I am responsible for Climate Change

Youth-driven Friday’s for Future rallies are catching on like wildfire at a global level. Maybe it isn’t necessarily timely to use the wildfire simile given the recent crises in Brazil and Australia, but you catch my drift. Wow. I don’t think I can even sneak in a simple metaphor because Venice almost drowned. Jokes aside, it’s a serious topic.

Science shows that global warming is here and people are demanding change from the ones they believe have the most power; politicians. Policy plays a massive role in regulating the products businesses can use, waste management, and land protection. They also choose whether the money goes towards universal agreements to prevent climate change or oil-drilling investments. The weight of our melting world is set on the shoulders of these people who are predominantly white and male, and not the youngest of gentleman either. Society’s dependence on these dudes makes the future look grim. Very grim. 

Here’s the catch, who votes people into power? The electorate. 

I am privileged enough to live in a democratic nation where I have the right and responsibility to vote. The voter-turnout has remained at about 50% for more than 40 years in America. We can do better. Vote. VOTE. Vote! Use your platform. Don’t play the “my vote won’t count” card, because our predecessors fought long and hard to give us this freedom. It’s not a perfect system but maybe we can elect some forward-thinking people instead of losing our voices trying to get the current ones to listen.

Who is making the ecological footprint? Humanity.

The big businesses produce the products that we choose to consume. They wouldn’t make it if people didn’t buy it. Most of the time if it’s cheap for them, it’s cheap for us. I’m a broke college student, so I am familiar with the struggle of wanting to buy the eco-friendly options that I simply cannot afford. This goes for clothing, food, cosmetics, transportation, etc. Practically every aspect of our material lives is coated with harmful effects. Even professors choose to print packets of reading materials rather than sharing documents or links. 

Who uses plastic bags at the grocery store? Me. I’m guilty. Along with millions of others. 

Many people are so focused on pointing fingers at the biggest culprits and waiting, just waiting for a single epiphany or shift in power that could miraculously change our fate. Every little thing you do can make an impact. I think the perspective needs to change from what THEY are doing to what YOU can do. The quicker people adapt to this mentality, the better chance we have. Go forward and protest, but while you’re fighting for the much-needed change we expect from politicians, hydrate with some tap water from your reusable water bottle. Eat local for lunch. Don’t buy that 10 euro fleece you see in the Primark window. Carpool, take the U-Bahn, or bike. Choose the eBook over the paperback. Register to vote. Take some responsibility because you are a guest on this planet just as much as the next person. 

Your congruence, the act of practicing what you preach, may just inspire someone. It’s a snowball effect that can instill the progressive change that we hope to see in this world, that is, if there is any snow left…or a world for that matter…