Over the weekend I stumbled upon an article with the headline: ‘Craters on the seabed in the Arctic spew out methane gas’ (own translation from Swedish).
Although I did not exactly understand what this meant, the title was alarming. Yet, there was some hope. I continued reading, thinking that maybe, just maybe, this is a phenomenon that occurs naturally. For some reason, this thought provided me with some comfort.
Nonetheless, as I kept reading, I quickly found out that rising sea temperatures are contributing to the methane’s transitioning to gas form, releasing it from its underground slumber. Eventually, these gases end up in the atmosphere, adding to the abundance of greenhouse gases (which trap heat in the atmosphere) which in turn leads to continued global warming.
But why was my initial though that this occurrence was ‘natural’ and not manufactured though human industries and lifestyle choices a comforting one? The consequences of both are the same.
The answer is perhaps simple. The difference between ‘natural’ and humanly caused climate change is that the latter is of our own making, making us accountable. It makes us responsible not only for the scale of its occurrence but also responsible to, if possible, find a solution. Would it not be easier to assume that the problem was outside our control?
I often hear climate change deniers refer to the fact that climate change occurs naturally, and that the global temperature have always fluctuated. References have consciously been excluded here…
I can understand how that belief would be comforting; if we did not cause climate change, there is less reason for us to worry about solving the crisis, with the discomforts and sacrifices this entails. And then, would it even be considered a crisis at all?
Nonetheless, the climate change we are currently experiencing is different, most of all seen to its rapid speed. The acceleration of global temperatures is faster than at any point in the last 2000 years, fast enough for us to be able to witness the collapse of our ecosystem up close. As many people say: ‘Let’s make sure we go see the Great Barrier Reef before it’s too late.’ That is, before water temperatures have led to the devastation (bleaching) of the coral reefs.
Anthropocene, or humanly cause, climate change is caused by us. We are contributing to the coral reefs bleaching, to methane gas being released into the atmosphere and much more. Accepting our role in climate change is painful. It would be much easier to keep on as if this was all outside of our control. But a crushing majority of climate change scientists agree climate change is our own doing.
For me, that means that we are responsible to, if not prevent climate change, to at least slow it down. However, squabbles about responsibility can easily be circumvented. Does it matter what I do if large corporations and the majority of the global north continue in the same way?
In the end, it does not matter whether climate change is due to natural, human causes or a combination of both. When we see something that is wrong, it is our duty to intervene if we can. Responsibility can be a distraction from our obligations to this planet that we love and depend on so much.
Atmospheres of Change 