Reform revolution
In times of crisis, the natural instinct is to fix something. This can be observed with the recent school shootings and how gun reform is now so popular. When something needs to be fixed, there are really only two options for what can be done. Reform and revolution. To reform is to build upon a system that is already in place. However, revolution is to completely throw away the old system and create a new one. In the case of the climate crisis, it is literally impossible to stage a revolution. The environment is too far gone, and there really isn’t any system to throw away. The only thing we can do is reform a broken system that was created to deal with climate change.
Like I said above, there are really only two options when solving a problem, and those are reform and revolution. In the case of climate change, we obviously can’t just reform the climate. We have to reform other things that will eventually lead to a cleaner environment. I think a good place to start is by reforming the system that we use to decide things about the environment. That being the democratic system. If we can somehow make the system less reliant on people doing things selfishly, and make it more about trying to do something for the greater good then our problem might be fixed much faster. I think that this could be done through reform over generations. This could be as simple as voting with a greater purpose. It could also be not voting for the incumbent in local elections. If we want change, then we need to change the people who hold power.
As far as revolution goes, I don’t know how much I advocate throwing an entire system away. I would like to believe that every system can somehow be fixed with some kind of reform. Hopefully, in the future, we can reform our system such that our environment can be saved.
