Climate change—or let’s be blunt here, global warming—is a difficult topic of discussion not only because no one genuinely understands the ramifications of a warming Earth, but also because there is not one unified blueprint to tackling the problem.
We fight fire with water. We fight obesity with exercising and dieting. We fight lethargy with sleep. We fight boredom with Netflix. But how exactly do we stop global warming?
First off, this is a global issue. When one person is obese, that individual can fight obesity with independent exercising and dieting. But global warming requires the entire world—or at least, a large majority of the population—to come together and tackle the issue. And this is where we have a quagmire because pollution is an externality:
“For economists, the problem is that polluters are not required to bear the full cost of the pollution they create in terms of the costs to wider society.”
My proposed solution?
Look. I won’t give you one.
Because, let’s be honest, we all know how to reduce our carbon footprint.
And if you legitimately don’t know how to help the environment, then you’re not being creative enough.
Instead, I urge you to think more about what it means to our world if we don’t do anything. And I mean now. And even if it means baby steps towards a better future, at least we are doing something, anything.
Because in a world where everyone wants to take take take, let’s remember that we need to give back to Mother Earth too.
Blog of Jeff Wang 