Of course, our planet saw a lot of catastrophes in its lifetime. Even more so, a popular theory suggests that global warming is normal. We’re coming out of the latest ice age and the world is warming up. It’s perfectly natural. Yes, some animals are going to become extinct because of severe changes to their habitats, but, hey, that happened before. Not our fault. Nothing we can do about. Earth survived previous cataclysms and it will survive this one.
Oh, I’m sure the Earth will survive. Maybe even our human species come out of it unscathed with a few minor dents and scratches here and there. But... But are we really sure that it’s not our fault? Are we really sure there’s nothing we can do? Global warming might be natural, but the speed it’s happening at, is not. Yes, animals die and species become extinct, but there’s typically time to evolve, to adjust to new habitats, new way of life. Homo sapiens are booming and they produce a lot of by-products, a lot of waste. Some of these by-products are not that bad while others – greenhouse gases – are devastating. There is no doubt that greenhouse gases are linked with increasing temperatures. And if there is even the slightest of chances that some of the problem is indeed our fault, shouldn’t we do something about it? If a quarter of Antarctic and Greenland ice melts, huge parts of our continents will end up under water. Some of the poorest and thus most vulnerable places on Earth will be affected, bringing death and starvation to millions of people, destroying habitats of millions of animals, wiping out flora and fauna, changing the whole planet. If these are possible consequences, shouldn’t we at least consider accepting part of the blame?
The answer to both questions is Yes, we should. It doesn’t matter if the catastrophe still happens, at least then we would have tried. And if our grandchildren asked us: “There are no more animals, no more clean fresh water, no more forests, why did you let it happen? Why didn’t you stop it, when you had a chance?” We’d be able to say: “We tried.”
You can probably see now that global warming is a topic that concerns me. It also deeply shames me. I try to do everything I can to help, but I feel terribly useless, I feel I should do better. I want to use this theme in my second book, the Gardener. I want to write about it because I care and because I hope that more people will care if they understand the reality of global warming.
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I agree, global warming is something that concerns all of us, but a word of caution, global warming is in vogue at the moment. There’s a lot being said and a lot being written on the topic and you will need enormous amount of knowledge and understanding to cover it sufficiently. At the same time, you don’t want to clutter the book with too many details, because then it won’t be fiction but a novel-size article for some journal. But I’m sure you know all this yourself.
ReplyDeleteIndeed global warming is being used as a marketing ploy a lot these days. People mention it trying to get better recognition for their work, but only few can properly present it to the audience. It’s going to be hard work to maintain that balance of fact and fiction in a book.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I don’t really care if the description of the problem of global warming is particularly detailed. If I want to know facts, I’ll read an article or watch the right TV programme. What’s important is raising awareness so that I WANT to go and read that article and then so I won’t forget to recycle the magazine afterwards.
ReplyDeleteI’m still not convinced that global warming is a real problem. It might just be a clever hoax by scientists who want research money and governments who love to use scare tactics.
ReplyDeleteI do believe global warming is a very serious problem. People who can’t see it are blind. Even I remember that the weather was different when I was a kid. Summers were never this hot and dry in the past. I think it’s a very good issue to write about in a book even if it’s just to raise awareness. Personally, I’m very concerned about the future of our planet and about what we are going to leave for our children.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think it’s possible to solve the problem of global warming now when everyone’s much more preoccupied with patching up holes in their own pockets.
ReplyDeleteThe problem of global warming will never be first on the list, not until the world has enough to eat and enough to survive on. Only a global disaster can force humanity to take notice.
ReplyDeleteGlobal warming is an interesting issue in itself, but I don’t think it’s going to be interesting in a book. Too predictable. Besides, isn’t that movie Day After Tomorrow about global warming that turned into global freezing? Nice special effects, but still boring.
ReplyDeleteWhether we can stop global warming or not, we should do everything we can to help. Writing about it in a potentially mass market novel is a good way of raising awareness. However, saying that, I still hope that the book will maintain its focus on the main character. If you can carefully describe his feelings and emotions, his will to live and his struggle against the forces of nature, then you’d get an interesting and engaging book. To save themselves, humans should believe that they can control their own destiny. And if one of us can do it, then everyone else can.
ReplyDeletePeople enjoy talking about global warming, but nobody wants to do anything about it. We can each do our bit, but that is not enough to save the already disappearing animal species and wildlife habitats. What we need is an international program, supported by budgets of every single country, that sets out and achieves realistic goals. They could give us daily reports on their achievements on Internet and TV. Now that would be the best reality show ever.
ReplyDeleteWhat global warming can do to our planet is terrible. Worst of all is all those animals dying because they’re not used to warmer weather. I watched a TV program about polar bears and it made me cry when I saw one of them die because he had nothing to eat. We need to help our planet and save its animals!!!
ReplyDeleteThere is an old African proverb that says, “If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”
ReplyDeleteWe have to go far, quickly.
We can solve the climate crisis. It will be hard, to be sure, but if we can make the choice to solve it, I have no doubt whatsoever that we can and will succeed.
--AL GORE, from the introduction to Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis