On December 7 (this past Monday), delegates from 192 countries met in Copenhagen, Denmark to hammer out a treaty to tackle the rising tide of climate issues facing the world today. While there’s certainly cause for hope, there’s certainly cause for pessimism as well, as time and time again we’ve seen conventions, treaties and proposals with the intent of slowing down global warming, but with very little in the way of practical results. However, I can’t help but feel that this time is different, and I hope I’m not proven wrong.
This is the largest such meeting ever, and the first line of the Toronto Star’s article reinforces the gravity of the situation: “The largest and most important U.N. climate change conference in history opened Monday, with organizers warning diplomats from 192 nations that this could be the best, last chance for a deal to protect the world from calamitous global warming.” (The Star was one of 56 newspapers worldwide with a united editorial piece on the front page of Monday’s paper. While I’m disappointed that the number is only 56, it’s 56 better than 0) The fact that so many countries are taking this threat seriously — despite those who dismiss the science and willingly ignore the changing world around them — speaks volumes to how far we’ve come in our environmental awareness. Beyond the rock star documentaries and the big-name advocates, the real changes are the little things. One thing which has not gone unnoticed is occurring as we speak here in Toronto, with only the briefest of snowfalls — on Sunday December 6, and it had melted by noon — recorded by December 7, two weeks before the winter solstice.
I can’t help but feel that the recent year and a half of economic turmoil has instilled a sense of thrift and common sense amongst the general populace, and that any calls to action will likely be met with a willingness to pitch in. We need strong leadership, committed advocates who will hold themselves to as high a standard as they demand of us, but the mood has changed from our luxurious, free-spending ways of the 1990s and early 2000s to a philosophy of restraint and expenses based on need. The time couldn’t be more ripe for sweeping, demonstrable initiatives — whatever they may be, I have no idea — which change the way everyone thinks of the goods they consume and the services they use. However, this must not remain a consumer-level mindset: the companies of the world must not be able to buy or legislate their way out of responsibility. Bank statements may take a hit, but the sustainability of the world is a far greater cause than profit margins.
It’s easy to say “this is what should happen” without considering the practical realities, and of course, there’s a wide range of industries which stand to lose the most the higher the targets are set, as Brigitte Alepin explains on the Mark. However, there are two issues with this sort of deflating pragmatism: for one, companies and individuals are more attentive to immediate problems over large-scale ones they can’t see, and as a result care more about the economy than the environment (a point well made by Chris Anderson in his recent book Free). While the state of the economy is undeniably crucial to pretty much everything, the bigger picture, while harder to see, is at least equally as important. This would be why environmentalism has failed to gain any real traction as a breakthrough global movement for change. And second, we don’t have to set the targets so prohibitively high on one or two markets to make a difference: we need to set the targets realistically achievable across every segment of the population in order to make a difference. I would have nothing against the bigger contributors against environmental catastrophes large and small (the oil industry, shipping, transportation, etc) having to pay more on a relative scale than individuals, but everyone needs to pitch in for this to succeed.
Of course, the two biggest contributors to climate issues down the road will likely remain the developed world and the quickly-developing world: the United States, Great Britains, Chinas and Indias of the world, amongst many others. It is here where the potential for leadership is greatest, following on the lead of countries such as Denmark, which have successfully managed to balance environmental restraint with day-to-day viability. The economies of scale when it comes to global responsibility are not restricted to borders or governments: this is a human issue, not a political one. Any examples of success we can get, we need to take and run with it, modifying it for our respective circumstances.
On an individual level, our chosen career paths all give us room to cause an impact. As writers, we owe it to the world to create the messages of awareness about the research and facts provided by scientists and mathematicians. As designers, we owe it to the world to spread these messages created by the writers. As illustrators and photographers, we owe it to the world to provide the visual impact which will help drive home the severity of the situation. Anything you can do to get more information out there, we owe it to ourselves to do it.
But our main responsibilities are our individual responsibilities as human beings. The burden of responsibility falls on every individual’s shoulder to change the way we live, from the smallest differences on up. The greatest impact comes from many small actions repeated, and while the over-arching philosophy may be the thought process which unites it all, the smallest acts can have the greatest difference with time.
These actions vary depending on geography, income, time and circumstance. One person’s solution is another person’s problem, and there’s only so much that any one person can do. However, the collective acceptance of a need to do something has already been realized, and what’s left is a need for guidance. The leadership will have to come from many sources, from our political leaders to community advocates and everyone in between. It may start from the top with the results of this summit, but it will only succeed as a result of a truly committed populace: we’re all in this mess together, and the sooner we realize that and act as individuals in pursuit of a common goal, the better off we’ll be. Realistically, not every person will be on board with this, but if a greater number of people recognize the need to do something over those who don’t, then there may be a chance that this whole enterprise will succeed.
It is time for us to live out our childhood dreams, our burning ambitions and our hidden agendas, our New Years resolutions and our personal oaths of change. It is time to make a difference.
It is time to change the world.
