McGST Podcast Episode 60 (Why fix something if I won't get credit for it?)
Some thoughts about why we tend to prefer to fix things rather than preventing a problem from happening.
"Climate change is a political problem of the future. A government of now isn't interested in doing anything that costs them money NOW. Covid is different because they have to do something now." Simon.
"I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one Shaun & Joanne. Most people don’t care.
Most people don’t care as they don’t see or feel the effects of the climate change themselves. Or what they do see is so gradual that it doesn’t register. Many also know that it won’t really effect them.
It is the future generations that will really pay the price.
Here in the UK and other developed countries we don’t feel the effects quite the same because we have the systems that hide the impact. Our waste magically disappears, we don’t have massive amounts of rubbish littering our shores. Perhaps if more waste washed up on our beaches some would think differently.
The habitats most impacted by climate change are not on our doorstep, albeit everything around us is being affected in some way.
Perhaps if we watched in person massive chunks of the ice caps melting or saw the Amazon rainforest on fire we might feel differently.
We can all make a change. Small changes add up. You don’t loose weight by going to the gym once. Constantly doing so over weeks and months helps shed the weight. It is the same with the environment . If we did turn down the thermostat or take 1 less car trip then it does make a difference. Small, steps over time make a difference. Multiply this by the millions of people and slowly but surely.
I am no eco warrior, but in the last 2 years I have made big steps in being better to the planet. We drive less, if we can. I still have 2 cars, but it is very likely we will be down to 1 in the next few months. I do my best to reduce my plastic use. I do more to reuse. I recycle more items, including those that don’t go in normal household recycling. I am far from perfect but I now make more conscious decisions.
People turn a blind eye most of the time thinking there is a solution on the horizon, but the solution will ultimately take all of us.
We need to ask our employers to make a changes. We need to think more about where we spend our money. We need to think about who we bank with and what we invest in. Most of us have pensions that invest in some of the most polluting companies in the world. If we began to switch to more ethical or environmental investments perhaps things would change?
With a shift in demand comes change. Unfortunately the demand is still focused too much on not being environmentally conscious.
It needs governments to put in place legislation ultimately to drive big change. Reward those that take positive steps and penalise those that don’t. But, unfortunately it probably won’t be until the next generation of politicians are in power that we see this change as we have too many of the old guard in place." Jon.
Music by Tom Munch.