China pollutes more than me. Yes, this might be true, but if you are North American, we guarantee you are creating more greenhouse gas emissions than 60% of the planet. Somewhere in Sudan, the South Pacific Islands, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Namibia, someone is probably saying ‘Why should I bother doing anything about climate change when North Americans are producing more greenhouses gases than us?’
Climate change isn’t real. Even though world-renowned scientist after scientist, numerous respected organizations and institutions are publicly stating their position on the validity of climate change, some people, they still can’t grasp that climate change is real. Maybe it is because many people haven’t yet experienced any ill effects from climate change, but if you ask someone who has been forced to leave their home because of climate change (environmental refugees in the South Pacific Islands) or refugees in the Sudanese region of Darfur (where government supported guerillas keep farmers away from water and farm land) or the 15 million people affected by Hurricane Katrina, they might be able to convince you that climate change is real.
Climate change will affect every aspect of life for every living thing on the planet.
Scientists are divided. No they aren’t. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), told Reuters that ‘You will never get a more robust set of conclusions and findings than what we have provided. If this doesn't move the world to action, then I don't know what will.'
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper [insert apathetic politician here] doesn’t take climate change seriously, why should I? Maybe Harper is a climate change naysayer; his political stance on climate change and his refusal to ratify the Kyoto Accord is certainly strong evidence supporting his lack of interest in doing anything about climate change. Politicians can make some lethal mistakes. Hello? George Bush.
Climate change is natural. Sunspots are causing it, the planet is actually cooling, earth warming is normal, climate change has nothing to do with human-produced greenhouse gases. Wake up. As previously stated, the consensus among the world’s leading scientists is that the climate change we are currently experiencing is because of human-made greenhouse gas emissions. The world’s top scientists have refuted each argument posed by climate change cynics.
The cost of inactivity around climate change could be an estimated $74 trillion dollars.
Climate change won’t affect me. Yes it will. Climate change will affect every aspect of life for every living thing on the planet. Nobody will escape the negative effects of climate change. British ecologist Norman Myers estimates there could be as many as 200 million people displaced by environmental factors by the end of the century. A United Nations agency reports there could be 50 million such environmental or climate change refugees within five years. A Tufts’ University study found the cost of inactivity around climate change could be an estimated $74 trillion dollars. However the study also found ‘… even these numbers fail to convey the multiple harms that lie in store for the world’.
What can I do? I am only one person. We can all make many small changes in our lives to reduce our carbon footprint. Little things do matter. Turning lights off, reducing thermostat settings, not wasting water, reducing engine idling, etc. etc. There are literally thousands of small things we can all do to make a difference. Big things count too. Reducing our number of airline trips, buying more fuel efficient cars, getting an energy audit on your home, lobbying the government for change. Each and every change we make has an impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. What we can’t do is remain inactive waiting for someone else to tell us what to do.
Going green costs too much. Who can afford to buy new equipment or organic food? The converse is true; there are very few aspects of going green that won’t show both a short term and long term economical return. Whether building a composter, riding your bike, installing a clothing line, using organic gardening practices, reducing engine idling to conducting an energy audit for your home, most aspects of going green show significant economic and health benefits.
What's wrong with warm weather? In some ways we can blame the media for this. Many North American media outlets, in particular the weather reporters, characterize the weather into an oversimplified binary of good and bad. The weather is good when temperatures are high and there is no rain. The weather is bad when there is wind, rain, or even low temperatures or a grey day. The public is conditioned into thinking all non-hot weather is bad. Some social theorists wonder if this hasn’t resulted in the ‘normalizing’ of hot weather and climate change.
I can’t do without. And why should I? My neighbor has a 12,000 square foot house and I want one too. I can’t do without my SUV, trips to Hawaii or Mexico twice a year, 20 minute showers, eating meat 3 times a day, using the clothes dryer everyday, eating fresh strawberries in January, the list goes on and on. Many developing nations have become so comfortable, so complacent with a hugely carbon intensive lifestyle that they can’t imagine giving up a single luxury or privilege. Our stubborn attachments to material goods and luxury might just result in humankind consuming itself to death.
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