It's time to be that guy again: with all the problems we're facing in the world in 2021, climate change is still the worst of them. From the wildfires ravaging the Pacific Northwest in late summer 2020 to the winter 2021 Texas deep freeze that left millions without power, climate disaster is accelerating. If you accept climate science and statistics (many unfortunately do not), climate change indeed remains the single biggest issue of our time.
Without a functional planet, we can't effectively take on the other most important causes, like containing the COVID-19 pandemic or bridging the gaps in economic and social inequalities. That all falls flat if we don't have a functional planet to wage our most important battles on.
Amid the climate crisis, we should not assume that large, institutional powers will solve these problems as a given, especially with a polarized political situation brought on by a pandemic and by serious disagreements as to what a society should prioritize. As it stands, millions of voters and politicians do not prioritize the planet.
The last U.S. president took us out of the Paris Climate Accords and effectively gutted the Environmental Protection Agency. President Biden and Democrats in office are in the process of trying to mitigate the aftermath of this by protecting public lands and pushing for energy reforms, but it can only do so much so fast.
Arguably, the previous administration was one of the worst for the environment in decades. Thank millions of voters: compared with other developed countries, the U.S. has a high proportion of people who believe that climate change is a hoax. We have an extremely car-centered transportation grid compared to that of other developed countries. We stigmatize, and thus, underfund public transportation. We build suburbs that make navigation without car ownership virtually impossible, and we accept the spiraling prices of new cars without consumer complaint or adequate unionization.
It sounds like a cheesy 1990's public service announcement to say this, but in saving the planet, the power still lies in all of us. It's no longer enough to assume our government, universities, businesses or international institutions will always adopt the right policies. We've seen that there are too many leaders and too many voters who don't believe there's any such crisis, and the results of allowing them to take the vote, even for one election cycle, has proven to be devastating.
We need to take it upon ourselves to make seemingly mundane but important changes in our lives, such as getting directly involved in environmental conservation, planting our own trees or gardens, getting around in varied ways at times when a car isn't necessary, using renewable or low emission forms of energy for our personal needs, or, most importantly, practicing due diligence on supporting politicians based on their policies and records for how they wish to take care of the Earth. And always voting as such.
It's time to really believe we can get it done. I know we will get it done.
Jeremiah Wall is a local community member and a freelance writer who operates the blog “The Stately Reindeer”
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