The world ends in 22 years

We will be done in by climate change, the experts have been saying ad nauseam .Now they’ve put a deadline to it. What can you, one person, do, you ask? Read on, dear reader!

IT’S not every day we get news of the end of the world but that’s exactly what we got this week when the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate issued a warning that we could be thrust into a global crisis by 2040.

This crisis is, of course, due to climate change, which they report will raise temperatures by as much as 1.5°C by 2040. At this point, coral reefs will no longer exist, and the recent spate of global temperatures reaching record highs all over the globe and causing the worst forest fires in decades along with flooding, storms, and drought, will only intensify and change our world as we know it. It won’t be the end of the world per se, but it will be the end of life as we know it.

So what is happening since the report was released?

Well, not much really. Patton Oswalt, comedian and famed tweeter pretty much nailed it when he tweeted: “Dear CNN, MSNBC, FOXNEWS, NYTIMES, Washingtonpost, VICE – This. This is all you have to cover from now on. You know how in the meteor movies the news is JUST about the meteor? This is the meteor. Coming right for us. In our lifetimes.”

Yup. You pretty much nailed that, Patton.

And in what could be one of my proudest moments, I called climate change a asteroid headed for Earth right after the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 in this very column.

In that article, I stated that “climate change isn’t an alien invasion we can punch in the face, and that’s too bad”. Because a lot of people would get behind that. We’d appoint a team of scientists and get The Rock himself to do the punching.

But that’s not what’s happening now. Because the solution isn’t so simple. We’re not living the movie where a hero rises to save the planet, we’re living the movie where we all collectively have to make changes in our lives so that we and our children can continue living. This is the movie where the world dies because people decide to do nothing. It’s not a dramatic or exciting movie to watch, but it’s definitely a tragedy. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed by climate change and the news that the world as we know it is pretty much over in 22 years, here are some ways you can act, right now! Eat less meat – This is a big one. Meat, beef in particular, is very wasteful and uses a lot of resources to create. It also contributes to emissions with methane, which is produced by large groupings of animals. Basically, flatulence isn’t helping to save our world. Eating less meat is an easy thing to do, and studies have shown that eating less meat is better for your health anyway, so it’s a winwin.

Cycle or walk

– I know this is rough in a tropical environment like Malaysia but it’s something to think about. Obviously it’s better because you’re not creating emissions by using vehicles. If walking or cycling isn’t possible for every trip, maybe you could make fewer trips.

Hold business meetings over Skype, campaign your boss to let the employees work from home a couple days a week for the sake of the environment – that’s probably a win-win too. If you can pull it off.

Reduce, reuse, recycle – Yeah, recycling is great, but you may not have the facilities near you to make that happen. If that’s the case then the best thing to do, even better than recycling, is to reduce. Simply buy less. Consume fewer convenience items – fast food, bottled drinks, etc – because these items tend to bring us a moment’s worth of convenience in exchange for decades of burden to the environment.

Rethink these purchases and don’t make them at all. Carry a water bottle. Eat at home. Once again, this will save the environment and save you cash. Another win-win.

Find like-minded people and get together with them – Finally, what is happening with climate change is too important to tackle alone. Find local environmental movements and join one. Become part of a bigger movement that will continue to educate you, that will mobilise you, and team you with dozens, hundreds, even thousands of like-minded people concerned about our collective future.

Climate change isn’t a problem that will be solved by a single person, it’s a problem that will be solved by all of us working for the collective good.

Or it won’t be solved at all.

Avid writer Jason Godfrey – who once was told to give the camera a ‘big smile, no teeth’ – has worked internationally for two decades in fashion and continues to work in dramas, documentaries, and lifestyle programming. Write to him at star2@ thestar.com.my and check out his stuff at jasongodfrey.co.