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The Climate Crisis is an Equity Issue

Posted on March 15, 2021October 11, 2022

When I started this whole journey towards an eco-positive lifestyle, I started out with trying to live zero waste. I saw pictures of the polluted seas and read about the environment. I wanted to make the earth a better place by changing my behavior. And this aspect is something I also hear people talk about all the time: we have to save the planet, the environment, the oceans. And even though I think this is true, I don’t think it’s just about the planet. It’s about us, humans. Over the years I’ve learned that all the things I do for the sake of the planet or environment are mostly issues about equity. We need to start seeing the climate crisis as an equity issue. And we need equity for all humans.

The Planet

Let’s face it: the climate crisis is about us. We need to save our own race, the human race. That’s because earth will survive without us. I acknowledge that the things we do to our planet are horrible. In some cases we do irreversible damage and in other cases we don’t even know yet what the consequences of our actions are. We wipe out entire species and cross certain thresholds. That’s horrible in itself, but still, after all this, the earth will survive.

The planet will still be here if we don’t manage to combat the climate crisis. Maybe it’s in another form, but it will be here. Evolution has tough us that life can flourish again long after the human race might be gone. It might even be a good thing if the human race dies off. If certain species do survive the coming decade and we don’t, they can finally thrive. We will no longer dominate and destroy their world. The bottom line is: we the climate crisis is mostly about humans.

Equity

First things first, we need to combat the climate crisis in order for humankind to survive. However, the climate crisis has been a slow proces over the past decades. Certain parts, and therefore people, in the world suffer from the consequences before others do. This makes the climate crisis as it is right now an equity problem which is reinforced by the fact that climate change is mostly caused by the richest part of the world. In theory it is quite simple. A small part of the humans on the world is causing a massive problem that right now mostly makes the rest of the world suffer. It’s just not fair. That’s why this climate crisis is a matter of equity and therefore compassion. The humans that cause the biggest part of the climate crisis need to live more compassionate quit being selfish.

Right now, most rich people make selfish choices. Rich people will have that big steak or flight to a foreign country. They will invest in oil and gas to make a profit their-self. They do buy that new pair of shoes even if they already own 20 pairs. That’s what’s happening. We need to learn that this crisis is about equity. If the richest humans do better, everybody thrives. That’s because the poorest people are hit first.

The Groups that Suffer

The fact that certain groups suffer the consequences of the climate crisis way earlier and way more makes this a problem of equity. The first group to be named is poor people. The global south is a region where the climate crisis already has mass consequences (which explains the mass refugees), the areas close to the equator. Harvests fail, desertification increases, temperature rises, etc. These areas are the areas where some of the poorest countries in the world are located, which doesn’t make them resilient.

Historically, marginalized groups are the first to suffer consequences of environmental change. Indigenous communities for example, forced off their land. It has also been proven that climate change increases gender inequality. Woman are usually dependent on the natural environment in order to survive. And due to racism people of color usually live in poorer areas. This makes them more vulnerable to the climate crisis since these areas are at risk of all sorts of factors like floods. Climate justice is social justice.

the climate crisis is an equity issue
Areas in the world which suffer the most from the climate crisis (Source).

Hopeful

I know this story is horrible and makes us humans look really bad. But even after all this, I think most humans are inherently good. I believe we all have compassion in us and want for all humans to thrive. I think this problem is caused because people don’t see the direct consequences. When someone eats a steak, they don’t see that this causes climate change (nor that they’ve taken an animals life just for their pleasure). When someone flies 3000 kilometeres to go on a holiday, they don’t see the emissions that it causes. The climate crisis is a slow proces and for rich and privileged people it’s usually invisible. I think that makes for the ignorance. Not the fact that people are pure evil.

And I think that’s why we need to see the climate crisis as an equity issue. I think people will respond differently if they know this issue is about people, people just like them who want to live a happy life. If we tell people it’s good to purchase less stuff because it’s better for the planet, that might not ring a bell with someone. If we tell them it will make a big difference for other people as a matter of climate justice, they might care. Let’s make the climate crisis about equity.

Have you ever realized that the climate crisis is an equity issue?

Yours sincerely,
Romee

2 thoughts on “The Climate Crisis is an Equity Issue”

  1. Pingback: News + What You Can Do About It | March 2021 | When A Teen Goes Green
  2. Pingback: Sustainable and ethical behavior is about compassion | When A Teen Goes Green

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ABOUT ME

 

Hi! My name is Romee Hoeksma and I am on a journey to an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle in which I have a more positive than negative impact on the beautiful planet earth. On this blog you can follow my journey to a life with only positive impact. At this blog you can find all sorts of things, from tips to recipes to personal experiences, but most of all fun (I hope!). I write about how I want to change the world, but don’t look at it as if I’m judging you. If anything, I like responses from my dear readers the most, so don’t hesitate to contact me or respond to any of my posts!

Yours sincerely,
Romee

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Ik ga dit jaar weer de challenge aan om de winter door te komen zonder de warming aan te zetten. Hiervoor ging mijn essential, een warmwaterkruik 💦, kapot. In deze reel laat ik je zien hoe ik een ‘nieuwe’ tweedehands kruik kocht. Vandaag te lezen op whenateengoesgreen.com: een inspirerende documentary over Greta Thunberg: I am Greta. Een documentaire over hoop, maar vooral over doorzettingsvermogen 🔥. Lees het nu via de link in mijn bio. Meer vegan producten in de schappen, yay! Gisteren probeerde ik voor het eerst de vegan lentil tikki masala saus van Patak’s 🧑🏼‍🍳. Zie in deze reel wat ik ervan vond. Vandaag verscheen er een nieuw artikel op mijn blog over: 5 dingen die ik niet koop. Want we denken vaak dat we dingen écht nodig hebben, maar vaak is dat niet zo 🧠. Check het artikel via de link in miijn bio. Vorige week verscheen er een artikel op mijn blog over alles wat ik nieuw kocht in 2022. Dat is een groot deel van mijn negatieve impact. Deze week was het tijd om te kijken naar de andere kant van de medaille. Vandaag lees je op mijn blog een artikel over al mijn positive impact in 2022 🌞. Je vind de link naar het artikel in de link in mijn bio. Afgelopen week verscheen er op mijn blog een artikel over alles wat ik nieuw heb gekocht in 2022. Eén ding op de lijst waren deze onderbroeken (een stuk of 20). En nu denk je misschien: waarom zou je in één keer zoveel onderbroeken kopen? Op 31 december, nog net op de valreep in 2022, kwam er een video online op mijn Youtube-kanaal over voedselcoöperaties. Ik denk namelijk dat voedselcoöperaties ons voedselsysteem democratischer en eerlijker kunnen maken 🥦. Elk jaar stel ik mezelf als doel om geen nieuwe spullen te kopen. Er is weer een jaar voorbij, dus het was tijd om te evalueren. Is het me gelukt om in 2022 geen nieuwe spullen te kopen? 🛒 Je leest het vandaag op m’n blog. Ook tijdens het gourmetten kan je heel makkelijk vegan eten 🌱. Zie hier wat ik at als vegan op de tweede kerstdag 🎄. Gourmetten is een topoplossing als je niet uren in de keuken wilt staan. Lekkere snacks kopen, even snijden en alles neerzetten en bakken maar!

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  • Documentary: I am Greta
  • 5 things I don’t buy
  • My positive impact in 2022
  • All my new purchases in 2022
  • Eco-positive toilet paper: The Good Roll

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