Why the recent protests and conversations about climate change are doing less to help the environment than people want to lead on
One of the most frequently trending topics on social media recently has been climate change. As politicians claim that if we do nothing the world will end in 12, maybe 10 years, and as the UN is hosting their annual summit, this debate is reaching its peak.
The most important thing to get out of the way with regards to this discussion is that climate change is real. According to a NASA article, the evidence and facts about climate change are overwhelming. Everything from rising ocean temperatures and sea levels to a decline in arctic sea ice points to climate change being real.
With that said, climate change does not have a solution that we as a nation can solve alone, contrary to popular belief.
When Trump initially took office he pulled America out of the Paris Climate Accords, aggravating half of the nation. However, no one decided to actually look at the reality of this decision.
Though the Accords attempted to get everyone on the same page with regards to lessening pollution, developed nations were strongly “encouraged to provide financial support and are required to report on the financing they supply or will mobilize” for developing nations.
Here’s what we continue to miss – we do not want to fund other people for no reason, and furthermore, just because we are not in an accord does not mean that the U.S. cannot continue to reduce their emissions.
While the U.S. continues to rank in the top three in many emissions charts, America is not the biggest contributor, and there is no solution to climate change that does not also involve countries like China and India.
The question remains, if the world is really going to end in under ten years, what is the solution?
While that answer has yet to be figured out, I can sure tell you what isn’t – shouting into the wind that you see a problem and touting around sixteen year old kids who want to yell at adults for not tackling this issue.
In a video that went viral, Greta Thunberg attacked world leaders from the UN climate summit saying, “How dare you, you have stolen my dreams and my childhood.” These sentiments were echoed in my own backyard and around the nation when rallies and protests were held to bring awareness to the fact that something needs to be done about climate change last week.
This is disgusting. After Greta’s video trended, multiple people continued to post videos of young adults complaining that the previous generation has ruined our nation and we have no future. These children, who know little more than what the media is feeding them, are being told to worry, expressing that worry, and now politicians are prodding them around like they are more aware than adults of this age.
This is one of the most intellectually dishonest things to come from the Democrats yet. When a sixteen year old boy wore a MAGA hat, everyone wanted to attack him, and yet now that a sixteen year old girl expresses concern, we must take everything she says to be accurate.
More than just propping up these kids, every candidate in the Democratic party race at this moment has uttered these same talking points. However, while each of these candidates have had their chance to address the public on these issues, they have continued to fail when it comes to promoting solutions.
While the majority of people in our nation agree that we have a problem, not a single person has put forth plausible solutions.
What do those real solutions look like?
Maybe Congress can consider passing laws regarding wind turbines, reducing food waste or encouraging people to go solar. Whatever those solutions look like, however, they are not simply continuing to complain about everything.
Most importantly, however, the virtue signaling of the left must stop. Pretending that eliminating plastic straws is going to solve the problem is ignoring facts. Starbucks is not single handedly going to save the planet by this move, and to worship them as though their move is doing anything but gaining them a certain political favor is blinding yourself to the truth.
Climate change can become a very personal issue, since it is a serious factor in the quality of life for generations to come, but we need to remember to take the emotions and politics out of situations that affect everyone.
Climate change can be detrimental if our politicians do not start taking these things seriously.
Maybe it’s time we take matters into our own hands. Maybe it’s time we elect politicians that don’t just shout into the wind, but incite change. Maybe it’s time the U.S. Congress start focusing on passing some reform laws and leading our nation in the correct direction, instead of wasting tax dollars in an attempt to impeach our duly elected president.