Whose problem is it to solve climate change? I mean it’s not mine, and it’s clearly not yours, so it must be…
If it’s not your problem to solve, and it’s not my problem, and that person over there doesn’t think its his problem to solve, then so… who’s problem is it to solve?
When it comes to climate change, we seem to be forgetting two incredibly important concepts:
- math and
- scale
Let’s break it down.
Math is climate change’s best friend.
If you drive a gas powered car, live in, say, most American cities and thus deal with the American electrical grid, travel when and where you want to / can afford to, and work in most any BS industry (more on this soon), it’s probably fair to say you as an individual are a net negative on the planet.
What does this mean? It means you use, consume, pollute (net negative), more than you give back, plant, re-grow (net positive) for the planet. And of course there are sliding scales of how negative you can be vs. how positive you can be. (Koch brothers, probably a net negative -10,000. Greta, probably a net positive 100).
There is of course much to debate in that, but for arguments sake, stick with me.
So then it’s safe to assume the average human is what, a net negative 5 (-5) on the earth?
Most all of us consume WAY more than we produce, take WAY more than we give, pollute WAY more than we capture and sequester, and work in industries that degrade, erode and provide no natural capital value WAY more than work in areas of positive change. (I’d label these net negative industries as financial, real estate, entertainment, advertising, most media, most travel, a lot of tech, most consulting, most businesses selling things and sh** we just don’t need).
So, if you are a net negative 5, and I’m (lets be generous here) a net negative 2, and that person over there is a net negative 10, well the math adds up to be a total net negative 17 (-17) for our small sample size.
And the math of nature is quite simple. If all in the human species add up to be more of a net negative than a net positive, we will be hurting, not helping the earth. (And based on recent climate science and the effects of climate change we are already feeling, it’s clear the human species is VASTLY more of a negative than a positive on earth).
So if you are a net negative, and climate change isn’t your issue to deal with (I understand you are probably WAY too busy living your life!), and our entire species is clearly a net negative, and that lady over there is a net negative, and he’s a net negative, so then who’s problem is it to solve??
Do you really think a bunch of HUGE net positives are going to come around and save all us negatives? Has it ever really worked that way in the course of human history?
It’s one thing to be part of the solution and defer responsibility, but it’s a totally different issue to both knowingly and unknowingly be part of the problem while also deflecting responsibility.
No, you didn’t have a say in inheriting this problem and perhaps you think that’s unfair, but it’s no less fair than the privilege you did nothing to earn but were granted by merely being gifted the gift of life.
And then there’s the whole scale thing...
At the time of this writing, there are just over 8 billion people on this planet. We are adding 73 million people each year.
Ask most climate scientists or biologists, and the planet’s natural systems math just simply doesn’t support this many humans, living this way.
WWF once infamously reported, “If everyone on earth were to live like an American, we’d need 2.5 earths to support the resources required.”
So yes, you yourself may be a negative 5. Which isolated, isn’t horrible.
But unfortunately we all live on the same planet. We breathe the same air, we see the same sky, we benefit from the same natural resources. The loss of wildlife, ecological systems collapse, natural disasters effect you, me, and everyone else we share this home with. And most tragically affects those yet to come before us, our children’s futures, the most.
So next time you think climate change isn’t your problem to solve, or that someone else will surely solve it for us, or that you’re too busy to care, just remember:
You’re a net negative. And there are 8 billion more net negatives just like you.
