Friday, July 17, 2015
The Climate Crisis Is Starting to
Create a Global Consciousness Shift
Marchers at the People's Climate March in New York in September
2014. (Photo: Annette
Bernhardt/flickr/cc)
When an assassin killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in
1914, no one called it the start of the First World War. That happened years
later, after the implications, consequences and scale of the response could be
assessed. It's often the way. That's why historians are important; they put
events in context.
Similarly, I doubt anyone knew how our world would change after
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built their first computer in Jobs' parents'
garage in 1975.
In 1988, when climate scientist James Hansen
testified in Washington that human-caused global warming was kicking
in, people might have been excused for failing to grasp the significance of his
early warning. But there's no excuse for humanity's subsequent dismissal and
denial of the reality of his statements and the deliberate, aggressive
opposition to any action to reduce the threat.
For years, environmentalists have called for an urgent response
to runaway climate change. Evidence has poured in from around the world to corroborate
Hansen's conclusions, from melting glaciers, sea level rise and
ocean acidification to increasing extreme weather
events and changes in animal and plant behaviour and ranges.
Despite the evidence, few governments have taken the necessary
steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Instead of listening to scientists
and citizens, many leaders have chosen to heed the fossil fuel
industry's massive PR machine and right-wing ideologues who see the
call for global action as a socialist threat to capitalism.
There has been progress, at national and subnational levels, and
among forward-thinking corporations and organizations. Some, like the
commitment by countries including Denmark and Germany to reduce dependence on
fossil fuels after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, were in response to markets
rather than the climate crisis, but it positioned them well as evidence for
climate change mounted.
More recently, people on the frontlines of climate change such
as Pacific Islanders and Inuit have warned of the changes they're experiencing.
The insurance
industry and a number of corporations have called for action, with
some, like Tesla, designing solutions. But many in the media and government
continue to downplay the problem.
I've been astounded by the lack of response over the years, but
I'll go out on a limb and suggest a shift is now taking place. Although we may
not recognize its significance without the benefit of hindsight, we appear to
be in the early stages of something huge.
Even some news outlets are shifting. The U.K.'s Guardian
decided earlier this year to increase its coverage of
climate change, going so far as to encourage divestment from the
fossil fuel industry. The New York Times decided to use the more accurate
term "denier" rather than "skeptic" to refer to
those who reject the overwhelming evidence for human-caused climate change.
When Pope Francis reached beyond the world's 1.2 billion
Catholics to call for action on climate change, his message was endorsed by
other religious leaders and organizations, including the Dalai Lama,
the Islamic Society of North America, an influential group of Jewish rabbis and
the Church of England.
Beyond visible evidence of the increasing willingness to meet
the challenge of global warming, one of the biggest signs of a shift has been
the almost unnoticed but spectacular increase in renewable energy investment in
countries like the U.S., Brazil and
China.
It's easy for governments and industry to prioritize corporate
profits and short-term gain over the best interests of complacent citizens. But
when enough people demand action, take to the streets, write to business, political
and religious leaders and talk to friends and family, change starts happening.
We never know how big it will be until it's occurred -- but this time, it looks
like it could be monumental! Let's hope so.
Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior
Editor Ian Hanington.
© 2015 Huffington Post
David Suzuki is a
well-known Canadian scientist, broadcaster and environmental activist.
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Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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