And it's all our fault

Scientists have known for over 150 years that CO2 degrades the environment. Since the 1970s, scientific research has been inundated with a variety of studies from a variety of sources that climate change is real, that we caused it, and that we are already suffering the consequences. Yet, somehow, very little has changed. In his article for The Guardian, Damian Carrington lays out a few reasons why this is the case. The following serves as my modest amendment to his analysis.

The intersection of science and politics is – at best – a muddled affair, and at worst an absolute disaster. As Professor showed us last week, the Republican Party has found a way to take a scientific reality and politically mythologize it. 2002’s “Winning the Global Warming Debate” laid out a way for Republican politicians to present climate change as something debatable. It also laid out a way to block any meaningful environmental legislation by pulling the jobs card and the “it’s just a theory” card. In a political debate, politicians will always win over scientists. Brainiacs rarely make convincing, effective victories over this well devised rhetoric (see also our current president).

The American media is also playing its role in preventing a green revolution by doing what they do best – perpetuating a non-issue. Scientifically, climate change isn’t truly up for debate. But watching America’s relatively fair and balanced news sources, it is something that is hotly contested among scientists. Giving equal weight to both sides of climate change science removes the urgency of the issue. Drastic changes are necessary to our infrastructure and our economy. But we are still debating the question of whether we even need to take such measures. Talking heads

Individual complacency, too, hinders the capacity for real environmental protection. As Thomas Friedman describes in his book Hot, Flat, and Crowded, “green living” has become a trend, not a radical movement. Corporations take advantage of the green trend and the disunity of environmentalism. There is no single standard on what makes a product “green.” What companies have done is cover their packaging with pictures of leaves and the earth and call it environmentally responsible. Many consumers will give into the marketing strategy, buy the leafy water bottle, and call it a day. In this way, the American idea of green living isn’t a revolution. It isn’t retreat into an island civilization. The American idea of green living is buying 1-use bottled water that was made with 25% less plastic than the other guy’s 1-use water bottle.