Chapter 2 of McKibben's Eaarth deals with the economy and our nature to expand, expand, expand, which (weirdly?) brought to my head images of the Capitol from The Hunger Games. In the Capitol, everything is rich and lush for the creme de la creme of Panem's citizens -- gaudy and over-the-top. The people stop at nothing for their fashion and spend crazy amounts of money on body modifications and ridiculous costumes that take crazy amounts of resources from the other Districts to produce. Attached is an image of two elaborate gold outfits from the Capitol; while obviously beautiful, one can only imagine at what expense they were made. At the start of the series, Capitol citizens give little if any attention to the thought of the resources they take for granted and the hard work that goes into harvesting them, or the environmental toll their thoughtless spending may make. I know it's a bit of a stretch metaphorically, but Collins, the author of The Hunger Games, was trying to make an allegorical America essentially, and I think she may have struck a chord with America's current unwillingness to reduce expenditures as a conscious means to adapt to our new planet and hopefully slow its deadly change. You can read more on the link between THG and climate change here. But for now, I digress.
More relevantly, McKibben talks about one very specific thing I want to tackle in this post (and it's something we talked a bit about in class and I've already discussed a bit): "A warmer planet," he quotes Scott Canon, "could find itself more often at war." As I stated before, I did a bit of political research and was pleased to find that my preferred candidate, Bernie Sanders, believes wholly that our nation must be accountable for fixing the already-existing problem of our globe's changing climate. During October 2015's Democratic Debate, Sanders was the only debater who said climate change was this nation's biggest threat. While I originally stood by him for his social views, I have to admit that, as a member of the communities of our class and of our changing (and changed) planet, I am impressed equally with his thoughts on climate change.Another quick last thing I want to address: I find it interesting that McKibben says that "we" have already screwed up this planet -- because I was apparently never alive on 'Earth,' but only 'Eaarth.' While I'm more than positive I have contributed to climate change (I can't lie and say I've never used aerosol hairspray or that I've never driven in an SUV), it seems to me that climate change is not my generation's fault. However, picking up the mess is going to have to be our responsibility.
Hopefully, we're willing to take it on.
"A warmer planet," he quotes Scott Canon, "could find itself more often at war."
ReplyDeleteI love this quote, and I am so happy that you brought it up in your blog post. I mentioned this in the class discussion on Wednesday of last week; and it honestly terrifies me. There will be more conflict, countries, tribes and individuals will fight over resources. I think that is when America will really start to see what climate change does. I am excited to today's discussion!
I never really realized THG had that serious of an allegorical message. I knew that that world was strangely similar to ours(or had the serious potential to become), but I never actually took time to think critically about it. Thank you for sharing that article, it was a great read!
ReplyDeleteI really like your connection to The Hunger Games. Like the upper class in The Hunger Games, our top percentile seems to act as if they will be just fine because their money will buy them out of this mess we live in now. I too believe that climate change is our biggest issue that we as a whole country need to tackle. Climate change is interconnected with so many aspects of our lives, why wouldn't it be our biggest problem?
ReplyDeleteI love the Hunger Games! Although, I always saw the capital's wealth as a statement about income inequality, not so much about people being unwilling to give up nice things. I understand what you mean when you say that our generation isn't really responsible for this problem, but I don't think it's really anyone's fault. I don't think there are very many people out there who actually understood the implications of their actions. I definitely agree that we are responsible for the clean up though.
ReplyDeleteI love when you say that climate change was not our generations fault but cleaning up the mess is our responsibility. I 100% agree! It saddens me to know that while our generation is probably the most educated on the topic and the most willing to make change, we were not the cause of the issue. As a result, older politicians, most of which having some investments in the fossil fuel industry, refuse to hear our voice and make sustainable change!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome you were able to make a connection to another piece of work like The Hunger Games from this book... I would have probably never thought of that. Very creative. I also think it's great that you did some research and realized how much you agree with Bernie Sanders environmental policies and thoughts. The environment is often something that goes unnoticed about candidates policies and it's awesome to see people realize its importance in the upcoming election.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate the Hunger Games connection. I agree with you and Ali about the need for the current generation in power to hear the voice and perspective of young people!
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