“A Call to Arms” Response

In Bill McKibben’s “A Call to Arms,” he exposes the alarming truth about the status of our planet. One of the points that stood out to me is that, though people are aware of this grave situation, it doesn’t exactly stand out as something that needs to be attacked at the moment.      When measured up to large scale revolutionary change, such as war or slavery, slightly warmer summers seem to pale in comparison. Even political leaders seem to lean more towards other radical issues, than the environmental dilemas plaguing our culture today. The general population doesn’t care nearly enough about problems that are getting exposure on the news and other media outlets, so topics such as global warming, which don’t even get the luxury of that kind of awareness, might as well not even exist.

I think the real problem with global warming, as pointed out in the article, is that no one wants to take responsibility. I mean, how does one even go about trying to save the entire planet Earth, when most of us can’t even care for a plant for a considerable amount of time, without it dying? The solutions that we provide to the public seem so small and insignificant, it almost loses its purpose. Throwing that aluminum can in the proper recycling bin seems less like we’re saving the planet, and more like a useless task done for the sake of a hopeless cause. People begin to lose their drive and sense of duty. But then, if we assign bigger roles to individual parties, they will automatically shut down and refuse to take part in such a large mission. Where is the dividing line between too much responsibility, and too little?

McKibben concludes that if enough awareness is made, and that if enough passion drives the fight, real change is a possibility. However, part of me wonders if this will ever be a reality, and if enough people will care, to the extent that we need them to, before it’s too late. Our human tendency to push the limit, to test how far we can go, may consequently and ironically, lead to our destruction. How much longer can we ignore this problem? How much longer before we don’t even have the option to change our ways? How much longer can we pretend?