But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.
∇Δ
A few weeks ago, I came across a quote from Christopher Horner, ardent denier of anthropogenic climate change and senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who said of climate change: “You can believe this is about the climate, and many people do, but it’s not a reasonable belief. The issue isn’t the issue.” The logic of his statement not only made me pause, but it forced me to rewind and re-read his stance several times just to make sure I had gotten it right.1 If we do some math to it, what Horner is essentially saying is issue ≠ issue, which is the equivalent of saying nothing at all.
Inspired, or rather inflamed, by the absurdity of Horner’s non-statement, I began compiling a list of issues climate change raises. Beyond an obvious ecological and environmental concern, climate change is bound up in an intricate web of interconnected issues, from technological innovations to social justice — a web so complex and convoluted, that there was no way in hell I could comprehensively catalog every climate-related concern with my own very particular point of view. So I opened up the list to my friends, and here is what we collectively grew:
- Climate change is a[n] social justice issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] innovation issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] technology issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] education issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] science literacy issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] imagination issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] energy issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] extractivism issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] economic issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] industry issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] regulation issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] free trade issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] globalization issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] tourism issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] exploitation issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] developing nations' issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] immigration issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] empathy issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] moral issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] class issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] economic equality issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] gender issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] race issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] sacrifice zone issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] insurance issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] infrastructure issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] urban planning issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] political issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] semantics issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] transparency issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] global warming issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] cultural cognition issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] national security issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] time issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] extinction issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] human health issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] infectious disease issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] overpopulation issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] generational issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] agricultural issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] biodiversity issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] GMO issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] food security issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] water security issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] flooding issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] drought issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] air quality issue. [link]
- Climate change is a[n] animal rights issue. [link]
Beneath the broad blanket of climate change lie a great many issues that concern every one of us. While the picture may be too big and complicated to take in all at once, climate change is rich with reasons to rally behind our planet’s health. And those reasons, when broken into digestible bits, can ultimately unite us under a collective umbrella of concern.2 Because everyone has to care about something, and because climate change encompasses so many of those “things,” I thought I would extend the invite to grow this list out to you.3 To share, please comment below or tweet @thisisartlab with “Climate change is a ______ issue.”
The fight for climate isn’t a separate movement, it’s both a challenge and an opportunity for all of our movements. We don’t need to become climate activists, we are climate activists. We don’t need a separate climate movement; we need to seize the climate moment. ∇Δ
Great post! I’m particularly interested in the connection between industrial agriculture and the loss of biodiversity. I love your blog, BTW. Great work.
I just stumbled upon your blog after reading your essay in the 11/11/16 issue of Science.,I really enjoyed it and plan to pass it on to a tenth grade World History AP class in Pocatello, Idaho, next week. I am in town visiting my son and his family for Thanksgiving and will do a presentation to my granddaughters class using a BBC Time Team episode titled Britain’s Stone Age Tsunami, available on YouTube as an example of how archaeologists study human adaptation to climate change. Thanks for the resource and keep bringing science to the public. It may be the most important thing you or anyone else can do.