Originally published March 21st, 2020
By Wesley Kean, KoDA
Imagine there is a global crisis which affects all countries around the world, in part because of globalization, but also because of the negligence of the humans. It will force the world to change their social behavior in a major way which will have detrimental impacts on the economy. To solve it will require global cooperation and non-partisan politics. People will be directly affected and unfortunately, many will die. The most impacted will be the most vulnerable. No, I’m not talking about COVID-19, more commonly known as the coronavirus, but I’m talking about global warming and climate change.
There seems to be a generational divide on both topics. In the case of the COVID-19 it seems like the older generation is upset with the younger generation because of social responsibility and the fact that many of them are not taking the virus seriously. This is because the narrative around the virus has been that it doesn’t affect the younger population as much as it does the older generation. Perhaps millennials are unwilling to stay home from their job because of the impact on their economy, or Gen-Z’s are unwilling to cancel their spring break plans because these behavioral changes may disrupt their otherwise normal and convenient lifestyle. However, the same could be said in reverse regarding climate change. The older generation is often unwilling to accept the urgency and change their social behavior related to carbon emissions because, in the same way, this won’t affect a generation who simply won’t be around to see the worst of climate change. I think there are a lot of similarities as well as lots of lessons we, as a society, can learn from COVID-19 and the importance of unity in the time of crisis; all of which could be directly applied to climate change:
Expanding testing: One of the main issues with the incredible speed by which COVID-19 was spread was, in part, due to not rolling out testing quickly enough. Without knowing who a carrier of the virus is it is very difficult to diligently practice the social distancing required to stop the path of spread. In the case of climate change, the test or diagnosis, has been made. The Scientific community is in overwhelming agreement that this is a man-made global crisis. People now need to accept this fact, stop the denial and realize that if man was capable of such damage in such a brief amount of time, then we are also capable of equally expedient solutions to mitigate the damage and prepare for what is to come.
Social responsibility, distancing and quarantine: We need to change our behavior. In the same way that it’s uncomfortable to resist indulging ourselves outside of what’s convenient in going to restaurants, bars, shopping malls, or other social destinations. We need to change our behavioral habits that impact the environment. We need to curb carbon emissions in a major way, despite its short-term effects on the economy. This includes innovating new forms of travel like high-speed rail, integrating more of a plant-based diet into our daily routines, new forms of infrastructure, including energy from renewable resources and most importantly – a new politics.
Expanding healthcare resources: This mitigation phase is about defense against the virus. It’s happened, there’s really no stopping it. Now, it’s about protecting ourselves and building up our defenses. Due to the virus the world has seen a shortage of ventilators, respirators, medical masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and other medical necessities. In a similar way, our world's ecosystems are diminishing. These dying ecosystems are the world's ventilators. From the Great Barrier Reef to the devastation of the Amazon and our ice caps, there is a continually increasing shortage of defenses against rising global temperatures. We need to massively decarbonize and prepare for new technologies to allow us to live with the future reality of a warmer earth. This includes integrating trillions of new trees into future buildings, wide-scale implementation of carbon capture machines and according to David Wallace-Wells book “The Uninhabitable Earth,” creating an industry of negative emission technology that would be more than 4 times the size of the oil and gas industry.
Impacts on economy: The effects COVID-19 has and will continue to have on the economy, experts say, will be the worst since the Great Depression of 1929. Similarly, the economic effects of climate change will cause major irreversible damage to our future economy. However, the difference here is that we have very little time to mitigate the effects against climate change before it’s too late. There will be a global race to develop new renewable energy systems to help power the new world. Some refer to this as the 4th industrial revolution as each prior revolution was sparked by three things; a new form of energy, communication and mobility. In the case of the new industrial revolution these consist of, the internet, renewable energy and autonomous vehicles, respectively. The United States can be the catalyst for global change. We are in an unprecedented global crisis against an invisible enemy. How we unite around this is important. We will get through this. Our takeaway from this can be expanded upon and applied to solutions to deal with our other invisible enemy, the climate crisis.
The effects of the current generation directly impact the one that follows and the following generation can always learn and build on the mistakes of the previous. Despite what each generation feels is the best way to handle a specific political, scientific or social issue, the solution always requires unity to make impactful change. The younger generation needs to be more socially responsible when it comes to COVID-19. They may not like social distancing, sheltering in place, or what impacts it may have on their otherwise normal lifestyle or the booming economy, but for the sake of the older generation they have to abide by it. In the same way, the older generation must let the younger generation lead the conversation and policy on climate change and take equally radical measures to address it. In the example of the spring breakers, it’s not that they don’t believe coronavirus is real, they just don’t agree with the policy or the guidelines on how to deal with it. Similarly, many retirees may not be willing to trade in the hot-rod for an electric vehicle, but this doesn’t mean they don’t believe in climate science. The paradox between generational groups is further dividing us. We all have something to learn from one another. We should be working together to create positive change and push back against our invisible enemies. Otherwise they may win the war.