As the great orator Post Malone once said, “Life, it goes on, what can you do?” Many of us, myself included, have fallen into this mindset with regard to climate change.
In the upcoming election, some may feel their vote can make a difference on this issue, while others may not. Voting is just one way to make an impact, however small. Other actions — like consuming less, walking more and conserving water — also count. Everything is connected in one way or another, so what you do matters, even if it feels like it doesn’t.
While responding to climate change is necessary, finding solutions most of us can agree on is challenging. Under the Biden-Harris administration, several policies have been passed or proposed with the aim of reducing carbon emissions, and many of them focus on how we source and distribute energy. Trump’s campaign, on the other hand, has pledged to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, an international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, if re-elected.
For voters, a multitude of factors can influence their decision — some concrete, like policy positions, and others more abstract, like candidate vibes. While climate change may not be the most pressing issue, with approximately 37% of all voters saying it is very important compared to 81% who say the same about the economy, the issue is important nonetheless. This gap reflects our present bias, the tendency to make decisions based on immediate outcomes rather than future ones, making today’s economy seem more pressing than “slight temperature increases.” But even modest elevations in global temperatures are already causing significant consequences, including the emergence of more potent storms, persistent wildfires and the loss of biodiversity as ecosystems struggle to adapt.
Respectfully, science does not care what we believe. The world is changing, and we must change with it. Let us be mindful of how our actions, such as voting, can impact our future. To answer Malone’s question from earlier: What you can do is vote — and even plant a tree or two.
