CLIMATE CHANGE
Tired Of Being Lectured To By Kids And Millionaires?
Climate change: Who’s to blame? Adults? Kids? The Chinese?
Some people are mad about the COP26 Climate Delegates flying to Glasgow for the conference, arguing that they’re all hypocrites and they should have done it on Zoom.
In all honesty, for a meeting as important as this, their travel is probably more valid than your last exotic holiday. But let’s move on…
Being lectured to by ‘kids and millionaires’
On Twitter last week, I spotted a lively debate started by someone fed up with being lectured to by ‘kids and millionaires’ about climate change, when she felt she’d done her bit.
Others pointed out that the ‘adults’ being blamed for this situation, used to live much more sustainable lifestyles, with returnable glass bottles, hand-me-down clothes and domestic holidays.
Compare this to our modern lifestyles where we have throwaway fashions, takeaway foods, overseas holidays, and everything’s regarded as disposable — it’s easy to see how things have gone downhill.
Some say the kids are the worst at embracing this disposable lifestyle. Yet, they didn’t build the businesses to create this disposable stuff. Like so many adults, however, they are enthusiastic consumers. The bottom line is, there’s demand for it from all age groups!
Our modern way of life is simply unsustainable.
Kids blame the ‘adults’; adults blame the kids
So young activists blame the ‘adults’, while some adults respond by pointing fingers at the hypocritical actions of young people. It’s easy to point fingers, but society’s long journey towards self-destruction is a problem that’s taken hundreds of years to develop.
You can’t blame kids, any more than you can blame today’s adults for the Industrial Revolution. But, kids and adults alike are contributing to the growing problem, and generations of adults have failed to do much about it.
So, are today’s kids worse than their parents? I swear that the average child has a lot more stuff than I did when I was young. Perhaps that’s because adults indulge them. We’ve certainly become more of a consumer society over the past 20 years.
I think Greta Thunberg is great. She sails, takes trains, and buys second-hand. She’s a legend. But when her followers talk about trips to Borneo and global travels to attend climate rallies, I wonder if they’ve accrued a bigger carbon footprint in their short time on earth, than I have in my modest 47 years. The bottom line is, we all need to work on it.
Blaming doesn’t get us anywhere
In truth, our modern way of life is much worse than it was 40 or 50 years ago, and more people today do have jet-setting lifestyles compared to lifestyles when I was young.
But blaming each other doesn’t get us anywhere, which is why I’m always looking for what I can do to reduce my own carbon footprint. I went vegan two years ago, I buy everything second-hand where possible, and I made it to November 4th before putting the heating on this year.
I didn’t step on a plane until I was 25. Even then, I’ve only flown three times in my life, short haul. These days, people think that’s odd. Being green makes you weird, but I do it anyway.
Small things like my efforts help. But we need big things too. And that’s where governments need to step up, with our votes and our support to get things done. It won’t be easy.
Blame our governments!
Worldwide, governments certainly could do more. And they should. Many governments have been slow to act. But when a government does take action, have we as individuals always responded as we should?
Activists ‘Insulate Britain’ are demanding government action on home insulation. My house is fully insulated thanks to a 100% government grant, but a lot of houses aren’t — because people don’t always take up government offers, even when they’re available.
So yes, ask your government to take more action, but also be part of the solution. Make the most of opportunities when grants are available. Today, there are even grants for landlords to insulate rented accommodation. No, grants aren’t always perfect, but it’s a good start. And there’s always more to do…
- Should governments be subsidising fossil fuels? No!
- Should they be reducing taxes on some flights to encourage air travel, as the UK government has done recently? Not if they’re serious about reducing global emissions!
There are lots of things that do need looking at at a governmental level. Subsidies and taxation are a big part of that, but they’re not the whole picture. We all need to be a part of the solution.
Let’s blame China
Lots of people blame China, while buying all the crap that China produces. And that’s exactly why China has such a high carbon footprint — all the manufacturing from western countries has been outsourced to China.
So our governments pat themselves on the back for reducing their own carbon footprints, while consumers place orders for items manufactured in China that are shipped over here, at great cost to the environment.
But that’s OK, because we can blame China, right?
No. We can choose to stop buying what we don’t need. We can choose to say ‘no’.
Of course, China needs to adopt new technologies and greener ways of working, but shifting our manufacturing overseas doesn’t make us ‘green’.
Blame big business!
Big companies have a lot to answer for, and certainly should be stepping up their approach to going carbon neutral at a time like this. But who pays them to make their stuff? We do. The consumer.
If we stop funding them, they go bust. It’s fairly simple, although I’m sure someone here will hop in to tell me it’s not. And I’m sure many companies could operate in a more environmentally friendly way.
The fossil fuel industry is an awful polluter, but they are also supplying demand. If we all switch to renewable energy suppliers and drive electric cars, the fossil fuel industry will be less powerful and less polluting.
No, we can’t all afford electric cars right now, but hopefully that will change.
So who shall we blame?
- Blame the adults?
- Blame the kids?
- Blame the government?
- Blame China?
- Blame big business?
Perhaps, we need to stop looking for whom to blame and look at what we can do. Yes, we need to encourage governments to do the right thing. But that will involve lifestyle changes that affect us all, and it won’t always be comfortable.
Everyone’s responsible
People of all ages can do their bit to make change happen, by making green lifestyle choices, buying second-hand, or not buying at all. Taking holidays in your home country. Cutting down on car mileage, and trying to use green modes of transport.
Let’s cut down on animal products, or say ‘no’ to the Chinese manufacturing industry; essentially, stop buying shit. Because if enough people say ‘no’, they won’t make it.
Yes, we need government policies aligned to their climate commitments, and we need to hold our politicians accountable. Activism, votes, and lobbying can all help. But blame is a futile game.
Adults have carbon footprints, and so do kids. We can all do our bit. Turn the heating down, wear a jumper. Stop flying, or fly less.
We don’t all need the latest gadgets, the latest fashions, etc. I’ve bought too many clothes in my life too, but at least over the past 20 years, they’ve almost all been second-hand.
Let’s take a step back from the pull of commercialism and keeping up with the Joneses. If your friends are that shallow, they’re not very good friends.
Let’s try to live a simpler life, and try to be green, whatever our age.
Go on… Have your say!
I know this article only touches on a few topics. I know there’s a much bigger debate to be had. I know it’s simplistic, and the arguments are more complex. But I wanted to start a discussion, talk about the blame game, and how we can all play our part.
Go on, leave a comment. I know you want to have your say!
© Susie Kearley
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