There’s a sense of inevitability overshadowing the world. The fight to stop climate change could be all but over. All we have been doing is pointing fingers at politicians and industry leaders. However they do not seem to care much about the personal problems posed by their failure to do anything meaningful. Diego Arguedas Ortiz suggested a different take when he contributed to the BBC on November 5, 2018.
Tackle the Personal Problems Posed by Warming, Yourself
Diego Ortiz believes there are a number of ways we can water down the personal problems posed by the climate situation. While our individual contributions may be small, they would add up to something significant if all 7.6 billion people joined the movement.
The single most important thing to do is to reduce our personal consumption of oil, carbon, and natural gas. While this may present personal problems posed by lifestyle changes, we really do need to halve our consumption. We can take practical steps like driving and flying less, switching to greener energy providers, and changing some of the things we eat and buy.
We Can Change the Way Politicians and Industrialists Behave
For instance, we can vote with our feet by shunning products made by irresponsible companies, put pressure on our city and state representatives, and even change our political affiliations. One of the most meaningful things would be to leave the car at home and use public transport.
If this seems even harder than changing our diets, we may like to think again. When we watch other people on television battling extreme weather events because we could be next. The personal problems posed by waiting for a bus fade into insignificance, compared to losing a home. Moreover, halving our meat intake would be good for our health too.
On a philosophical level we should not wait to be told what to do. We need to take action now and today.
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Preview Image: I Look Up in the Sky and Wonder What Can I Do
