Environmental Wake-Up Call

I was really impressed by Van Jones' idea to aggressively fight environmental problems through coming up with real solutions that are both practical and reasonable for every individual to partake in. The reality is that saving the environment is not always about making sure that the international organizations and structures are doing their part, but also the individual needs to contribute in whatever way possible, so that living green is something that we can all work on.

Jones speaks of potential green jobs that can be created in order to effectively address the issue of climate change and to make sure that people are actively taking part in the fight toward saving our planet. Saving the planet through the creation of green jobs that bolster the economy and contribute to positive environmental progress can be attained, and it is still possible to make a difference. Many people are drawn away from environmental issues because they take on a kind of mentality where it is often times possible to detach oneself from the severity of the environmental problem. People don't want to believe that one day they could wake up and the world that they have lived in for so long is turning into an environmental war zone. It is hard for many people to care about the long-term effects of environmental problems, especially when that means making changes and sacrifices now that do not necessarily serve their self-interests in the present day, but instead focuses on future generations and sustainable development.

It is extremely scary to get caught up in all of the "what ifs" that may or may not happen when it comes to the state of environmental issues around the world. But, if we look at the hard facts on climate change issues specifically, we can see that the world in the past few decades has not gotten any better. The environmental issues have gained even more momentum as the Earth's temperatures continue to rise, the number of endangered species increases, and our willingness to take action still remains at a mediocre level as a global society. We speak of economic meltdowns on Wallstreet and the government comes to the rescue, yet when it comes to combating environmental issues many people choose to ignore the situation at hand. What does it really take to make a difference? What we do know is that we, as global citizens, must actively and aggressively lobby Congress as much as possible, so that our leaders look toward environmentally friendly solutions that are beneficial to us all. For example, increasing the amount of green jobs, as mentioned in the reading, as well as lessening our dependence on fossil fuels.

There is no one solution to global climate change, but one thing that is for sure is that sooner or later there will be an environmental wake-up call in whatever catastrophic form it may take. However, instead we must listen to the wake-up call now! We cannot afford to wait any longer. The optimist in me believes that we can change the future, but at the same time I do not ignore that the environmental situation cannot fully be fixed at this point. That does not mean we should give up.

I fear that the real environmental wake-up call will come later when it is too late to change the current state of the environment. The only thing that will be left is that scientists, environmentalists, and others fighting for environmental change, will agree on one thing:

"I told you so."