CLIMATE MANIFESTO
The current condition of our planet is a problem, point blank. There has been a lot leading up to the current state of the Earth, but most of these causes have been amplified in recent decades. The reason for the change in our planets condition is pretty simple: our actions, specifically colonialism, global trade and the coal industry, these have had such a large impact on the Earth and now human beings are a force of their own kind. More recently, the harsh destructive reality of this new age has become very prevalent.
Ever since 1950, there has been a remarkable rise in the human population at a global rate, which means the extinction and climate change is moving at a faster rate, urbanization and industrialisation, as well as the introduction of new materials have all shifted towards genetically engineered organisms and moved further from our natural resources.
In today’s world, we as humans are going through and eating away our own life support systems at an alarming rate. Another reason of concern, all over the glove we are living in an unstable political time. Politics are broken and business is taking us in the wrong direction. The issue with having fossil fuel money in politics is that these companies then expect something in return. If Exxon Mobile contributes $100,000 to a presidential campaign, then they grow to expect that candidate to retreat any climate change acts. The power that money and greed have in this world is unmatched to anyones ethics. Put enough zeros in the right place, and planting one tree can be seen as progress, and while that may be some progress, it is not nearly enough.
When ideas and concepts that solely benefit one powerful group of people are universalised, they become the new normal, they become what shapes the populations thinking and turn into “common sense” and what comes “naturally” even though most of the time these new norms are at the expense of the majority. The main issue with this way of living is that we as a population end up accepting these social norms and unknowingly create a mantra: more growth means more profits which means more stuff for us. But in the eyes of someone looking out for the planet, that means more climate change, more chaos, more extinction and more inequality. Even things like the quality of our food, the water we drink, the air we breath and the land that we live on are all affected, but are often dismissed by naive and privileged idealists. This brings us to where we are today.
What we need is a broad and deep change to the economic and political models that are in place. We need to challenge and question the old values that our planet was built upon and then develop new ones that are more appropriate for the way of life we are headed towards. These values need to support the conscious, active protection in an interlinked world. In turn, we will need to depend on the mobilisation and empowerment of different people all over the world. We need a society in which the government is not feared and approachable; one that is answerable to people, same with the larger corporations.
To get to where we need to be, there needs to be a global and universal shift in power and a shift in resources. In order to move away from fossil fuels as fast as possible, require resources that could pull enormous numbers of people out of poverty, provide services to those who cannot get them themselves, from clean water to electricity, and with a political model that is less centralized than the past models. This model could go so far beyond just surviving and enduring climate change and beyond adapting to it. This is a vision that shows how we collectively use the crisis at hand to motivate and push us to be somewhere better than where we are at right now.
The thing is, we already know how to prevent the worst of climate change. We know how to rejuvenate soil and protect marine life. We know how to create a more just society, how to improve and build a better education system, provide clean water and provide human rights for everyone, we have all of the technology to do these actions. The only thing we are lacking is the will and leader to make real political and social change.
To get this shift started, we need to create more visionary global institutions and make them more accessible at the same time. These institutions would tackle climate change and the larger crisis we have on our hands with the environment. The only way to get this to work is a global agreement between leaders and countries that can provide an effective way of sharing costs or reducing emissions fairly, as well as supporting the more vulnerable populations and areas of the world. The only thing that would prompt this change is if enough people are willing and have the courage to actually stand up and do something to create a more sustainable world.
This approach to fixing the climate change issue is different in the way that it is not trying to create anything. We already have the technology and scientists to back up any projects or grand ides, this approach is going straight to the person in charge. What we really need to fix this issue is a political turnaround. Countries like the United States have the funding and technology to not only improve their personal climate situation, but to impact lesser countries as well. The biggest factor in why they are not inserting themselves in other countries is that the people in charge are not caring. They are motivated by the money, like I mentioned before, that these big fossil fuel companies are giving them and in return they do not act on the changing climate. Getting this money out of politics and making politicians and citizens care is going to be the first step.
This issue is important. If climate change gets any worse then we quite literally might be gone in not that long of a time frame. We need to act now and act quickly because if we do that, then there is still a glimmer of hope. Getting involved now is going to prevent things from getting worse at the rate they are going, and honestly the sooner we act the sooner it is fixed. Another reason why now is such a great time to get involved is because there are elections coming up. Getting registered to vote and educated on the candidates are crucial to the well-being of our society and planet.
The future of our society is dependent on what we can do to change things. We as a democracy have the power to elect someone with a great deal of power that can drastically change the outlook of the planet. From an agricultural point of view, right now the future is bleak, but if we start to implement changes then we can retract some of the bad. Right now, this industry is based on chemicals, fossil fuels, globalized food systems and extensive transportation routes are all killing the environment, not to mention to extensive need for water as well. Branching off of the agriculture industry, the physical well being of the population is suffering greatly. Economic globalization has led to a nutritional transition away from local, diverse, seasonal diets to industrially processed synthetic foods and that leaves the door open to more foodborne illness cases and other food related health issues. Current economic and trade regimes have played a major role in creating contradicting incentives that increase carbon emissions, accelerating climate change and thus added to the thought of limitless consumption, which negatively affects other countries by pushing them more into food insecurity and making them more vulnerable. This is just one industry. There are hundreds in the world and just one of them is creating such a negative impact, just imagine the rest of them. To combat these issues specifically, it is simple, end perverse subsidies for fossil fuel-based food economies, end subsidies for agrofuels and laws imposing their use, and redirect investments to ecological, local, and organic food models that reduce climate risks while enhancing food security.
In general, we need someone in power to advocate for better trade laws, better industrialisation and a better planet overall. Our planet Earth is potentially the only place in the universe where life exists. That is something very precious and sacred, but also something that needs to be nurtured and protected instead of being torn apart for the short term gain of some people. Human beings are an incredible force of nature, and being a conscious force we are able to use our power for good. We are the players in this game of life, not the spectators and we are able to shape the game, by working together. It is about time that we open our eyes to see mankind for what it really is, one single species that is interdependent on other species and all of us are living on this giving, finite planet. The only thing that will really light a fire and motivate change is if enough people are willing to show up and help build a more sustainable world.