Why Didn't People Act Sooner On The Climate Crisis?

Hi Everyone!

Welcome back to Green World, where today I wanted to talk about why people didn't act sooner about the climate crisis, when we have known about this issue for decades. I asked myself this too, and it wasn't until I read the chapter about it in Greta Thunberg's book that I started to understand the reasons behind why action was not taken sooner, and why this crisis has been allowed to escalate as far as it has.

As someone who has only been on the planet for 14 years, a part of me does resent people around long before I was for not having acted on an issue that they knew would continue to affect people around the world. They knew it was not an issue that would go away, so why didn't they act, when it was easier to do so? Changing our now very ingrained habits is so difficult, whereas fifty years ago, ways of life could have been more easily influenced.
Well, there are a few reasons why action was not taken to combat climate change sooner.

1. Fossil Fuel companies

Unfortunately, people were lied to. Fossil fuel companies, let's face it, wanted money, and everyone suddenly no longer wanting to use their business anymore would have been just a little inconvenient. They took tactics from the tobacco industry, in convincing people that they were not in the wrong, that the science is uncertain, and so much more. This was done through advertisements, campaigns and misrepresentation of evidence. They funded research to deflect from the issue, told people they needed to manage their personal carbon footprint and even questioned the credibility of climate scientists.
They fed into and influenced politicians and ultimately the public, creating a warped view of this crisis, and delaying action being taken and decisions being made.

2. Infrastructure and renewables

Fifty years ago we just didn't have the infrastructure and renewable energy technologies to sustain a fossil fuel free life. They could have been fazed out but the solar, wind, geothermal, biofuel and other renewable technologies were not as advanced and developed. Transitioning to renewables is much easier now that these technologies are at their best yet.

3. The science wasn't AS advanced

The science was there. But we didn't have the last however many years of evidence that this issue is real and it is happening now, today. The science is complicated, and most people probably don't really understand it, but now, thanks to many campaigns, educational documentaries and books, more people have a basic understanding of what is happening, and therefore a basic understanding of the extent of it.

4. Climate change is affecting people now

It isn't a thing of the future anymore, and maybe that's why we are beginning to wake up. Maybe that's why we are beginning to take action. People today are feeling the effects of climate change, people today are feeling the effects of rising sea levels, of more extreme natural disasters and the extent of wildfires. People are living through this now. And I'm in a very privileged position where I can say that so far, climate change has not affected my life in any major way. But there are so many people, especially in developing countries who are feeling the effects of climate change today.

We don't want to be the next generation not to act. We don't want to be the ones who failed to turn it round. This is our only chance to fight climate change, on both a personal and community level. Through managing our own choices to protesting, this is an issue that we can find solutions to, and one which we can continue to fight. Let's be the generation who ACT.

Your Green World Blog Team💚

p.s. thank you so much for all of your support recently - it's been incredible!!

Sources:
The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg

Images:
This image is owned by a blog editor

Comments

Ecosia

We all need to do something to save our planet: it is no use just leaving it to Greta Thunberg! She is very inspirational, yes, but she can only do so much. She isn't superhuman! The climate crisis is up to us; up to you. We all have to get stuck in. Research, learn, discover and most importantly: never give up! The world's animals need us. The world's trees need us and a simple way to do this is to switch to Ecosia. Ecosia is a search engine but it plants trees while you search the web. Okay, it doesn't have as many websites as google so you may want to have google as a backup but it plants trees: this is your opportunity to make a simple change. Just google Ecosia and search to plant trees. Make a difference. Image: This image is owned by Binyamin Mellish on pexels.com .

Announcement: Factfile

This image is owned by a blog editor.

Ways to help make your household environmentally friendly

We have told you a bit about the problems that the environment is facing in previous posts but we haven’t told you how to help the environment around the house. You don’t even need a garden to make a difference! Ways to help stop global warming Tip 1: Turn the lights off when you leave a room. Tip 2: Walk or cycle on short journeys. Tip 3: Don’t have the windows open and the heaters on at the same time. Tip 4: Never leave your engine running Tip 5: If you can, buy an electric car as these produce less Co2. Ways to help stop plastic pollution Tip 1: Buy a water bottle. It seems simple but every year the UK uses an estimated 13 billion plastic bottles. Tip 2: Use a bar of soap and a bar of shampoo instead of shower gel and bottled shampoo. Some say soap can dry your skin out but if you do your research you can find plastic-free high-quality soap, perhaps at a price but it depends on where you get it from. Tip 3: Make...

10 Animals on the Edge of Extinction No. 10- The Javan Rhino

The Javan rhino is listed as the 1st animal on WWF’s list of the 10 world’s most endangered animals, and I for my part, had never heard of it! If you hadn’t either, we’re changing that now. A bit about the rhino’s lifestyle The Javan rhinos are now exclusively found on the island of Java in Indonesia, but were once found in vast regions of northeast india and Southeast Asia. They have a dark grey colour which looks almost black when wet, and their (often pink) skin folds look a bit like plated armor. Both males and females have lower incisors which resemble tusks that they use to fight. Males have one relatively short horn of about 25 cm (10 inches). Javan Rhinos live in tropical forests, marshy areas and in the thick bush. They are mainly browsers and eat over 100 plants species they find in the forest, weigh between 900 and 2300 kg (1984-5071 pounds) and are between 3 and 3.2 meters (10- 10.5 feet) long. How endangered are we talking? Javan rhinos are the most ...

16.08.2020 Animal of the week: Elephant

Hello. On the 12th of August it was International Elephant Day, so we decided that this week's post should be about elephants. Elephants are the largest living land mammals. There are three types of elephant; the African bush elephant; the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant. African elephants have larger ears, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears. Elephants use their trunks to breath, bring food and drink to their mouths and to grasp objects. Elephants' legs are like pillars. They carry the Elephant's massive weight. African bush elephants weigh 6000kg, Asian elephants weigh 4000kg and African forest elephants weigh 2700kg. Basically, they are very heavy.Elephants eat grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots. Elephants can live up to 70 years old in the wild. They communicate by sight, touch and smell. Sadly, these wonderful mammals are in danger. African elephants are listed as vulne...

August 2021 Factfile - some news, animals and a plant

Welcome to our August factfile, News Bad news :( Fires in and around Athens Athens has been under siege this month, but not by any army. The forests all around the capital and in other parts of Greece and Turkey have gone up in flames. Houses have been destroyed and thousands have been evacuated. The reason is, of course, climate change . “It’s been crazy over here. Between the extreme heat and the wildfires, it feels apocalyptic,” Eleni Myrivili wrote in an email on Thursday as the army was deployed to assist firefighters. “Ash is raining down on us here in Athens.” England's lake district in peril Lake District, a popular holiday resort in the north of England, is now eroding faster as a result of climate change and an increased amount of walkers due to the pandemic. Paths that were once two meters wide are now at least 12 meters wide on some walks. Also visitors tend to walk off the path, endangering local wildlife. With...

June Top Tips | Fast Fashion and Consumerism

Happy June everyone! This month you'll get introduced to the topic of fast fashion. It is a big thing, not only because of environmental reasons but also touches on topics such as child labour and exploitation. We know this sounds pretty grave once again, but here is some good news (surprise, surprise!): You can do something! Read on to learn about what fast fashion is, where the problems are and what you can do better. 1) What is fast fashion?! Fast fashion is a term for the ever-changing demand and supply loop of the clothing industry. Every season people want to wear different things, and different clothes are in style. That leads to people buying clothes, wearing them as long as everyone else thinks they're great and then jumping to the next wave of clothes. The demand of the masses changes quickly and the clothing industry has to react just a step ahead of them to make money. The goal is to produce the wanted clothes as quickly, as chea...

Major ocean currents and how they affect global temperatures

Hi everyone, This week we're talking about ocean currents. Ocean currents are part of the ocean's circulation system and influence local and global weather patterns. They are produced by gravity, differences in water density, winds on the ocean surface and Earth's rotation on its own axis. They cause the movements and exchanges of different ocean properties such as salinity, temperature and nutrients. Ocean currents can flow at speeds of up to 4m per second however most flow at speeds between 5cm and 50cm per second. Weather patterns and ocean currents constantly influence one another. Ocean currents follow similar paths as global wind do, transferring heat from the equator to polar regions. They create and influence ecosystems worldwide, especially marine ones. However they also spread plastics and microplastics around the world far from their original source. This system of ocean currents is often referred to as a global conveyor belt. Today w...

Metamorphosis

Hello! Today we thought it would be good to explain exactly how metamorphosis works. It's a term that we often use when talking about frogs, butterflies or other animals, but we've never actually explained what it is or how it works. What is metamorphosis? Metamorphosis is the term used to describe the changes that some animals undergo when turning into adults. It is a physical change that happens after birth/hatching. There is a brilliant quote from the website a-z animals that I just couldn't put any better: unlike the typical subtle developments in animals, metamorphosis is dramatic. It’s controlled by a release of hormones in the cells. Mammals usually move from adolescence to adulthood and old age gradually, maintaining their form and shape. However, in metamorphosis, an animal moves through those stages and changes from one form or shape to another. How does metamorphosis work? Let's take the classic butterfly example./d...

March Top Tips // 10 little things you can avoid in daily life

Welcome to the Top Tips this month! We'll be talking about 10 things you can avoid using in everyday life. We know it's a really simple topic, but it can actually make quite a difference. The avoidable stuff will be things many use because they look nice or taste nice or similar, but aren't actually necessary. We will also write a couple of facts on these things, and give ideas on how you could substitute them if possible. Many might be very obvious, but think about it, do you actually not use them? Have fun! Chewing Gum Most people would not be surprised when told that lots of chewing gum have synthetic colouring and flavouring. However, most people would be surprised when told that chewing gum is largely made of plastic. What the companies call the "gum base" is plastic and partly made of the same stuff plastic bags are made of. The gum contains microplastics that, if you spit your gum on the ground often tend to get into the oce...

Green World

Search This Blog