Hortong talks in detail about climate change in New York City including extreme heat waves and temperature. There are plenty of evidence of the climate change and much research being done to project and predict the extent of its possible effects. The problems of it are something Norgaard agrees with and argues need immediate action.
Norgaard talks about various factors contributing to American’s apathy and public silence in regards to climate change: strong individualism, fear, hopelessness, and guilt, lack of trust and participation in politics, and others. Which of the factors Norgaard talks about do you agree with/relate to the most, if any? As a college student, what are some things that can be done to make climate change become visible in “daily lives and in government planning” and allow more Americans to become more active in this matter?
The message in Horton’s report is clear – climate change is real, it’s happening, and there is evidence of it all around us. Specifically focusing on New York City, he sites examples of severe temperature fluctuations, sea level rises and drastic changes in precipitation (the latter two of which have been clearly exemplified during the recent Hurricane Sandy). His analysis gives off a pressing sense of urgency, yet as Norgaard points out, that urgency is often either not felt or not acted upon by the general public.
I can strongly relate to the psychological sentiments that Norgaard attributes to our apathy regarding this issue; particularly fear and hopelessness. After the recent Hurriane Sandy, I (along with a number of friends I spoke to) couldn’t help but wonder if extreme natural disasters such as this and Hurricane Katrina would soon become the norm and what that would mean for our society as a whole. What would happen if every year or so, before we had the chance to rebuild from the last one, another huge storm hit – disrupting our lives, our markets, our schooling? The fear Norgaard talks about is definitely there, but it is also coupled with the sense of helplessness he mentions. It’s hard to imagine that my carrying a reusable shopping bag or using a ‘green’ product would do even the tiniest bit to alleviate our problem, and as one of the student’s in Norgaard’s work pointed out – since corporations and big industries are the ones contributing most to our carbon footprint, it seems like they are the only ones who can do something to help erase it.
While I don’t know much about the issue to propose any meaningful solutions, I do think there are a few things that can be done to help push climate change into the forefronts of our minds. For example, going back to Hortong’s report – there is so much information there about the reality of the situation and what it could mean for the future of New York City and other cities like it, but it is buried under confusing facts and figures about GHG emissions or GCM simulations – something which the average American (myself included) has a hard time grasping. Chances are that most Americans will never see Hortong’s report, and even if they do, will not understand it. If we make literature about the effects of climate change more user-friendly and accessible, perhaps more people would understand the urgency of the situation. Of course, there are a number of other things the government, for example, can do to encourage our participation. Incentives such as tax breaks or subsidies to businesses who make an effort to be “greener” would definitely make a difference, for example. But first and foremost, in my opinion, is education the public. The more we know, the more we can do.
I recently shared a late-night discussion with a friend, having a half-serious, half-comic discussion about the various ways “humans have wrecked the natural world”. The general feeling was, “the world really needs to change dramatically right now,” but “there are so many people though and a few people is not the world”. Norgaard definitely spoke to me, because people naturally prefer to live in bubbles of security, but everyone needs to seriously wake up, and the ones who have woken up need to be reassured that they can make a difference and need to keep trying. It’s easy to say, but it really is hard to keep it up.
As far as daily lives go, maybe some bold advertisement-like reminders would help us out. Like the way we are constantly reminded to purchase consumer goods, it would be nice to have serious campaigns that give us sticky phrases, eye-catchers, some sensory simulation that can’t be ignored.
I also agree with Yana about government planning. Planning will follow most naturally when individuals start caring and voters demand to have their concerns addressed.
*stimulation…
In Norgaard’s piece, she mentioned the factor of guilt being a major reason as to why people refuse to acknowledge climate change; to believe that ignoring it will make it seem like it’s not there. I don’t believe that is necessarily true. I think the mindset of many individuals believe that the effects of one person on the earth will not make a difference, and therefore there is not much guilt instilled in these individuals anyway. It is the overall compilation of the effects of billions of people in the world that really causes climate change, and if a large body does not take action, such as the government, than an individual does not need to act and even if one does, it will be ineffective. This might be a game of shifting the blame, but maybe that comes hand in hand with guilt.
Living in a society such as New York City, which has growing focus on climate change, I don’t believe that the feeling of hopelessness should be as strong. Yes, we may fear because there is no way to stop mother nature from acting the way that it does in response to what we have done to the earth. However, we are taking action to handle disasters, even though we refused to ignore the warnings and suffered extreme damages in events such as Hurricane Sandy, I think we will learn from our mistakes. Even in situations like these, where government preparation proved to be inadequate and unprepared, thousands of people came together to help the affected communities. I myself visited Rockaway Beach after the hurricane and there were countless number of volunteers and volunteer stations set up to help. Groups of people were walking around the entire stretch of the neighborhood to offer help in various ways. When groups and organizations are formed, I actually think a fairly large amount of people become active in this matter. I believe it is understood that such a grave event like Hurricane Sandy did not just happen out of no where and that the underlying effect was due to climate change.
If our government fails to protect us or set up effective ways to fight back, it knows it will undergo extreme criticism. Many people have an idea of what is going on, and the goal now should be to get people more involved and active not only after bad situations occur, but to become involved daily to mitigate these bad situations before they occur. People will be involved in these issues because it has proven to effect many directly and they will take measures to protect themselves.
Horton’s Climate Observations and Projections provide a clear illustration of the fluctuating climate of New York City and how human activities greatly impact the climate system. While there is plenty of evidence supporting the likelihood of intense heat waves, increasing temperature and precipitation, and rising sea levels, and an apparent call to immediate action, Norgaard points out the various factors contributing to the America’s apathy and public silence in regards to climate change. I think that fear is a very strong factor to the passive disregard of the climate change, because as Yana had previously mentioned, after Hurricane Sandy, I began to worry that we may have to become accustomed to extreme natural disasters as they have been occurring more and more frequently. I believe that with uncertainty comes anxiety and uneasiness. With every extreme case of weather New York City has encountered within the past year, there has been a frenzy period of panic and fear. This sense of fear goes hand in hand with helplessness; many people are scared the problem of climate change is too large to conquer and as Norgaard points out, we are overwhelmed because although we recognize the seriousness of the problem, we don’t know where to start, whether anyone else cares, or if the political system will support us. I agree that guilt is also a major factor contributing to America’s apathy because the climate change is a constant reminder of activities we “should” or “shouldn’t” be doing to help preserve our society. It may be uncomfortable thinking about climate change for someone who has done little for the society or has in fact contributed greatly to the emission of greenhouse gases. As college students, to make climate change become visible in daily lives we must educate the public, as Yana also mentions, and also reduce the negative effect of hopelessness, which brings down the urgency of the situation at hand.