If Every Human Were EVOO-Powered
Why the climate conversation continues to miss the mark
If every combustion engine were replaced with an electric battery tomorrow…
If every plastic straw were replaced with a hemp straw right now…
If every beef burger were vegetable-based…
You don’t have to be a climate scientist to recognize that a warming planet can have devastating effects on the earth, and on society. Extreme heat events can wreak havoc on socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in terms of heat-related illnesses and death. Rising seas can swallow houses. Warming waters can become uninhabitable for different fish and under-water flora that need cooler temperatures to survive.
But at the root of the climate crisis is an issue of disconnect. Humans are so disconnected from nature, and oftentimes each other, that they can not truly understand or internalize their part in the greater picture. Especially in America. It is common, even customary, for Americans to resist and counter nature in nearly every aspect of their lives. To altar every sensory experience of the world around them.
It is not uncommon for a typical suburban American to almost entirely avoid contact with nature on any given day. It is not difficult to imagine an American who walks from his temperature-controlled house into his temperature-controlled car, who parks in a parking deck that is connected to his place of work, and sits all day in his temperature-controlled office before making the journey in reverse.
Think about the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. Now think about how often those senses are altered by artificial stimuli. The fluorescent lights in the office, blue light at night, the headphones blocking out birdsong, the highly-processed foods, the hot showers, the plastic clothing and blankets, the cologne, the perfume, the candles, the plug-ins. The scented garbage bags. All of these things create an artificial reality. They are barriers between humans and the world around them.
I find it odd that the climate conversation is supposed to inspire people to care about something with which they have no experience with and no connection to. I think we must shift the conversation from the climate to humanity. Because until we see a cultural shift that reconnects humans to the essence of humankind, attempting to address climate change will be no different than herding cats.
The true needs of our species are not inherently dangerous. If we could shake up the narrative of this falsely constructed reality in which we find ourselves, we can see that we are, in fact, nature. And once we see it, we will not be able to unsee it. Imagine the power of the civic commons when that fact is common knowledge.
Focusing on reestablishing human connection––to self, others, and the earth––as climate action is not a lofty idea. When we are in a place of recognizing our needs, then we can demand the world around us to lend to these needs, and we will see that we are the solution.
Hemp straws have nothing on us.
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