Climate and Capitalism

Most of Naomi Klein’s talk was about climate change, its effects on the world, and what can be done to combat it. Instead of hearing many familiar words, Klein rephrased some expressions that sounded more convincing or ethical. She described how climate change is “the key to global reparations,” how it is another way to “fight global injustice.” This is a very moral-driven way to convince people to take action, and that’s admirable on the speaker’s part. Unfortunately, many people need to be persuaded first that global warming and climate change is a real thing instead of a myth. The worst part is that we have passed 1 degree of Celsius warming and yet we still have taken very little action.

I have read articles on the web before that state how even if we combat global warming, we will lose, and that there is really nothing we can do that can prevent it. That may be true, but it is our duty as earthlings to keep the planet inhabitable for as long as possible. Klein informed us that “2011 was the hottest year,” leading to a “massive crop failure with 8 billion dollars lost.” We even had an Academy Award winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, released as early as 2006.

This all reminded me of one of my favorite episodes ever from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. In the video, link provided below, Jon praises the march for global warming while asking the question of why a march is even necessary. He then points all his fingers at the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology. He uses phrases like “pushing a million tons of idiot up a mountain” to describe the whole affair. Jon even uses a glass of water with ice to make the problem as clear as possible, asking if we have to make a volcano with baking soda to convince people that global warming is real.

The Daily Show – Burn Noticed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPgZfhnCAdI