What makes global climate change so difficult is it feels too big and overwhelming for us as individuals to have any impact.
But that isn’t true.
In our daily lives, we can eat a more climate-friendly diet, including seasonal, local foods; install solar panels, recycle, invest in sustainable technologies, conserve resources and limit our consumption of fossil fuels, among other steps.
As citizens we can support leaders who get it and expel those who don’t from office. Organizing efforts by environmental activists have been responsible for much of the progress we’ve made on the issue; so donating to non-profits who are working on the issue is another option.
But perhaps the most important step we can take is changing the way we talk about it -- not as an apocalyptic inevitability but as a mitigable inevitability. Although it is too late to stop climate change, we may be able to limit its catastrophic effects on future generations.
In this context, converting government fleets to electric vehicles, promoting the collection of rainwater by agencies, and reducing public waste all will help. If governments mobilize for collective action, there may be ways to better prepare our populations for what is to come.
Explaining the impending crisis to young children is appropriate as long as it isn’t done in ways that overwhelm them. After all, they will be dealing with this throughout their lives, so getting used to the tradeoffs early on may spur them to help us find solutions.
Most children instinctively want to make things better; they are our greatest natural resource.
And though the steps I’ve described may seem small in the face of the scope of climate change, they at least represent hope.
Future generations deserve at least *that* much from us...right now.
(This is an update from an essay in 2021. Getting government to take the indicated steps has obviously become much more difficult under Trump.)
HEADLINES:
U.S. intercepted Iranian missiles targeting American forces in Kuwait, Central Command says (CNBC)
Israel seizes Crusader-era castle as Netanyahu orders forces deeper into Lebanon (CNN)
US strike on alleged drug boat kills three in eastern Pacific (Guardian)
Trump floats MAGA rally instead of concert after musicians drop out of Freedom 250 (NPR)
I Asked a Mining Billionaire About His Environmental Philanthropy. It Didn’t Go Well. (Mother Jones)
Race for rare earths sparks concern about environmental damage (FT)
Asia reckons with China as Trump pulls back (Politico)
Blue states pitch 100 percent tax on Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ payouts (WP)
Robotaxis Are Spreading Across the U.S.—and So Is the Backlash (WSJ)
Astronomers finally solve Saturn’s decades-long spin mystery (ScienceDaily)
Chinese scientists leave posts after whistle-blower raises alarm over their research (SCMP)
Ukraine turns real-life kills into video game thrills for drone pilots (WP)
AI Bubble Debate Gets Real as Chip Stocks Rally Turns Historic (Bloomberg)
As the Pentagon pushes for battlefield AI, some military leaders urge caution (AP)
Pit Bull Makes Throat-Slitting Gesture While Owner Not Looking (Onion)
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