There was an article published yesterday in the New York Times claiming that the UK has become a nation of non-believers when it comes to climate change. It cites some statistics regarding how critical Britons believe the global warming crisis is, and how David Cameron was strangely silent on the issue during the election. But I offer you, dear readers, another theory: the UK is having a life crisis, and the environment is only one part of it.
We've got Europe dissolving into chaos over both economic and political instability, a volcano we can't control, a flag carrier at war with its cabin crew, and one of the country's biggest company is blamed for the US's biggest environmental catastrophe. To make matters worse, the British youth are lonely. And you want the country to keep worrying about global warming?!
I'm not a global climate change doubter; I think it does exist and I think we're all just putting our heads in the collective sand, trying not to deal with it, and I think that the global economic crisis has given us all a good reason to ignore it. Singling out the British public as having changed their minds about climate change is shortsighted - they haven't changed their minds, just their priorities. Unfortunately for the Earth, there is always another calamity that strikes when we least expect it, and unless the environment is made the priority issue by a group of politicians in charge, nothing will ever change.
That's an interesting thought. Are we so distracted by other problems that we have shelved the climate issue for now? I wonder.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that the British are a conservative race and like to keep on along the same path as long as they can. They don't like changing and tend to resent anyone who demands that they do. It's easier to accuse scientists of colluding with the government in a lie (to what purpose isn't clear: maybe to extract more from us in taxes?) than to take the problem on board and change lifestyles.
Those most likely to take up new ideas are young people but Britain's young people have largely given up on politics. I suppose I can't say I blame them, given the current level of deceit and corruption in politics, but this may prove crucial.