What can YOU do about climate change?

If overcoming the greatest challenges is what defines the greatness of a generation then we may all be part of the greatest generation that has ever lived. This challenge dwarves all others: winning world war two and defeating tyranny; getting rid of polio and TB; getting to the moon; creating the technology that has made us temporary lords, but not yet masters of this planet. Without the planet itself none of these would have ever been possible. Everything that has ever happened, is happening and will ever happen was right here. Yet all of that could be under threat due to climate change.

But what if there’s already a solution passed down in history?

What if the story of Noah’s Ark wasn’t a story but instead the first attempt to warn us about the climate? The story of The Flood has been part of countless civilisations, a tale of divine retribution. But what if those ‘stories’ were actually just ancient warnings? How else would you communicate to future generations without emails, text messages and articles of climate dangers and how to prepare for them?

A story - a story so simple that it becomes timeless. A story that could be applied to our times or anytime; a metaphor of sorts; but the Ark today is no longer a wooden boat but rather the whole planet itself.

The modern Ark

The story of Noah’s Ark talks of a rain unseen before by humankind and a storm of unheard capacities. Weather patterns that no human being had ever laid their eyes upon - forces of nature peered at in awe and horror. Yet Noah was still seen as the madman as the whole world was washed away whilst the Ark stood there which could’ve saved everyone.

Unpredictable weather patterns? Unusual forecasts? Inertia around an issue that is happening right before everyone’s eyes? Ring any bells? Climate change could be our Great Flood, climate change could be our generation’s story – but what role do YOU play? Who are you in that story? Be honest with yourself. Noah? Most of us think we are, but are we really? His family? One of the people laughing outside? Are you the ones that believed Noah but didn’t help spread his message or build the ark? The indifferent ones make all the difference. Perhaps you’re indifferent because you have to get on with your life. It’s understandable that you need to pick your children up from school, but what if there’s no school left to pick them up from? You need to pay your rent, but what if there’s no more house to pay that rent for? You have your issues but how can you even begin to deal with them if there’s no ground left beneath your feet?

But it’s not too late – the wave hasn’t crashed yet. The difference between you and the people in that story is that the story of Noah’s Ark had an ending. It cannot be rewritten – its fate has been sealed. Whereas you – us – we are still writing this story and we get to decide the ending. We get to decide who we’re going to be and what role we are going to play. We might not be able to stop the wave but we can make sure everyone gets on that Ark. But first we need the Ark– and that’s where we all step in.

Really understanding the Earth’s ecology

The conditions that were created and evolved throughout millions of years are now being undermined by us. Our existence truly is amazing, a few degrees off and it could all be gone or it could’ve never happened. All the species that have come before us (and had actually occupied the Earth for longer than we have) suddenly ceased to exist after a few temperature changes – a degree or two was all it took for the mass extinction of many species that are no longer with us today. There have of course been other reasons for mass extinctions, a more known one being how the dinosaurs were wiped out by a massive asteroid. But most of the time these extinctions have been due to changes in the climate of the Earth (like changes in oxygen levels). The important point to take from this is that these were all, to some extent, ‘natural’ and occurred over very long periods of time. Much mass extinction has occurred due to global cooling or global warming. These changes in the climate however have never before been produced consciously by a single species over such a short amount of time – these have all been ‘blind extinctions’. We are creating the perfect conditions for our destruction and everybody knows it deep down.

It could be argued that climate change is in fact a normal part of our Earth’s ecology and we could just accept that our extinction should be another normal part of it. In effect though, to accept this means you are okay with your family’s extinction. The hope is that you’re not okay with that. Whether the human race is going to be around until the end of time is debatable, but that does not mean the end of our time should be anytime soon.

Every material thing that you own came from the Earth. It may have been refined, purified, tinted, shaped, distorted – no matter how it may have come out – a house, a shoe, a phone, a bin – everything you know came from the Earth first. The piece of paper you are reading this on came from an actual tree that grew from soil as it was planted in the Earth, the metal that moulds many of your household objects are chemically extracted from the Earth. The Earth is all around us but the fact that we live in cities makes us forget that. Cities themselves are just distorted versions of the metals and minerals that originally came from the Earth. We can recycle what the Earth gives us but we cannot recycle the whole Earth itself.

Now that we have identified that there is a problem, a solution must follow.

Where do you, the reader, fit into this

Here’s what you can do: Acknowledge, Know and Intervene. So often when it comes to climate change we are told to do the opposite: Avoid, forget and despair. But these are truly wasted past-times. We know the gravity of the situation and we have sat on this issue of years talking about how bad it is and how bad it is going to get. But so what? We already know it’s bad! That’s why you’re reading this in the first place! But aren’t you sick of telling you how bad things are only to be left with that feeling of utter powerlessness? Aren’t you tired of just being…scared? Well, you’re not the only one. The future of the environment doesn’t completely rest on whether you decided to bring a plastic bag to Tesco today or whether you invested in a green or black bin. Instead I’m going to tell you that it was concluded many years ago that this situation is a bad one but instead of being static with fear it’s time to move with action! Instead of running away from this problem it’s time to run right at it! Let’s get climate change before it gets us! The decision you have to make right now is whether you are actively going to partake in it now by choice or if you are going to be dragged in. You are expected to do nothing, even if your own life is on the line. You are expected to watch things happen passively, as if you have no say in it. But that is not the case.

On a more personal level, let’s say your relative had a heart attack. No one would actively tell you that you should go and perform a heart operation on said relative that would simply be futile. But what would be useful would be for you to call your relative every day to make sure they are taking their medication instead. Your relative may not ask for the help but you can take the initiative to help anyway. The climate needs our help and unfortunately it’s not going to ask for it so we all have to take initiative. In relation back to the story of Noah – Noah didn’t wait to build the Ark, he just did it. He didn’t sit there and wait for everyone to take a vote! He just went out there and built the Ark. Why not see yourself as Noah from now on?

Now back to the nitty gritty practical things that you can actually do. Let’s start with the minimum from our list of three (Acknowledge, Know and Intervene) which is Acknowledge. Go on social media and follow a climate change related page or person to educate yourself on this matter; find out what the implications of climate change would mean where you live now.

For the Know aspect read the IPCC reports released every year; spend at least 10 minutes reading about climate change in the news every day; read pinnacle books and magazines to do with climate change. Educating yourself on this issue means that you are more likely to do something about it.

On a larger scale for Intervene look at the current things that people are already doing and get involved; talk about what’s going on in your area; organise a monthly meeting to educate others about climate change; tell yourself that at least once a month you are going to tell someone about climate change (e.g. when you go to your local pub). You may be seen as an outsider at first but in the coming years when this issue becomes more polarised and starts affecting more people, it is the person that talked about the issue before it was mainstream that will get acknowledged.

Climate change is not a religion, no one is asking you to become a disciple and leave your family and life behind (after all some of you may be doing this for your family – and all of you are doing this for your lives or at least someone else’s). We know that you have the fog of your everyday life but this is just a question of joining in.

Even a simple conversation is enough. No conversation is wasted when it comes to this topic. You don’t know what you may spark is someone’s head – the person you are talking to could be the next climate change Einstein. You can either be the great person or be the person that told the great person. Either way you win really. Just say something now when it matters most.

If at any point you feel discouraged remember that this is not just about the Earth- the implications are far greater. This isn’t just about saving the environment it’s about going to the stars. If we solve this, the human race could become a whole new civilisation. By solving a problem as large as this suddenly any problem that comes our way we will be able to deal with. Travelling across the universe will not seem like such a massive feat if we collectively manage to save a whole planet. Furthermore, in the midst of this solution occurring, amazing new inventions and creations could come up which could cause us to do things that we would have never even imagined before. This is greater than all of us. Hundreds, thousands and even millions of years into the future our ancestors will look at this time in awe rather than despair. Solving this problem would be like if the whole of humanity created the wheel at the same time – it would revolutionise the whole world. The question is are you going to help build the wheel or are you going to puncture it and watch it slowly go flat?

And if you’re still not sure whether climate change is real – what is the harm in doing this? If we are wrong about climate change then that is GREAT news – it would be best for all of us. But if we are right then at least we’ll not be starting from a blank slate.

Conclusion

We may have reached the end of this piece but this is just the beginning for all of us. If there is only one thing you remember from this let it be: Acknowledge, Know and Intervene. Ignorance really is not bliss when it comes to this issue. Furthermore, remember that there is no more time for worrying – that ship sailed a long time ago but now you have the resources to turn your preoccupation of this subject into action.

The further that you look into the past, the further you can see into the future. Let us learn from Noah, whether you see his story as part of history or not, let us take action when no one else will.

This is not a dreamer’s goal - everything mentioned here is completely feasible. Climate change only seems to be presented in one way – ‘we are all going to die in X amount of years’ – how about we could be gods in X amount of years? Possibilities swing both ways. Imagine our descendants swimming in the stars rather than drowning on Earth. What a wonderful generation we would become. There are already people out there actually doing something – children are protesting and students have had enough – these voices WILL be and ARE being heard. For them and for you too, this is no longer a problem for tomorrow; it is our problem of today.

Look up, look down and then act.

So once all is said and done – will you help us build the Ark?

By Aphra Bennett