*Facepalm*

I just could not resist the urge to facepalm when reading this section of Climate Changed. It was not out of annoyance from anything Squarzoni wrote, but out of confusion. Squarzoni mentions that the annual CO₂  quota per person would have to be 440 pounds in order to maintain the planet. That’s less than 3% of what the average American generates! In order for this to work, everyone in the world would have to live the lifestyle of a malnourished person. I know that taking action against climate change requires everyone to make sacrifices, but living an impoverished lifestyle is no way for anyone to live. What confuses me the most  is that other climate change activists say that with renewable energy, developed nations won’t have to drastically change their lifestyles. Even though the technology for renewable energy does work,  as far as I know, it has yet to be implemented on a massive scale (If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know).

As of right now, I just feel really conflicted. Do I believe what climate change activists say over Squarzoni because it sounds more optimistic? On one hand, I know that combatting global warming requires sacrifice. But on the other hand, I know that I personally would not want to live the lifestyle of a malnourished person. Even though the technology for renewable energy is readily available, part of me wonders if it will ever be able to allow developed nations to still live a comfortable lifestyle.