years, that this issue has never, ever, been this big before. Climate change has never before been scientifically understood to this depth. And never, has there ever, been this much scientific consensus on the issue - or most any other issue for that matter. All of this is happening now. And all of this is still developing and expanding.
Climate change is the ultimate symptom and warning bell of the strains we have put on the planet. It is the first symptom that is so serious, that it is more of a human-survival issue than an environmental issue. It is bringing to light that all the pollution we create and waste we produce is finally having a larger impact than we ever expected. And none of the “typical” environmental issues have gone away - such as water pollution, air pollution, loss of natural areas, etc.
Climate change is, perhaps above all, a social justice issue. We must recognize that, at the root of the problem, it is the western, wealthy, and largely white, population that is genuinely responsible for the vast majority of the emissions fueling climate change. Similarly, it is largely the southern, less wealthy, and coloured people of the globe that are feeling the brunt of climate effects. This is the peak of injustice: when actions from one are harming another, and it isn’t being acknowledged. Even in your very own community, there are people more responsible than others for climate change. And in that same community, there are people who have varied levels of opportunity - whether based on race, class, sexuality, or otherwise.
On a larger scale, people in eastern Africa that have experienced severe droughts for the last 5 years are very familiar with the hardships of climate change - and hardships only make other problems more difficult to deal with - whether it’s putting food on the table or dealing with illnesses such as HIV/AIDS. And this is by no means only happening in far-off foreign places. It may be happening to you, or just 2 blocks down the road.
Such effects differ geographically on every scale. The term “wrong side of the tracks” came from the day when housing developments were built on one side of the city, and industrial developments on the other side (often with the rail-road tracks as the physical divide.) The industrial side was so polluted that no one wanted to live there - so any housing that existed was very cheap, thus attracting a lower economic class of people, who were also largely black populations. This is one of the many consequences of racial oppression that still exists today.
Is this blunt? Perhaps.
Is this reality? Yes.
Have things changed? Not really.
What we are seeing now is that climate change has become a culminating point of an array of local and global issues, and is also becoming a process that will exacerbate all these issues. It is not a pretty cycle to think about.
And we don’t have to - or at least not for long. The issues must be acknowledged. The problems must be made clear. And the many solutions that exist must be embraced. And on with the show our generation must go.
When I say “our generation”, I refer to those of us alive right now - and who will likely be around for the next 40-plus years to see the evolution of climate changes. When I say “our generation”, I think of young adults around the world - each of which is going to experience a different aspect of climate change (for better or for worse). When I say “our generation”, I feel a collective will of good people around the world who understand that changes need to be made to correct the problem and adapt to the consequences.
When I sit back and look at the hundreds of thousands of students and communities across Canada, the US and Australia rising up and demanding institutional change, and see the rising up of empowered youth across southern and eastern Africa creating the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change, I can’t help but feel a surge of a movement. I can’t help but feel that surge every time I email organizers in Kenya, Switzerland, Brazil and New Zealand. Our generation is rising up everywhere because we get it – or at least a part of it. We know the issue and we feel the issue. We feel the issue together, and we are going to change this issue together.
Climate change may be defining us - but we are also defining climate change. Every light switch we flick, every policy we vote for, and every constructive word that we say is shaping how we deal and cope with each other, and ultimately, climate change.
So let it define us. And let it make history. But let’s make it a happy ending.
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Right on Zoe friend.
Zoe, I only wish that the majority of ‘young’ people alive today had your razor-sharp understanding of the issues we face and the commitment to get really involved and do something about it. Human society over millennia has done what any species is programmed to do: look after its own and create the best possible conditions for survival. Alas, we forgot about that simple mathematical reality of exponential growth. Now there are plainly far too many of us for the planet to support comfortably - and this reality has come about suddenly. So suddenly that it leaves many in disbelief.
Please remember that many of other generations are as concerned as you are and are dong their level best to awaken the slumbering population to the true enormity of our situation. I for one. In my fifties, with no more family to look after, I have given up my career as a picture editor to use my abiltites and experience in the service of our threatened planet.
Please get in touch and keep in touch.
with admiration
Diana
How ?
I see people warming up cars for twenty minutes so that their ten minute trip is made slightly more comfortable. ( Suggestion - further tax gasoline and devote the revenue to awareness campaigns ).
I see people plugging in cars overnight in minus 10 C. weather with no timers in-line. ( Again, awareness campaigns )
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A good diary and well said. Think globally and act locally is more than a good slogan. Keep pointing out that to do nothing is not an option, even though the fruits of any act are a long way off.
Al Gore is currently catching flack from the scientifically illiterate over his harmless and childishly upbeat film on climate change. But the biggest flaw in Inconvenient Truth is how it trivializes the problems. We are already in uncharted waters so far as it relates to atmospheric carbon, EVEN IF we were to douse all fires worldwide tomorrow. Fire has been essential to human existence and we have spent the last 10,000 figuring out ever more clever ways to start fires. Dousing ALL fire on earth in 10 YEARS is an astonishingly huge task (and even THAT might not help much for decades.)
Of course, we will probably not have much to say about how many fires must be quenched because supplies of the MOST wonderful fuels of all time are about to start drying up. The difference between modern life and a junkyard is liquid fuels. The difference between 21st century and 19th century reality is gasoline. The designs of our cities, our methods of transportation, our means of providing food–are all based on the assumptions of cheap petroleum products.
The above is from a recent Jerome a Paris diary, where he channels a diary written by techno. This bit is only a small part of the diary that is mostly about economics.
I include it, not to be pessimistic, but to be realistic about the timeline of abating and then reversing climate change. You are right in figuring global warming as a challenge of a generation, perhaps a defining moment of humankind.
I also think that just because the whites got us to this point of climate change doesn’t mean that China and India are going to see the errors made and refrain from proceeding down the same path.
Much work is to be done. Thank you for stepping up.
Here’s a golden oldie - Conserve Water / Shower with a friend
Yes! Let’s meet the challenge.
Excellent food for thought.
My grandparents grew up in the era of horse and buggy. Their winter fuel was shovelled down the coal chute into the basement. Electric lights replaced gas lights just as they had replaced whaleoil lamps in turn.
We will find ways.
(PS Don’t forget to crosspost at The Next Agenda)
i read yr other diaries
this is another good one from you, thanks.
so how was the kenya conference–is this diary a result of that? and didja take the train across africa to get there? hmmm. that shoulda been an adventure.
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re: old wobbly
Thanks -
This diary (blog) is partially a reflection as well as an expansion from Kenya - as well as pieces influenced from recent environmental justice discussions within working situations.
(Did not take the train unfortunately - It was the most carbon-intensive trip of my life, quite ironically.)
Hey Zoe,
I just read your note re: Climate change being the issue of our generation. I just wanted to let you know that I think that it was very well-put. I also admire you for what you are doing as an advocate for the issue.
I might be a Conservative, but it doesn’t mean I’m evil (like some of them, particulary some social conservatives). I’m actually a libertarian and think that, in general, the government should have less involvement in our lives and for that reason agree with a lot of the principles of that nature, which many Conservatives also share. However, on the issue of the environment I think that the government needs to provide leadership to the people on this issue so that it is us who are individually making the conscious decision to change the way we lead our lives.
Keep up the work you’ve been doing and good luck.
Kevin
Excellent Diary!
Crisis= Danger & Opportunity
My personal belief is that we will survive. We’ll find a way. Rather we’ll find the many ways that will make a difference.
Is the western/northern/white world primarily responsible for this mess? Yes. Is is a matter of social justice? Yes (and thank you for putting it in these terms because often diarists ignore that part of the problem)
Willy’s right about our wasteful Canadian lifestye. We’ve got to improve. Our commercial and manufacturing sectors have to improve. Our governments have to show some leadership too.
In Ontario Mike Harris refused to implement an upgraded building code. Since 1995 tens of thousands of homes have been built here that should have been more energy efficient.
Keep fighting the good fight.
Zoe, very eloquently put. Thank you for sharing and defining the depths of how so many of us feel.
take care sister
much love
i read this last night…and loved it. i copied it and sent it to adam (name with-held) for the green perspectives journal. i hope you don’t mind. he was looking for more submissions and i thought this would be good. if you don’t want it in, just let me know and i’ll tell him not to use it.
but seriously… it just beautifully vocalised what a lot of us are feeling. thanks!
xoxo
louise
rock on Zoe! and Shadia and all around the world who are coming together to fight global warming!
Zo, you continue to inspire me. Brought a little tear to my eye just now, for real. And, what a beautiful photo.
On a lighter note, WWF just released a t-shirt in support of climate change action that says “hotter than I should be” I thought that was kind of cute.
Love you tons,
Kat
Great stuff Zoe
I would love to read this at one of our rallies/etc, to inspire everyone. Thank you for that!
Ben
Well put my dear. It is that passion that will ultimately change others ways of thinking. The good news being that passion is seems to be spreading:)
We’re all with you!
Em
Global Warming/Climate Change as a prominent political issue is quite new. Things seem to have to get desperate to be addressed in the political arena. I do think you are right in that we have reached a tipping point and this is the defining issue of our generation. This is about survival and quality of life for everyone.
I thought this point of yours was particularly important
I never thought of it quite this way before. I have been pondering this for the last day or so since I read it. It really is a social justice issue. I am looking at ways that I can do better, but it is an issue that we have to press our politician to address.
One thing that I read somewhere was the term climate change vs. global warming. I can’t cite the reference but what was said is that global warming is the more specific term about the current conditions. Conservatives have used the term climate change as a way of decreasing the problematic aspects of climate change. Global warming is connected to human behaviour whereas climate change can be part of the natural cycle. I am not a purist but I have begun to notice who is using which term. Just a thought and comments if you have come across this issue.
Re: pioneer111 (& Arclite, below)
You are right regarding where the term climate change comes from.
I think the most correct term is “climate crisis”. Apparently most people identify with the term “global warming” though.
Global warming refers to the overall increase in average world temperatures we will see.
Climate change more specifically covers the range in effects that this temperature change will cause.
And climate crisis goes one step further to address the severity of the issue.
I figure that what matters most is that the issue can be communicated in a way that moves us forwards - and I guess that depends on who you are talking to!
z
Good analysis the term climate change vs. global warming
I have read the same reasoning on the terms. It amounts to the careful and calculated use of words to impart a judgment to a statement ( framing for spin ). Some will argue that using the term ‘global warming’ is an attempt at putting a spin on the subject. Be wary of those people.
Terminology
I had also noted the whole climate change vs. global warming thing and thought about commenting on it to Zoe.
On the one hand, you can argue that some areas will get hotter and others cooler so climate change might be accurate but I tend to use global warming for the reason you stated, p111: the neocons are trying to water down the issue by using a more euphemistic term.
I don’t think it matters much in the context of Zoe’s diary since she’s preaching to the choir.
Globe and Mail article
I just saw a comment at DailyKos about an article in Saturday’s Globe & Mail called Climate change a ‘questionable truth”. As I responded there, this article confuses the issues and basically minimizes the effectiveness of human solutions. It grudgingly says we have to do something but it tries to belittle Al Gore’s presentation. It is clever but insidious. It is an attempt to sideline the issue. I bet it will provide a lot of conservatives with talking points.
Here is one of the comments from readers:
It infuriates me that conservatives continue to get such coverage in the papers. How blind can they be? The Liberals need to win the next election.
“Courage, my friends; ’tis not too late to build a better world.” Tommy Douglas
Read her long article….
gagged frequently.
Being a Liberal means never having to say you’re Tory. Lloyd Candow, Pasadena, Nfld.
And also it’s Margaret Wente -
So you know which way it will lean before word one.
Very interesting diary
It is amazing and scary to think of the world being small enough now that we can perceive how an action here in Canada can have an effect on the other side of the world, and that a network of people all over the world can communicate so rapidly to discuss the action and the effect. Very cool.
Yes!
Climate crisis is an excellent term. I’m going to start using that instead of global warming.
thanks for this insightful diary
We are the 1st generation that has an opportunity to react to the reality of global warming. I hope future generations will be able to look back & be proud of us!
It is hard to be on the verge of something so huge. The perspective becomes skewed. When we recently took my 3 yr old son to the Rockies, he wanted very much to “go to the cold mountains” pointing at them in the distance from our vantage in Boulder. But when we got up in them, he looked around asking “Where are the mountains?” He could no longer see them on the horizon. I took him a while to reorient that the rocks, the trees, the cliff faces, valleys, views, (and elk!) were the mountain & he was on it.
May we all recognize what we’re on & reorient ourselves as quickly as possible!
About Generations….
I was extremely disturbed when Barack Obama said it was the failure of the Baby Boom Generation to take care of global warming since some of us worked to bring the issue to the world’s attention……
Yes, get together as a generation, but never forget that there’s always the class warfare problem. The Elites want EVERYTHING for themselves. As Jared Diamond said, many Elites cause catastrophe because they don’t realize that they will be destroyed, too…only they’ll die last.
It is necessary to get the Elites to realize that we’re all in this together, no exceptions.
I never thought of it like this:
That’s a profound statement, and entirely in keeping with history.
I pray that we can redeem ourselves.
Not Generation…
GENERATIONS!
(If we even survive that long…)
Great diary! Some comments.
But today these are all clear to me: climate change is quickly becoming, and will be, the defining issue of our generation.
I posted in comments the exact same thing a few days ago. This is completely true. The “War” on terror will be but a footnote 50 years from now, even if there’s some kind of biological or nuclear attack. GW on the other hand, even if we had the willpower to make the necessary sacrifices, would still have a drastic effect on our planet that will last for hundreds of years. Without change (and I see none forthcoming) the result will be billions (not hyperbole) of deaths from heat, starvation, and extreme weather events. Much of the planet’s available living space made unlivable and our generation will be blamed for not taking early action (the stitch that saves nine).
I noticed that you never used the term “Global Warming.” When I hear the words “climate change” it makes me think of a right wing semantic change, b/c it is more innocuous. I’m wondering why you chose those words?
Climate Change
I purposely say climate change and not global warming because warming is not the principal effect. The greenhouse gases do heat up the atmosphere but the effects are not always more warmth. Higher concentrations of greenhouse gases mean wilder swings in temperature, both hot and cold, more severe storms and weather, changes in climactic patterns and systems. Some believe that a warmer atmosphere will lead to cloudier skies reducing the sunlight that reaches the ground and thus possibly resulting in a new ice age.
I know it is a Republican construct, probably a Luntz invention, but, in this case, I believe “climate change” is more apt and accurate than “global warming.”
In point of fact, the more effective greenhouse gas is not CO2, not methane, but H2O, water vapor. Luckily, water cycles through the atmosphere much more quickly than CO2 and methane (and the stratospheric ozone depleters like CFCs and methyl bromine).
i am so grateful for the work you do
after i posted the comment, i thought it was really sort of dumb.
thanks for yr diaries, and until we get the energy-thing under control, we just gotta carbon-intense sometimes… i was just sitting under the redwoods here, doing our saturday confab in the nightdark, talking about how we’d live with no electric, no propane–heh. well, we’re working to figure it out.
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No Happy Endings, I Fear
It may very well be that climate change is already past the point of no return and anything we do today and tomorrow will only ameliorate some of the changes that are happening even now. In Queensland, Australia they will be drinking recycled waste water because of the severity of the drought, the BBC reports. The government there was considering a referendum on the issue but decided that it was a necessity rather than a choice. Last month, Lohachara island sank beneath the waters of the Bay of Bengal and 10,000 people had to find new homes. The warm weather in New England in the last few weeks probably means that many of the Spring buds will be killed by the current winter cold.
We must make changes in our own lives and the way we organize our societies but it will be more about saving something from the disaster than avoiding the full catastrophe. We have lost too much without even noticing it to have a happy ending.
Fight like hell to make sure that more isn’t lost but I don’t expect that we can save it all. We have diminished our world and will have to live with the consequences. That should most definitely not be an excuse to diminish it further. Make the necessary corrections but remember it will take decades if not centuries for the climactic changes we have already set into motion to reach equilibrium and that equilibrium will be different than the one we’ve grown up with.
Another “generational” responsibility we would be wise to consider.
re: happy ending
I understand that I personally won’t experience the “happy ending” I refer to - this is a long-term vision.
In the short-term, I agree, we will see (and already have seen) the effects of climate change. But I do feel a strong sense of responsibility to future generations, whose climate is literally in our hands.
z
Canadians lead the way
Light Up the World Foundation is dedicated to providing solidstate LED lighting to the Third World.
Emphasis mine.
And guess where they are based?
Alberta!
Amercian Idol seems like the defining issue of my generation
Could very well be -
However, my guess is that the knowledgeable climate activist (and I mean that in the most pragmatic of terms) will become the new “american idol”, as he or she takes on this issue.
Hello Zoe - great article! I find the youth of today more energized and included to become political over the environment than any other issue.
A friend from The Next Agenda thought you might be interested in a diary I did, its a humor piece about a gay couple adjusting to recycling, etc.
I’ll put a link to it at Next Agenda. Keep up the good fight!
http://www.thenextagenda.ca/story/2007/1/30/104814/062
Once again, and as mentionned numerous times above, great inspiring stuff Zo ! I`m so glad to see that your experience in Kenya, and I believe more particularly at the COY (youth conference) rather that at the COP itself, has had a memorable personal impact in you. Keep on passing on the message, our friends from Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Togo,etc, etc are also there with you, fighting every day to survive the impacts of what we (industrialized nations) left behind.