I have nearly lost any hope that our planet will escape a climate disaster. As people say, the planet will survive, but humans may not. I tend to disagree. Humans are pretty resilient and I am sure even the last remaining humans would find a way to milk this planet for their survival (ok at that point I wouldn't blame them for that).
The Problem
This planet, the only one that supports life in the entire universe that we know, is dying. We are killing it. We know. And we still don't fucking care. Most of us, at least. Probably because we will be dead before the planet is dead. Might as well enjoy the ride then, no? 😊👍
I am so close to giving up hope. I won't curl myself into a depressed ball without any will to live though. I am relatively pragmatic. If the world is gonna die, I might as well try to make the best out of it and advance humanity before the climate becomes unendurable or we leave for Mars. Hahaha, so funny. We have such a beautiful planet full of wonders right here but we are interested in a lifeless piece of earth millions of miles away. There's lots of potential for mining, construction, and space travel business up there. Lots of potential for cash. 🤑
Wohoo! Isn't humanity beautiful? And let's be clear - it isn't all humanity that is like that. Our species is super adaptable to whatever social system it is living under. The problem is that the current social system which is sustaining the super-rich places on this earth (and which the less-rich ones inevitably try to copy) is based on exploitation. Exploit the planet, exploit people. And all under such a smug pretence of "I know what I'm talking about, this is business 🥸", which inspires people from all over the place to do whatever they can to make money. Money is holy. Money is the new religion. If not to all people, it is to some, and those are enough to take everything that isn't fixed and nailed for their personal profit. The logic works this way: If others do it, I can also do it. If nobody says something, what stops me from exploiting? Oh, and don't forget how our system idolizes money and the people that have it!
Yet, aren't many good things coming from money? This isn't supposed to be a rant about money. Money per se isn't bad or evil. Of course not. The problem is a societal system that has replaced morals with reverence for money.
Hope and Words
And yet, I cannot convince myself to abandon hope. What can move rocks, what can change minds, what can touch hearts? Violence or words.
It's just that all these words that have already been spoken feel so redundant to me. Scientists try to warn people with facts, environmental organizations with images and reports and climate activists with protests. Alarming words are spoken and hopeful words are spoken. It's all already been said. Plus, then there is the counter side with the ones who favor life in wealth more than the death of the planet in the future (even an average family in the G20 can afford some luxuries kings and queens would have given a lot away for). How can I make my melody be heard in a storm? What additional value will my words provide? That is why I have been silent so far - it's hard to see the point in speaking up.
But perhaps we just need to repeat the message of urgency and importance again and again and meet people with as much empathy as we can.
There will always be haters. Haters gonna hate. Although I must say the level of toxicity between climate activists and deniers (or even just conservatives) is scary (both ways sometimes). I think that whenever we speak up for or against something, we are going to draw the animosity of adversaries. People whose sole purpose seems to exist in attacking others personally and hating them because they receive more attention than them in their petty lives. Greta Thunberg is world-famous but most of her haters are not. Human greed and jealousy are just surprising. Again, this is an issue I largely attribute to the widespread lack of morals in our societal system.
How to Change A System?
What, what, what can I do? I can mostly understand those climate activists who are incredibly angry at rich governments and businesses. It angers me too. Apart from those science deniers in our society, we know that human-made climate change is a thing. We know that it's happening and we know we are causing it. We know how bad it's likely going to be (and even if reports are exaggerated, it will still be very bad!). We have seen our summers get hotter, more wildfires occurring than ever before, and rivers drying out. The ocean is now fuller of plastic than of fish - and fish are grossly overfished. 96% of the world's mammal biomass is humans and their livestock. Should I keep going?
And yet, nothing really changes on a large scale. If anything, our hunger gets bigger. It seems to be assumed by all large countries to be imperative that their economies grow. That people live better and better lifestyles, even though they are already so much better off than 200, 100 or 50 years ago. It bothers me to see people my age conceptually agreeing to the issues of climate change but then giving a damn about turning the lights off, recycling things correctly, turning off the heating when they're in a building where they don't pay for it (even though they know about the energy crisis too well in their own homes), and refusing to do without their 1-week holiday to Portugal, Spain or Morrocoo (or the geographical equivalent).
Installing wind and solar power is going to have a limited effect if you're unable to stop increasing your power usage year by year. Besides the fact that many countries are still focused on drawing energy from coal, gas, and oil. Ah, I am only waiting for the moment we are sold clean oxygen in bottles or cans.
Forward...
So yeah, as you can hear, I am kind of upset. Sorry for the negativity in this post.
Yet, I am still alive and here and going to speak up. I owe this to my planet, which has given me wonders and even my name (Dünya means world or Earth). Every little bit counts, even at the risk of annoying or angering people.
So, to also finish off with a quote from The Lorax (which I totally recommend):
Unless someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It is not.
Let's care an awful lot.
-Dünya