We’ve been talking about some serious issues in this country lately — the government shutdown, what to do about the National Security Agency and how to make gun possession safer.
What we haven’t been talking about has a much broader scope and impact beyond our borders.
A report released Monday with more than 800 authors and 50 editors from dozens of countries stated with 95 percent certainty that humans are responsible for our planet’s warming.
The group that authorized the report, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, issued similar reports in the past. In 2007, they were 90 percent sure human behavior was causing climate change, but in 2001, they were only 66 percent sure.
Observations of temperature change and improved models have helped the IPCC illustrate humanity’s impact on the world with greater certainty.
Even if carbon emissions stopped tomorrow, we would still feel the effects of global warming for years — even centuries — to come.
Despite clearer links to our effect on the environment, greater effects from natural disasters and melting glaciers, a March survey by the Pew Research Center found that only 69 percent of Americans thought there was solid evidence our planet was heating up. Even more disappointing — an October 2012 survey found only 42 percent believe it is mostly because of human activity.
We don’t have time to play these political games anymore.
Politics are shaped by mass media. As a journalist, I am hyper-aware of how the media is able to frame issues and how that framing shapes people’s opinion. So let me start with this: News media must stop giving attention to climate-change deniers.
Journalism is a search for the truth. In that search for the truth, it’s important to get all sides of the issue. However, most credible evidence we have shows we are irreversibly damaging our planet. Every time an inch of column space goes to someone saying climate change isn’t real, a hole is poked in that truth and makes true evidence less credible.
Politicians, obviously, have an enormous say in the national debate. They don’t have a say in what are facts, though. No politician denying climate change can be taken seriously. If we impeached Bill Clinton for lying about Monica Lewinsky, we should do a lot more to any and every politician lying about an issue that affects literally the entire planet.
There’s an age-old saying, all the way back from elementary school: Every time you point a finger, you’ve got three pointing back at you. The ultimate responsibility in this fight lies within ourselves. We are our own worst enemy, and we need to take responsibility.
Do the small things: Turn off the lights when you leave a room, don’t leave your phone charger plugged in and all that jazz.
Sell your car and buy a bike. Stop buying food from factory farms that are large contributors to carbon emissions. Stop supporting politicians who favor ideology over climatology.
We must hold our politicians accountable. We must hold the media accountable. We must hold ourselves accountable. More than any other time in history, we’re fueling our own demise, and it’s entirely stoppable.
Just remember — this is not a political issue like everyone seems to think it is. Facts are facts.
Justin Jones is a UF journalism senior. His column runs on Thursdays. A version of this column ran on page 6 on 10/3/2013 under the headline "Reversing climate change is imperative"
