Impakter
  • News
    • Culture
      • Art
      • Cinema
      • Entertainment
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Photography
    • Style
      • Architecture
      • Design
      • Fashion
      • Foodscape
      • Lifestyle
    • Society
      • Business
      • Foreign Affairs & Politics
      • Health
      • Tech
      • Science
      • Start-up
    • Impact
      • Environment
      • Eco Life
      • Circular Economy
      • COP26
      • CityLife
        • Copenhagen
        • San Francisco
        • Seattle
        • Sydney
      • Sustainability Series
        • SDGs Series
        • Shape Your Future
        • 2030: Dream or Reality
      • Philanthropy
        • United Nations
        • NGO & Charities
        • Essays
  • Business Hub
  • Sustainability Index
  • Partners
  • About
    • Team
    • Contributors
    • Global Leaders
    • Write for Impakter
      • Republishing Content
      • Permissions and Copyright
      • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Culture
      • Art
      • Cinema
      • Entertainment
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Photography
    • Style
      • Architecture
      • Design
      • Fashion
      • Foodscape
      • Lifestyle
    • Society
      • Business
      • Foreign Affairs & Politics
      • Health
      • Tech
      • Science
      • Start-up
    • Impact
      • Environment
      • Eco Life
      • Circular Economy
      • COP26
      • CityLife
        • Copenhagen
        • San Francisco
        • Seattle
        • Sydney
      • Sustainability Series
        • SDGs Series
        • Shape Your Future
        • 2030: Dream or Reality
      • Philanthropy
        • United Nations
        • NGO & Charities
        • Essays
  • Business Hub
  • Sustainability Index
  • Partners
  • About
    • Team
    • Contributors
    • Global Leaders
    • Write for Impakter
      • Republishing Content
      • Permissions and Copyright
      • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Impakter
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

Surviving Climate Change: The Questions Regarding Change

byBrad Zarnett - Sustainability Strategist, Writer and Speaker
February 28, 2020
in Environment
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

As we welcome a new decade it’s time to recognize that “we the people” will need to be the ones to solve the climate crisis.

The Big Question Regarding Change is How?
How can hundreds of millions of people unite and build a movement for massive social and economic change? How do we combat a steady stream of misinformation from the status-quo- protecting corporate media? How do we sell the idea that the very way in which we’re organized around commerce and ecosystem protection are in conflict – and nature is losing?

How do we convince millions of people that we need to instantly give up many of the conveniences that we’ve come to rely on in order to prevent something that we can’t see and that will happen at some point in the future? How should we organize to demand a climate-stable future?

Step 1 – A New Story

We need to clearly state the disease that we are fighting and shed the false narrative that the system is too big to change.

The forces that organized our society have lulled us into a trance and convinced us that they are stronger than they actually are. They want us to think that the wasteful capitalist system is set in stone and that we are powerless to change it. They want us to think that the structure of the system is fine and that we should focus on tinkering around the edges.

This is the lie that maintains the status quo. We are stronger than the system, than the corporate media and the politicians who work for the richest among us. We the people are stronger than all of them. We can change the system – it doesn’t have to be this way.

Let’s use the analogy of an eggshell. We need to break open the deception from wherever we have influence. Some will work from the outside smashing at the eggshell and some will do the same from the inside and with consistent force and determination, we will break through and gain control of the ecosystem destroying corporate neoliberal narrative.

Step 2 – Stand United

This isn’t really a step as much as it’s an overall theme. We can’t let them divide us. We must avoid infighting and find that broad common theme that will unite us all – perhaps climate justice is the far-reaching concept that will keep us working together.

Step 3 – Organize and Co-operate

We need to reconnect with the greatest attribute that humans possess, our ability to organize and cooperate on an enormous scale. In peaceful times think of the Panama Canal, Hoover Dam or the Space Station and of course, we know about the giant global mobilization of WW2. 

The idea of capitalism’s individual selfish pursuit of one’s goals has failed us; it’s eroded our sense of society and turned us into mindless consumers while killing the planet’s ability to sustain us. We must evolve from these ideas and courageously focus our energy towards our greatest challenge. 

Step 4 – Keep up the Pressure

There are already incredible initiatives that are taking place around the world and each one needs to be supported and intensified. Our efforts not only need to demand an immediate reduction in emissions but we must also call out the disease – “wasteful, unregulated, fossil fuel subsidized, media glorified and wealth concentrating capitalism.” 


Related Articles: Surviving Climate Change: A Battle for Power and Control | Surviving Climate Change: Where Should We Place Our Hope? | Surviving Climate Change: Should We Place Our Hope in Governments? |

We must call out both corporate and government leaders who are stalling progress towards a climate stable future. We must make sure that decision-makers wherever they may lurk, are hounded and pressured to loosen their stranglehold over the broken system and protect our climate. We must demand that those with wealth and power release our democratic system from their corrupting grasp.

We must call out philanthropy for what it is – a distraction by the elite to throw off regulators and journalists who may be thinking about taking a closer look at how the corporate elite accumulated their wealth at the expense of society. We must demand that the ultra-rich who have shaped the broken system for so long, dig deep into their “system-enhanced fortunes” and provide an oversized contribution to help finance the transition to a new climate-stable economic model. The financing for this should not come from the working poor or those who are only hanging onto the struggling middle class.

In the picture: Extinction Rebellion Protest. Photo Credit: Unsplash

Some notable efforts in bringing pressure to the climate crisis are:

  • Greta’s Friday for the Future campaign has done incredible work at raising awareness. How can we make it stronger? How can we link it up with other initiatives? 
  • Extinction Rebellion incorporates a civil disobedience strategy into the mix.
  • The Sunrise Movement in the US has done an excellent job in their relentless efforts to coax politicians to support the Green New Deal
  • There is a small army of tireless Scientists, Academics, Authors, and Bloggers on twitter who share great information on a daily basis. 
  • There’s a variety of non-mainstream online news sources that take an honest look at the dire issue of corporate instigated climate change without being corrupted by corporate messaging. 

Unfortunately, these efforts while increasing awareness and educating great numbers of people, aren’t leading to the massive regulatory response needed. Most changes leave the system in place and are incremental at best…and that just won’t do – we still have the same problem. How do we shake the system hard enough to force it to implement massive regulatory changes?


EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com.
Tags: Brad ZarnettClimate ChangeEnvironmentSustainability
Previous Post

How to Get your workplace ready for Coronavirus – WHO Rules

Next Post

Silicon Valley Insider: The Intersection of Food and Gender

Brad Zarnett - Sustainability Strategist, Writer and Speaker

Brad Zarnett - Sustainability Strategist, Writer and Speaker

Brad Zarnett is a Canadian sustainability strategist, writer and speaker. He is the Founder of the Toronto Sustainability Speaker Series (TSSS). Brad writes about why Corporate Sustainability and our attempts to address Climate Change are a massive systemic failure and what to do about it. You can follow Brad on Twitter: @bradzarnett.

Related Posts

FAO Director-General speaking at theUN 2023 Water Conference
Environment

UN 2023 Water Conference: FAO Calls for Responsive and Innovative Drought Financing Mechanisms

March 24, 2023
Indigenous Languages and Ecocide: The Legacy of Western Colonialism Re-examined
Environment

Indigenous Languages and Ecocide: The Legacy of Western Colonialism Re-examined

March 23, 2023
Biden's first veto
Environment

The Debate Around Biden’s First Veto Defending ESG Investment

March 22, 2023
Next Post
Silicon Valley Insider: The Intersection of Food and Gender

Silicon Valley Insider: The Intersection of Food and Gender

Recent News

Surprising Early Medical Practices Still Relevant Today 

Surprising Early Medical Practices Still Relevant Today 

March 25, 2023
FAO Director-General speaking at theUN 2023 Water Conference

UN 2023 Water Conference: FAO Calls for Responsive and Innovative Drought Financing Mechanisms

March 24, 2023
Climate Homicide

Could US Oil Companies Be Tried for ‘Climate Homicide’?

March 24, 2023
impakter-logo-light

Impakter informs you through the eco news site and empowers your sustainable lifestyle with its eco products marketplace.

Visit here IMPAKTER ECO for your eco products needs.

Registered Office Address

32 Lots Road, London
SW10 0QJ, United Kingdom


IMPAKTER Limited

Company number: 10806931

Impakter is a publication that is identified by the following International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is the following 2515-9569 (Printed) and 2515-9577 (online – Website).


Office Hours - Monday to Friday

9.30am - 5.00pm CEST


Email

stories [at] impakter.com

About Us

  • Team
  • Contributors
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Partners

By Audience

  • Lifestyle
  • Green Finance
  • Culture
  • Society
  • Style
  • Impact

Impakter Platforms

  • Media
  • Index

© 2023 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Culture
    • Style
    • Society
    • Impact
  • Business Hub
  • Sustainability Index
  • About
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

© 2023 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

Impakter.com uses cookies to enhance your experience when visiting the website and to serve you with advertisements that might interest you. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.