At War with Climate Change

As proposed by author David Orr in his book Down to the Wire, climate change surrounds us with the inevitable alteration of our current environmental climate, the result of a world devolving from general stability into a world with increasing famines and storms displacing populations and creating food shortages. For the past twenty to thirty years, naysayers have argued with scientists about the plausibility and reality of a quickly changing world. In the aftermath of storms like Typhoon Haiyan, the reality of our changing world confronts us. In light of these increasing difficulties, the United States must respond quickly and boldly to enact new regulations, modify currently ineffective policies, and repeal harmful laws that distract from finding a meaningful solution combatting the effects of climate change.

In the world of health care, America currently sites mired in a system overwhelmed with demand and greatly lacking in effective solutions. To dramatically combat climate change, Americans must reinvent their culture to focus on healthy, sustainable lifestyles in order to lessen the burden on healthcare system. In doing so, they will demand less of the infrastructure around them dedicated to their sustenance, thereby reducing their carbon footprint. Orr writes of misleading solutions conveying the idea that "climate is merely a problem that can be solved by technological fixes without addressing the larger structure of ideas, philosophies, assumptions, and paradigms that have brought us to the brink of inevitable disaster" (Orr, xiv). Stopping disastrous climate change in its tracks requires all members of the public to individually consider their carbon footprint.

The work of the president alongside congress begins in the voting and campaign process where leaders agree to work together towards the greater social good of the public instead of fighting to represent small factions of the populace. Currently, the American republic operates in a complex system of checks and balances where money directs policies and career political success is defined in the pleasing of the easily swayed masses. Until the voting and campaign process focuses on a greater good extending beyond a "what can the government do for me" attitude, serious discussion about long-term climate solutions will elude meaningful conversations. As for the president and congress, the current state of affairs in Washington suggests continued policy gridlock into the foreseeable future. American culture loves the individual experience, and this self-infatuation makes climate change through policy, ultimately thinking before others instead of the convenience of a moment, difficult to effectuate.

The media, for the most part, continues to alert the public to the realities of climate change. In the aftermath of each disaster, reporters travel to the scene of the event to capture the moment with live coverage interviewing victims and discussing ways to donate to a charity cleaning up after the mess. In doing so, however, the public largely arrives at a point of desensitization to the horrors of famine or storm. When confronted with such harsh realities, the casual viewer may dismiss the story for its bias. Perhaps, in an effort to gain credibility among viewers of all political dissuasions, networks like MSNBC and FOX news could elect to tone down their rhetoric and sensationalized viewpoints in the interest of providing the realities of a situation as it stands without such heavy slants and surmised viewpoints. Perhaps then, in the hopes of Orr, we may find climate change solutions that positively impact our world.

Work Cited

Orr, David W.. Down to the wire: confronting climate collapse. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.