Category Archives: Climate Change

Why Consumerism Won’t Solve Climate Change

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Cameron McElmurry’s well written blog post (https://sites.uw.edu/pols385/2020/04/13/a-plague-overlooked-the-locust-crisis-lurking-in-the-shadow-of-covid-19/) discussing the locust crisis occurring in the Horn of Africa gives the reader a look into the world of climate change and how it has increasingly played a role in causing global catastrophes.

A Samburu boy uses a wooden stick to try to swat a swarm of desert locusts filling the air, as he herds his camel near the village of Sissia, in Samburu county, Kenya.

In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, a Samburu boy uses a wooden stick to try to swat a swarm of desert locusts filling the air, as he herds his camel near the village of Sissia, in Samburu county, Kenya.  (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

What Cameron and many others neglect to mention is that climate change itself is the by-product of a much larger issue. Although the word ‘neoliberalism’ gets thrown around quite often, the concept still manages to lurk in the shadows of climate change discussions, even though it plays a pivotal role in driving the rising temperature of the planet.

Neoliberalism is often thought of as a neutral force, one that is victim to the ebbs and flow of consumerism, when in reality it is the very force driving these patterns. One of the main tropes we in society are expected to believe is that our consumer choices are a part of our independent thought process, completely driven by our own free will and untainted by the environment which surrounds us. This illusion of choice that neoliberalism has spoon fed Americans in particular, is one of the main reasons why the issue of climate change is often blamed on the consumer. After all, our choices are what drives the demand and if we simply lived more sustainable lives (had gardens in our backyards, shopped at farmers markets, supported small business and overall made more environmentally conscious decisions, etc.), then this whole “global warming” fiasco wouldn’t be happening in the first place, right? This narrative is the blindfold that mass-corporations and governments alike tie neatly around the heads of citizens. Neoliberalism is such an effective deflective force that G20 countries are getting away with spending $88 billion per year subsidizing exploration for new fossil fuels without much more than a slap on the wrist from their citizens (article mentioned in class: https://grist.org/climate-energy/rich-countries-are-still-wasting-billions-on-subsidies-for-fossil-fuels/).

This image is an example of the illusion of choice in consumer brands, particularly in the food system.

This image is an example of the illusion of choice in consumer brands, particularly in the food system.

Even more alarming is that $88 billion is just what has been invested in finding new fossil fuels. Globally, a whopping $775 billion has been spent in subsidies for the production and use of fossil fuels. As mentioned in the article, these subsidies come in “three basic forms: investment by state-owned enterprises, direct national subsidies and tax breaks, and public finance.” It almost seems as though locusts are not the only pests threatening the livelihoods of people. At the end of the day, if we want to truly work towards a safer future for all inhabitants of the planet, we must un–tie the blindfold neoliberalism has wrapped intricately around the eyes of citizens and expose people to the fuel that truly drives climate change. 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Y3OEDdpJA this YouTube video highlights some of the overlooked effects of climate change (warning: discusses suicide).  

 

 

Carbon Farming and Systemic Thinking

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In response to Adeline Ellison’s “Spare the Till – Carbon Farming’s Impact on the Climate”

In her post, Adeline discusses an article that highlights carbon farming as a potential opportunity to mitigate environmental damage and combat climate change. Adeline states, “the excitement of a revolutionary idea (and the potential for profit) can get ahead of the actual science.” She goes on to say that there is “potential for groups to continue to back a science that may not be entirely sound”. The science does however seem to be “sound”, as the article itself stated that the National Academies of Sciences’ research suggested that soil sequestration could remove 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year in the US, and could provide nearly 10 percent of carbon reduction needed to avoid a 2-degree increase in temperature if implemented globally (Popkin).

The idea of implementing practices that contribute to soil regeneration and thus a carbon sink should be a non-issue. I do agree that systemic thinking is required, especially since stopping CO2 creation at the source is more effective than attempts to tend to the issue with a band-aid solution. Monica Price’s system mapping video and class visit demonstrated that complicated issues need be regarded in whole systems approach. She discussed root causes, feedback loops, and causal loop diagraming. Understanding feedback loops can help mitigate the tendency for people to blame stakeholders in a system. For example, farmers should not be blamed, as they are simply acting rationally in a capitalist society and have their own livelihoods at stake.

In addition, it is also important to consider that adjusting one part of a system can have a domino effect to other connected issues. If policy encourages soil regeneration, local economies can be revitalized and boost the overall wellbeing of communities.

Monica Price Food Map:

https://kumu.io/monicapc/food-system-vision-2050-oct2019#food-system-vision-2050/quality-amount-of-soil-and-water

Original article:

https://thefern.org/2020/03/is-carbon-farming-a-climate-boon-or-boondoggle/

Environmental Racism: In Response to North Carolina’s Hog Industry

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As we have discussed quite often in this class, the effects of harmful environmental policy are often felt disproportionately by minorities. In my classmate’s piece, “North Carolina’s Hog Industry is a Telling Example of Crumbling Tort Law in America”, they describe this phenomenon localized to North Carolina hog farms, and how the majority of hog farm waste is situated near communities of color, where they contend with the stench of putrefying feces year round. The occurrence of racially disparate impacts of environmental policy can be described by the term environmental racism. 

 

The framework of environmental racism holds that access to clean air, water, land, and even food, are restricted on the basis of race to generate another axis of control over minorities. Its effects are highly visible and manifold. Black and Latino children are far more likely to suffer from asthma due to the fact that communities of color are more likely to be situated closer to sources of pollution, and it is often impoverished majority-minority neighborhoods that are the last to receive aid in the wake of natural disasters, most notably after Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina. 

 

In thinking both about climate change and about the state of race relations in the U.S. today, it is imperative that we consider the ways that race and environmental policy intersect, as well as how they are related to other social and political issues. For example, the increased incidence of asthma among people of color means that they are predisposed to require certain kinds of medical care — acquiring inhalers, for example. Given that our current healthcare system privileges those with access to wealth and that racial wealth disparities are quite prevalent, environmental racism’s impacts become even more clear. Looking toward the future, then, any proposed solution or treatment for climate change must address the mechanisms that environmental racism justifies, and rectify the harms it has caused.

 

Climate change and the Individual: A response to Contemplating Climate Complexity

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This is a response to Contemplating Climate Complexity by Aisling Wade.

I first want to say thank you for sharing what you have — I really enjoyed what you wrote and reflecting back on what it meant for me.

= Abstract Tide Wave Water Color by Jessica Torrant

When I first learned about climate change and the detrimental impacts that it will have on our global community, I was stunned. I was stunned because no one was doing anything, no one was helping, and no one seemed to care. Education has exposed me to timely topics, but it has also unveiled my complicity. When I learned that I may be a part of the problem, I felt like a tsunami washed over me, sweeping my body away from shore.

As you have said, we will never feel the true cost of the triple inequality like the people who have contributed the least to the problem. My house will not be lost to rising sea levels, eroding soil, or wildfires either. I am in a bubble that seems cut off from the rest of the world’s problems. Though I am numb to the abilities of our government, I know that my bubble is not impenetrable. Climate change will inevitability lead to ocean acidification which will hit Washington hard, crumbling our fisheries, dissolving shellfish, throwing off salmon spawns and rippling up the food chain to us. Essentially liquefying our food structures and economy.

Even in my attempt to save the world by driving electric, I was once again reminded that my carbon foot print was bigger than I thought when we learned about renewable energy production in class. Eating plant-based diets also reminded me that my single contributions to help curve climate change does not tilt the scale in any meaningful way. As you, I feel like I have tried to help, but how can we make meaningful change as just an individual?

In Response to “A Plague Overlooked: The locust crisis lurking in the shadow of COVID-19”

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In response to this blog post.

I chose to respond to Cameron’s blog post because it uncovers a serious crisis currently in the shadow of COVID-19 news. Their post describes the large swarms of locusts overtaking farmland throughout the Horn of Africa. As of May 13th the locusts continue to spread rapidly; officials warn they may migrate east as far as the Indo-Pakistan border and even to West Africa.   

Map showing possible Desert Locust Spread, fao.org

How international organizations are addressing this crisis closely relates our study of the global food economy. Developing countries (like those on the Horn of Africa) face comparatively more severe repercussions from an agricultural crisis like this than in developed countries. Agriculture comprises a much higher portion of their GDP and they lack sufficient resources to respond to such a disaster. The locust swarms are also infesting extremely food insecure nations like South Sudan. Then why has funding been slow and insufficient? Historically (and still today) international trade institutions are manipulated so that the world food system works in favor of developed nations. As discussed by Clapp,  developed countries dump their subsidized food in global markets while developing countries struggle to compete with the cheap costs. There seems to be little international movement towards helping the region during this crisis. Developing countries continue to lack influence in intergovernmental organizations like the U.N yet are facing increasingly devastating environmental crises like this one.

Locusts swarm through East Africa

This issue therefore clearly connects to the idea of “triple inequality” discussed in class. As Cameron mentions, climate change has been linked to the locust swarms. The affected countries have had little historical influence on global warming, yet pay the brunt of the climate costs while having little capacity to adapt and respond to this disaster. The “triple inequality” theory, in combination with the structuring of international organizations and the world food system overall, elucidates how the system is stacked against these developing countries. Sufficient funding should be provided in response to this crisis, but we must also think of larger reforms that reshape these global systems by putting power into the hands of climate change threatened countries. How can we reform these systems so that they are fair, just, and work for all, not just the most powerful?

The Slippery Slope of the Sabra Brand

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Zoe’s article, A Culture of Chocolate showcased a thoughtful, personal contemplation of their cultural identity and its relationship to the world food system. Zoe’s expression of guilt from eating a piece of Ghirardelli chocolate resonated with my own culpability in purchasing a highly controversial food product: Sabra hummus. Being Palestinian, I feel a deep responsibility to advocate for Palestinian justice and rights campaigns, yet little did I know that the hummus I ate was financially supporting a Israeli military infantry accountable for the killing of well over 1,000 Palestinians. 

A line of hummus products from the Sabra Brand.         Image belongs to: https://sabra.com/content/new-sabra-logo.html

Not only is the Sabra Hummus company supporting a cruel military brigade, but also half of its company is owned by PepsiCo. Being a global food giant, PepsiCo has garnered plenty of undesired attention for its human rights violations regarding the unemployment of 162 PepsiCo workers in a West Bengal warehouse, attributable to the workers attempting to join a union. With this newfound knowledge relative to the unethical standards the Sabra brand follows, I have become self-critical and a guilty consumer similar to Zoe’s feelings concerning the chocolate she ate. Looking beyond immoral company standards, it’s also crucial to view the already vulnerable position the Middle East finds itself in relation to food production on account of their scarce water supply, limited access to arable land, and fluctuations in international commodity markets as a consequence of their high dependence on imported grains and other food items.

The non-arable farm land covering the majority of the Middle Eastern region.  Image belongs to: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/middle-east-front-lines-climate-change-mena/

In 2016 it was reported that the Sabra brand generated an estimate of $800 million and was projected to become a  one billion dollar brand. This US based company producing a Middle Eastern staple condiment is going to reap the extravagant rewards, meanwhile Middle Easterners continue to live in a society plunging within the depths of food insecurity. As an Arab American, I feel alarmed.

Why are so many people hungry?

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In response to “Thoughts on hunger after contemplative practice.”

Tristram Stuart’s TED talk that we watched earlier this month first got me thinking about food waste in a structured way. He says that the United States has twice as much food than it actually needs to feed its citizens, a statistic that shocked me. But when I thought about it, I wasn’t really surprised. I throw out food I don’t finish all the time, not feeling too guilty about it. What did I know about what good my food could do in someone else’s hands?

And then it went to the back of my mind for a couple weeks — as concepts we learn so often can — but going through the blog, this post brought it back up again. It reminded me of the connections between our overconsumption and waste of food with famine in less developed countries. Especially as climate change wreaks havoc on our food system both now and even more so in the future, we need to think critically about how we dole out the world’s food because the amount is finite and so many people need to be fed. And the system we’re using now isn’t equitable.

Author Tristram Stuart with a pile of discarded bananas, an emblem of global food waste. (Source: https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/00000148-bd38-d00e-adef-ffbc74fb0000)

“Global hunger is a problem of distribution, access, empowerment,” Michael Carolan writes in chapter 4 of The Real Cost of Cheap Food (italics are the authors).

Carolan rightly notes that global hunger is not the result of a lack of food, but instead is a socioeconomic problem in our system that disproportionately gives food to industrialized countries like ours over developing countries that desperately need it. 

This is not a scientific issue, but a political one that could be solved that way. But the question is: will we?

Was Thomas Malthus Right?

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In response to “Is this Hunger?” by Regular Joe

 

While reading his response to the “Hunger” contemplative practice, I noticed a pattern. “Regular Joe” thought about his own hunger, relayed it to the rest of the framework of world hunger, and tried to find solutions to the problem. This is a logical process for most (Identify problem with yourself –> expand to larger view –> look for a mend or solution).

To put it lightly, this process works for a lot of things, but world hunger is a different beast. It consumes the lives of tens of millions each year, most of which we don’t see because of our privilege. America is blessed with wealth, while other countries aren’t so lucky, so it is hard for us to think of hunger in a larger context.

A frame from Interstellar, a movie hypothesizing the future of agriculture.

To fight hunger in the present and in the future, I think we have to look to the past. In his claims, Thomas Malthus believed that human population/demand for food would far surpass supply of food in the coming decades or centuries. And while this could be a danger in the future, right now, Malthus was vastly mistaken overall. He saw around him a way of food production that was sloppy and downright slow by today’s standards, so no wonder he made this claim. But humanity, harnessing innovation, created numerous processes to optimize food growth, such as high-scale irrigation, crop rotation, genetically modified organisms, etc. These are some of the processes Regular Joe references in his response to “Hunger”, but I want to look at the future landscape of agriculture.

 

“Humanity is condemned by the tendency of population to grow geometrically while food production would increase only arithmetically”

-Thomas Malthus

 

To me, I look at the future of food production similarly to what I watched in the movie Interstellar, by Christopher Nolan. In this movie (taken place hundreds of years from now), the world has transitioned most of their citizens to agriculture-based careers, rather than accountants, athletes, movie-stars, etc. Because of the growing population, more food had to be produced, in areas that were optimal for food growth. I see the optimal growing zones on earth shifting more towards the poles (because of global warming) but I see humanity making the most out of it, squeezing all they can (agriculture-wise) out of their new situation.

References

Photo: https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2471590/how-interstellar-turned-christopher-nolan-into-an-actual-corn-farmer

Quote: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-malthus-predicted-1798-food-shortages/

Local Food System and Education

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Response to: Globalization to Sustainable Development by Rachel

Rachel discusses globalization of the food system in reference to the chocolate contemplative practice. This made me think about where the other foods I eat come from, and I had no idea. The image to the left demonstrates the idea that foods come from all over the world, you can see that many crops Americans eat regularly are not even grown in our country.

The idea of switching from a globalized food system to a localized agricultural system to decrease climate change was brought up in Rachel’s Article. I wanted to further explore this topic and the benefits of buying from local farmers/businesses. According to Lori Starling from One Green Planet, if you buy foods from local markets you’ll gain access to fresher food that have less packaging and took less transport time, therefore having a much lower carbon footprint than buying from the supermarket. In addition, it allows you to connect with the people involved in your foods development so you can ask all the necessary questions and have an expert there to help you make your decision.

But how do we get people to start buying local foods and shopping at farmers markets rather than the grocery store? Environmental education is the answer. Environmental education is important because it builds a basis of knowledge, understanding, appreciation, and sensitivity towards the environment. These perspectives are important in allowing individuals to develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues. Though, it’s not just explaining environmental mechanisms; it’s building a relationship with nature so that informed personal decisions can be made to protect the planet (EPA).

 

So in conclusion, a localized food system can be very beneficial for the environment, but to get to a point where people are willingly buying local foods, environmental education needs to be improved.

 

The Opportunity Presented by Covid-19

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While scrolling through this blog this past weekend the post “On the Behalf of All Americans, I Am Sorry” jumped out to me. I have always been focused on the environment. I am vegetarian, take public transportation whenever possible, and made my family switch to energy-saving light bulbs. Initially, I was excited when my social media was full of posts praising the changes to the environment that are coming out of this quarantine.

Pollution is decreasing in the canals of Venice as tourists clear out

However, I can’t but wonder if these changes will have any lasting effect. People have been applauding our food system for remaining resilient and there is a focus on our food system weathering coronavirus. I don’t think that we should aim to return to how our food system functioned “before”. The American food system, with its dependence on underpaid workers and animal agriculture, is an environmental nightmare. Our food system gives us a lot to say sorry for. Coronavirus presents an opportunity for us to create a better food system.

In order to achieve a food system that will not leave Americans saying “sorry” for their contributions to climate change, we must implement policy changes. We need to restructure our system to be centered around regional supply chains, support farmworkers, and focusing on making sure that everyone has access to food. I also hope that the meat shortages that we are starting to experience may push Americans to re-evaluate their meat consumption as animal agriculture is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Policymakers are starting to push for these changes. Furthermore, my action group is working with Our Climate to draft a green new deal that will push for change. As long as we take this opportunity, we can come out of this crisis with a stronger and more sustainable food system.