Recently, I read an op-ed by Gernot Wagner titled "Going Green but Getting Nowhere". The article was about carbon dioxide emissions and the effects we as human beings have on the earth. Basically, Wagner is stating that no matter how hard some individuals try to "go green" or try to limit the amount of gasses they put into the atmosphere, we still have no chances of changing our fate or limiting global warming.
"YOU reduce, reuse and recycle. You turn down plastic and paper. You avoid out-of-season grapes. You do all the right things. Good. Just know that it won't save the tuna, protect the rainforest or stop global warming. The changes necessary are so large and profound that they are beyond the reach of individual action. Say you're willing to make real sacrifices. Sell your car. Forsake your air-conditioner in the summer, turn down the heat in the winter. You would, in fact, have no impact on the planet"
To me, this was a very powerful statement. It just flat out says that, for lack of better words, we are screwing ourselves and there's no going back or fixing the problem. Now, say 70% of all U.S. citizens stopped using a cell phone for the rest of their lives. Yeah that would have an impact, but that wouldn't happen for a billion years. In this day and age, no one can logistically live like that anymore. So what about riding your bike to work every day and limiting your use on the family car? Big-whoop. Again, the amount of people the nation would need to contribute to something like this is out of the question. The American population puts out an average of 20 tons of carbon dioxide a year while the Europeans, only 10 tons. So say somehow we do start to limit the use of electronic devices, cars, planes, trains, air conditioners, and heaters. Maybe we could get that 20 tons down to 18 tons. Possibly. The difference between 20 and 18 is unremarkable and hardly any different.
Scientists say that, as a country, we would need to limit our carbon dioxide emissions to about half when the year 2050 rolls around. And even then that would mean rising temperatures and sea levels for centuries to come. So in reality, recycling and riding your bike to work is a good thing. But know, that if we really had to make a change, it would involve a lot more than that and is highly unseen in our near future.
It was very informative but sad. my family works hard to try and make a difference but its true that It doesn't effect the bigger picture. We humans have dug ourselves into a very deep hole.
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