LOCAL ENVIRONMENT
SARAH WILD: Yes, global warming is a problem, but so is human apathy
There are certain days when all science and environmental journalists know they’re going to get a story: the annual average temperature, the UN Congress of the Parties climate-change talks, and announcements on the size of the polar ice shelves. We know that the data will be bad, that each year it will be worse. The first few years, we had the shock factor: "Hottest temperature to date", "Mass extinction around the corner", "Temperature near point of no return". But not only have we lost the shock factor, we’ve taken people’s hope with it. Because what’s the point in fighting for the environment if we’re all going to burst into flames no matter what we do, right? This is why we need to stop beating the climate-change drum and drowning out all other voices. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that climate change isn’t real or that we shouldn’t be talking about environmental devastation. Anthropomorphic climate change is a huge problem — too big for one person, or even one country, to ...
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