On April 15th a fire in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France resulted in the collapse of the main roof and central spire. In response to the destruction many billionaires pledged millions of dollars to repair the cathedral, the French government promised to come together and focus on rebuilding, and many foreign governments pledged their support as well. The fact that normally bipartisan and apathetic governments can come together over a singular issue and that billionaires have been able to give over a billion dollars to help with repairs is a reminder of how easy it would be for governments and billionaires alike to help solve other issues in our world–yet they choose not to. That money and power could easily clean up the entire Pacific Garbage Patch, or revitalize the Great Barrier Reef, or end famines in Yemen, or Syria, or Venezuela, or Sudan, or provide clean water for Flint, or homes for refugees in Europe, or funds to transition to green energy–or anything else really.
It isn’t a bad thing to want to rebuild Notre Dame, but it is important to acknowledge that it only took 24 hours for 600 million dollars to be raised where as in six months only 15 million dollars have been raised for the rebuilding of Brazil’s National Museum (that’s what’s called white privilege). If billionaires and governments can provide for the rebuilding of monuments, then they have no real excuse not to provide for social and environmental emergencies. As Greta Thunberg said in her speech before the EU, “I want you to panic, I want you to act as if our house was on fire…Around the year 2030 we will be in a position where we set off an irreversible chain reaction that will lead to the end of our civilization as we know it unless permanent and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society have taken place…Our house is falling apart and our leaders need to start acting accordingly because at the moment they are not…We should be setting our differences aside and start cooperating for the walls of our house are coming down and we are rapidly running out of time yet basically nothing is happening. Why are we wasting precious time arguing about who and what has to change first? Everyone and everything has to change but the bigger your platform the bigger your responsibility, carbon footprint, moral duty.”
When the Notre Dame burned it was on the cover of every newspaper and the focus of every news broadcast. Well our planet is burning, people and animals are dying, and the foundation of our world is crumbling, yet it is not on the cover of any newspaper nor the focus of any broadcast. The only people it seems who give a damn are those who really have no power–children, that is. Although they cannot vote and are rarely listened to or respected, they have taken to the streets to do whatever they can to beg older generations to listen and to act.
According to the IPCC, “we are nowhere near on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement” much less achieving zero carbon emissions by 2030. However there are notable people and organizations which are fighting for change despite all odds. This includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Green New Deal, Hansjörg Wyss who invested a billion dollars into meeting the IPCC’s goals, and 350.org which is a grassroots world-wide organization that mobilizes local climate-focused campaigns, projects and actions. While these people and organizations are making changes at the social and institutional level, every single person is also responsible for enacting change at all levels. There are simple ways we can all reduce carbon emissions to help stall climate change; walk or take public transit, eat less red meat, eat locally grown and in season food, turn off your lights, turn down your thermostat, reduce and reuse before you recycle, call, email, or write to your elected representatives, and most importantly VOTE for people and legislation that will fight for our lives and our future.
The future is in our hands and it is not too late to act. It will require vision, courage, and determination to act now and lay the foundations for change even if we don’t know all the details. We must wake up and make the changes required. To do your best is no longer good enough; we must do the seemingly impossible