By Fallon Head | Web Editor
Every time I open up Instagram it feels like there’s a new apocalypse right around the corner: economic crashes, new wars, the newest artificial intelligence threat and of course, the climate crisis.
Citing new statements from the United Nations and environmental scientists, real science and action plans turned into people across the internet shouting “We’re all dead in five to ten years!” This doomerism spiral is how we do nothing instead of taking the warning and adjusting properly to save who, and what, we can.
On Sept. 2, the United Nations came out with a statement that said the world temperature will “likely pass” the previous goal of limiting the rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next few years. They warned what this will mean for the planet, especially if we’re unable to slow the impact and continue polluting at the same pace.
These consequences for passing the 1.5 threshold are real and scary, from continued scorching temps, large floods, intense hurricanes, ecosystem failures and more. However, the internet turned this warning that was intended to be a call to action into a warning that we’re all already dead.
With the current algorithm systems on social media, the amount of time a video plays on a person’s feed has more of a role in promoting content than likes, follows and reposts. This means the panic content that makes someone stay to fact check, hear them out and learn more slowly become all someone sees. The build up of terrifying news results in exaggerations and a constant state of fear.
This mindset creates mass terror with no real action. Human beings aren’t good at making decisions and plans when emotions are high, especially in moments of panic. The rational part of the human brain is often overtaken by the emotional side. This makes us act erratically and without any real plan, or simply not act at all.
This lack of action from fear and the “well we’re dead anyway” philosophy is hurting our planet instead of doing the work the United Nations Environmental Program is calling for. To reign in fossil fuel emissions, there are things we can do at the individual level and to help encourage action at the national level.
It’s not “too late” in the sense that means there’s nothing we can do. Rather, the consequences of climate change are going to happen, but we can still minimize their impacts.
Identify where most of your plastic waste is coming from, make small, sustainable shifts in products and organization. Go out and vote for representatives that are committed to climate action, call your current representatives to encourage them to act while in office. Help prepare for the natural disasters and shifts that are coming.
Don’t let yourself get stuck in the panic spirals that are designed to make people become paralyzed. Act now in the way that is best for you — any change is better than no change, and every .1 degrees we can help is worth it.
