Get Involved

In the last class we watched a film called "Crossroads", a film that discussed what the creators thought were the reasons behind the current social and environmental crises that our world is experiencing. The major shortfall of the movie was that the creators neglected to provide any ample solutions to the crises that they were describing. The movie was successful in drawing attention to our problems but that was all.
In order create a sustainable future and a more environmentally responsible populace we must begin with the people who have the most power. In the United States these parties would be big corporations and politicians. These people have the power to influence everything that our society is based on and yet a staggering amount refuse to acknowledge or even flat out deny that climate change is an ongoing and dangerous reality. Donald Trump, who is currently leading in republican polls has been quoted saying that he "believes that weather changes" and was unconvinced that climate change is happening and would be until someone proved him otherwise. This type of ignorance is staggering at this day and age and should not be coming from somebody who has this type of power and influence, and much less from somebody who has the possibility of becoming president. The other side to this coin is the big corporations who are either in the business of or are heavily invested in the business of fossil fuels. They have made themselves comfortable in their positions and quite understandably do not want to relinquish their position at the top of the food chain so they will do anything that they can in order to dig their heels in as much as possible. Which means endorsing and contributing to the campaigns of candidates who support them. According to OpenSecrets.com, in 2012 Oil & Gas companies donated over $70 million to federal candidates. These candidates then will go on to create and maintain legislature that protects the fossil fuel companies interests and continue spewing nonsense rhetoric to the public that we needn't worry about climate change because good old mother earth is just going through a phase.
We as a country need to become more engaged in the political process. We need to examine our politicians platforms more carefully and work towards electing candidates who care about our worlds future and won't bow to the loaded palms of the fossil fuel industry or the corporations who are involved with them. By electing more informed candidates we can expect to see more discussions and media spotlights on climate change which will lead to reforms on climate policy. We need to work from the top down because waiting around for a technological fix or a nationwide change in consumption is a waste of time.