By Juliana Knijnik
Climate Change.
The Antarctic ice melting.
Temperature rising.
Droughts becoming more frequent.
Life as know it ending.
All of us are definitely not strangers to climate change. It’s on the news, it’s a topic at school and what we talk about. All of us are aware that we’re running out of time to fix the damage we have done. It already might be too late.
Is it a wonder we’re out on the streets protesting?
Is it a wonder the climate change movement has become the biggest in history?
We are running out of time. We classify animals as vulnerable, endangered, near extinction or extinct.
But the sad truth is that it's time we classify ourselves as near extinction. Because the earth is dying. And we will die along with it. But even with tangible evidence, such as the polar caps melting, and hard facts, there are still people out there who deny that climate change is real.
These climate change deniers either claim there is no climate change, that it’s not a problem or that Climate Change happens naturally and that it is not caused by humans. But why? Many ask. Why are these Climate Change Deniers so willing to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the growing problem that’s right in front of them?
Well many Climate Change Deniers do so because it is an inconvenient truth, either it doesn’t fit in their worldview, they fear society’s reaction, or their income would be harmed transitioning away from fossil fuels. As it clashes with their beliefs and values, they suppress the truth and either reason around the facts or ignore them entirely. When this happens, no matter how hard you try to browbeat them with facts they will refuse to believe it and will cling stubbornly to their own beliefs. This is because they are not reasoning rationally and impartially. There are ways of changing their minds of course such as presenting climate change in a way that fits with their values and beliefs but there are still some who will refuse to believe in Climate Change.
Fossil Fuel companies are probably some of the biggest promoters of Climate Change Denial out there. Many of them have known about Climate Change for years –Exxon Mobil, for example, has known since the 1970s – and have done nothing about it. Worse, they have been actively attempting to deny Climate Change, obfuscate the truth and stop Climate Action. And why? To stop themselves from losing money and keep us dependent on fossil fuels. They selfishly ignore the fact that Climate Change is destroying our planet and soon any changes made will be irreversible.
There are also a large amount of politicians who deny Climate Change or do nothing to help stop it. One example of this is our Prime Minister Scott Morrison who is figuratively in bed with the fossil fuel companies. In 2017 he brought in a lump of coal into parliament, supposedly as a joke. Sir David Attenborough doesn’t think so however saying "I don't think it was a joke. If you weren't opening a coal mine, then okay, I would agree it's a joke. But you are opening a coal mine." During the recent School Strikes he claimed that students should go back to school and said “What we want is more learning in schools and less activism in schools.” There is also my local MP Craig Kelly who claimed on social media that ‘climate change isn’t real’.
There’s also such a thing as a “Climate Change Doomist”. These people think that the fight against climate change is useless and that we’re going to experience an “apocalypse” anyways, so what’s the point in trying to save the Earth? These people offer no helpful solutions, facts and they’re also very wrong. The scientific consensus is that reducing emissions can still slow climate change.
So the fight against climate change isn’t pointless, however it’s a very real battle that we need to engage in. There are politicians out there who are trying to stop Climate Change but it isn’t enough. Climate Change is a very real problem and Climate Change Deniers and Doomists are not helping when Climate Action is urgently needed if we want to save the planet.
* The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Woke magazine.