The First Step: Understanding Climate Change
Part I of a Series
February 7, 2022
Global warming has been a focal point of debates about foreign and domestic policies for well over a decade. Myriad propositions to solve climate change have emerged, both for government intervention and individual contributions. Yet no meaningful progress has been made: carbon emissions rise yearly, and climate change has become less of a dystopian nightmare and more of a reality. In this series on Environmental Awareness, we will be exploring the truth about the climate crisis. As the generation is tasked with solving climate change, it is imperative that we stay informed and aware of the situation. This section will focus on the major contributors of climate change and the effectiveness of proposed solutions to combat it.
The global community has been aware of climate change for almost a century, but instead of reducing carbon emissions, humanity has increased emissions by more than 50% since 2000. Through tracking emission trends in the past decades, we can identify three major factors as primary contributors of climate change. The first, population growth, is often the most overlooked. Almost 2 billion more people inhabit this planet than did in the year 2000. These people require not only basic necessities like clothing, food, and shelter, but many also enjoy the luxuries of the modern world – the newest iPhones, fancy cars, bigger houses. This growing population requires increased production, which emits greenhouse gasses. Concurrent with population growth, the average person grows wealthier each year. Real GDP, the value of an economy, accounting for inflation, has doubled and in some places tripled over the past decades.
Carbon emissions have risen to fit modern needs and desires, which is more of a problem in the developed countries of the world. Given that a U.S. computer scientist, on average, produces more carbon emissions than a small village of Ugandan farmers, we face an unavoidable conundrum: Should humanity choose progress or survival?
The most daunting and elusive factor of climate change is the indirect rebound effect, which dictates how individuals’ attempts to reduce personal emissions may be futile, and in some cases, counterproductive. Presumably people purchase electric cars with the noble intention of avoiding gasoline consumption. Ostensibly, this effort should reduce one’s carbon footprint, while also saving the money that would have been spent on gas. This may seem like a win-win, but the indirect rebound effect explains that the money one saved from the purchase of the electric car will inevitably be reallocated to alternative outlets — going on trips or buying imported foods — resulting in an identical or even escalated carbon footprint. Even recycling is susceptible to the indirect rebound effect. Numerous studies in both a lab and field setting have shown that recycling leads to greater consumption of materials, which ultimately does more harm than good.
In essence, the first step in combating climate change is understanding the major factors that have contributed to it. Only then might humanity have a fighting chance at keeping this planet alive.
