Climate change is a real problem, but strikes won't change anything
OPINION: Hundreds of students stand outside Parliament, the fervour of do-goodery tainting the air with its saccharine scent. They proclaim their hearts desires, their bottled-up pleas for change. For action. They all yell up at those pristine steps, yelling...for what? As a high school student, it has been very difficult to ignore the constant mentions of the climate change strikes. Feel-good phrases have been hammered into us for weeks that by striking, we could change the world. We can convince the government that things need to change. We can actively reverse climate change and environmental havoc. To which I say...no? The world is at a strange point when it comes to the environment. We are all aware of the issue, but unsure of what to do next. The media feeds us scary facts that by 2020 the ocean will be filled with more plastic than fish, that the global sea level has risen 6.7 inches in the last century, that we only have 12 years to reverse what we have done to the environment. So I get it. I totally understand feeling the antsy need to do something, anything to help combat our environmental crisis. But yelling about climate change isnt going to do anything. First of all, as I previously stated, nobody knows what to do next about our environmental crisis. So we all respond by being extremely vague. Just climate change is such a broad topic to protest about. We are not going to get anywhere by being so vague. READ MORE: * You'll do anything for your kids? How about saving the planet?! * We need to act on climate change for the sake of our children * What you need to know about the previously withheld climate report A problem isnt solved by preaching emptily about the fact that it exists, and then expecting the government to magically come up with a solution for it. To solve the climate change issue, we need to get specific. We need to get intelligent. Yes, there is power in numbers, but not when those numbers are all yelling about a problem without any semblance of how to solve it. How about this New Zealand mostly recycles plastic type 1 (PET), type 2 (HPDE), and type 4 (LPDE). Most other types of plastic and packaging is sent to third world countries where they are unprofessionally burned or otherwise dealt with, thus releasing countless toxins into the atmosphere. Or, if they arent sent to these places, they simply sit in landfill, secreting greenhouse gases and oozing leachate. Sure, recycling is not the ultimate solution, but it is still so much better than letting this waste sit around further contributing to global warming. Why dont we use our collective passion to propose that the government sets up more recycling facilities in NZ a plausible action that could actually be implemented? Or, while were on a waste tangent, why dont we mention that food waste is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, producing methane which is 28 times more potent than your regular carbon dioxide. How about we propose to the government or the council that a composting scheme is set up around neighbourhoods, in order to harness our food waste for good and not let it further wreck our ozone? We cannot afford to just rant about the general problem anymore, people. By proposing specific aspects that would majorly reduce the climate change problem, the government would have something clear to latch onto and would thus be more likely to implement these solutions. Secondly, striking is not the best way to gain likeability in the public eye. Perhaps this is just my opinion as a reserved person, but I just dont see the point in getting needlessly fired up about something. Yes, absolutely, you should feel free to express your emotions and feel outraged at the governments lack of action as a human who intends to live on this earth in the future, I am absolutely disgusted with how the worlds powers arent changing things. But we shouldnt let this anger simply come out as...anger. Problems are not solved by yelling in a fit of rage, letting emotions override logic. We are students. We are intelligent, opinionated people. Lets make speeches. Lets write letters. Lets plan protests that are thought-out, impactful, and effective in not only acknowledging the problem, but also suggesting and encouraging solutions. Holding our signs and yelling ourselves hoarse at the government steps isnt going to help our problem at all, and our anger will honestly just cause us to be taken less seriously. Lastly, the whole awareness thing. People constantly say that this protest will make government and general society more aware of climate change. But heres the thing...they are aware. Us regular people have the media constantly reminding us of our environmental turmoil, and undoubtedly the government are aware too, judging by Labours policies at the time of election and all of the environmental conferences they are attending. They know. Everyone knows. We dont need to remind people anymore. To truly get on top of this problem, we need to stop being aware and start taking action. The two ideas for action that I mentioned previously are two of countless options. We are all so passionate about our planet, and that is amazing, so why dont we harness that passion and put it into a tangible form, instead of making ourselves more uncomfortably aware of a problem without ever solving it? All in all, Im not against the strike. If it makes you feel good, then sure. Do it. Go up with your signs and do something good that you believe in Ill never try to stop you from doing that. But in order to solve this problem, we cant be vague anymore. We cant just be aware anymore. We cant just be angry about the problem. Things are only going to change if we implement tactics. If we express our ideas intelligently. If we think of actual, attainable solutions. The world has never been changed through acknowledgement of a problem it is what comes after the acknowledgement that makes all the difference. Stuff Nation