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

Maldives - the direct impacts of climate change

Welcome back, Today we’re looking at the direct impacts of the climate crisis . The main reason why people don’t believe in climate change is that they can’t see it with their own eyes. So, we’re going to have a look at the Maldives where the effects of climate change become more obvious with every passing year. Maldives The full name of the Maldives is The Republic of the Maldives. It is an independent country made up of about 1 200 islands in the North Indian Ocean. The northernmost island is situated 370 miles away from the mainland (India). The islands are actually the tips of an ancient volcanic mountain range that is now almost completely submerged. In fact, the highest point is 1.8m-2.4m above sea level with the average elevation being 1m above sea level. The islands have a large tourism industry, due to the stunning nature found on and around the islands. 500 000 - 1 500 000 tourists visit the islands each year. This is mainly 'nature to...

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 ...

Animals 46-50 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi everyone! Welcome to the final part in our '50 Incredible Animal series' where you can find out about animals 46-50. We started this series almost a year ago to celebrate our 50th post and it feels crazy to think that we are now nearing our 100th. To read all of the previous posts from this series, click here . Hope you enjoy it! 46. Spiny bush viper Spiny bush vipers, Atheris hispida, are a species of venomous snake native to Central and East Africa in tropical forests and shrubland. They are mostly solitary creatures but can climb trees, which is where they find the majority of their prey. Spiny bush vipers are carnivorous and feed on mammals, frogs and lizards, as well as birds. Independent from birth, Spiny bush vipers can have up to 12 'snakelets' at a time and are 15cm in length. Currently, there are no known threats to Spiny bush vipers, and they are categorized as Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List. 47. Leafy sea dragon ...

13.12.2020 Animal Of The Week: Lark

Hello, Today's post is all about a rather interesting bird I don't know much about and so I can't wait to discover more! Habitat There are many different species of Lark so they are quite widespread. Different websites say different figures but most agree that there are between 90 and 100 different species of Lark. They live in open countryside from deserts to mountains. Their colour is adapted to their environment and so they can vary in appearance. Diet Larks are omnivorous animals and eat many species of insects as well as seeds, leaves, grasses and fruits, especially in Winter as insects are scarce. Some species will also eat snails which they break open on rocks. Lark Song The lark is reputed for its song, especially when it is in flight. This is the reason that they are sometimes represented in poetry. I love poetry and I haven't read any Lark themed poetry yet but writing this has made me want to. However, the wi...

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...

Rachel Carson 1907-1964

Hi everybody, Today I am going to tell you about a really inspirational environmentalist. Her name is Rachel Carson. I hope her story inspires you to be more careful about pesticides. As a girl, Rachel adored writing stories about animals. She got a degree in zoology but had to go home to care for her ageing mother. She wrote a series of radio shows about fish for a living. Rachel's program, called 'Romance Under Waters', was a big hit. Her ways of writing were different to anyone else and no one had made that sound so interesting before. It proved that she was talented in not only science but also writing. She wrote two books called 'The Sea Around Us' and 'The Edge Of The Sea'. When Rachel moved to the countryside, she realized the impact of pesticides. At that time farmers sprayed chemicals on their fields a lot to protect them from animals that may want to eat them. Rachel worked out that they were killing pla...

Communication - how important is it in the natural world?

Hi everyone, So today we're talking about communication in the natural world. As humans, we tend to think that we are superior to the rest of the organisms on this planet. We also think that we are the only ones who can communicate. While it's true that we probably have the most complexe form of communication, not one but thousands of languages, we are by far not the only ones that communicate on a daily basis. First of all, we need to define communication. Most people only think of speaking and writing (emails, texts, letters, and so on). But communication is much more than that. The word 'communication' describes the transfer of information from one organism (sender) to another organism (receiver) or multiple organisms (receivers). Different species go about doing this in many different ways. Animals communicate through sounds, visuals, chemicals, movements, touch, scents, electrical signals or a combination of the above. Sound...

Mental Health: The benefits of being in nature

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week's post! Today we thought we would talk to you on the benefits of being in nature for your mental health. This has been a much talked about subject recently, so it felt fitting that we would do a post about it. Fresh air and exercise have long been used as ways to make you feel better, whether you are suffering from a physical ailment or issues with your mental health. Just spending time outside is known to generate many positive emotions, including happiness and feeling calmer just to name a few. Over longer periods of time, it is shown to help with anxiety and depression. Although it obviously can't solve the underlying problems, it can definitely help us. However, it is less known how vital it is that the nature is 'high quality' in order to gain these effects to their full extent. This 'high quality' nature is often litter-free and clean, both of which are important if y...

July Top Tips | 3 up-cycling ideas

Hi Everyone! For July, we will be sharing 3 up-cycling ideas that you can easily try at home to save money, and the planet at the same time! Thank you so much for joining us today and let's get into it! 1. Fabric off cuts to gift wrap! So you've just finished making a new cushion for your lounge or sewing a bag, and you have fabric left over. These small pieces of fabric still may have a purpose one day, so you fold them up neatly and place them in a drawer, just in case. But the time never comes and the same offcuts have been in the drawer for years. Why don't you use it as gift wrap? Wrapping paper is a problem environmentally so using fabric is a win-win! And it can look fantastic! If your offcuts are too small, why don't you sew them together and make a patchwork-style version? And the best thing is that it can be reused again and again! 2. Jars There are so many things that you can do with jars. Probably one of the ...

The Amazon Rainforest series-part 4: The diligent population checker: The killer fungus

Hi everyone, Today we have a very special post for you. This is our very first guest blogging post. Casandra Chikanele has written an amazing post about the Amazon rainforest. This post is therefore the 4th part in the Amazon rainforest series. Enjoy! Your Green World Team💚 The Amazon rainforest is a diverse and wildlife intense site. Home to thousands of species of animals, insects, reptiles, and all living forms including plants and microbial entities. 1/3 of all species live in this cradle of life. About 2.5 million species of ants, one thousand three hundred species of birds, four hundred and thirty species of mammals, and many more. This environment houses quite a numerous amount of living things, predators and prey, families, and bachelors. A place with such a diverse ecosystem, where new offspring is constantly brought forth. Some species reproduce in little numbers, while others reproduce in hundreds or thousands every few ...

Green World

Search This Blog