In certain corners of certain places, there have been mentions and murmurings of a new dynamic to the climate change movement and green efforts.
It has been labelled green fatigue.
People are steadily growing tired of the focus placed upon green action in the last five years and in comparison to the last four, 2009 has been an absolutely massive year for the environmental movement.
We have had a steady focus on proposed Emissions Trading Schemes in parliament. This political debate and discussion has created rifts, caused havoc and been a prominent topic in casual discussion between friends. In addition to this we have seen a massive amount of different action days, events and protests.
Last week it was 350, the week before there was climate camp and the protest march towards the Metropolitan Collieries, Australia’s oldest mine. Before that there was Youth Decide a predominantly internet based event, but an event nonetheless. Before Youth Decide there was Power shift and Earth hour; where we all somehow managed to turn off our lights at exactly the same time.
It does not stop there, we have had movies such as ‘The Age of Stupid’, clever advertisement campaigns with balloons, food- coops, marches down George street, web-sites launched, organisations established like the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and the list goes on.
It seems understandable that people could become exhausted just from attending the functions, let alone starting up their own organic vegetable patch and offsetting their fuel emissions. There does seem to be an interesting trend though. As we gaze over the different climate and environmental movements and events of the year, it appears that they tend to be predominantly youth orientated.
Understandable, considering younger people become more attached to new ideas, whereas the older generations seem comfortably ensconced in the concepts that they embraced as children of the revolution.
So I could understand why those who are participating could be sitting back right now thinking:
“I could seriously go for a non carbon offset lager and an air-conditioned hotel room with a flat screen and stereo full blast while I leave my car on for the hell of it outside- right now”
Yet, it isn’t the committed young environmentalists who are getting weak knees and weary spirits, it is the rest of society and no-one’s really asked them to do anything yet!
We should take a look at what the average person is asked to do at the moment to remain in the ‘environmental good books’.
The first bunch of requirements are economically direct, the idea of conserving and refraining from excessive waste. They are economically direct as they make sense in order to save dollars, replacing light-bulbs with LED’s or low-watt long lasting environmentally friendly globes is obviously beneficial for your wallet and your trees, less energy spent by yourself and the light bulb.
The other requirements are those that should be referred to as offset solutions.
This is becoming environmentally accountable for your actions and may include offsetting movie-tickets, aeroplane flights, electronic purchases etc. These amounts are miniscule; to offset the Australian music festival ‘Big Day Out’ ticket this year is $1.50 while the cost of the ticket is $135. I lose more money to wishing fountains on a daily basis.
These little things do not appear to be outrageous enough to cause green fatigue, so perhaps green fatigue at the moment is really a lot of people becoming tired of the way that people tend to go on about environmental issues.
There are two problems with green fatigue irrespective of whether it represents tiredness of action or hearing. Firstly, the reason people continue to discuss environmental issues is because right now they are very important.
As most of us should know it is becoming increasingly doubtful whether we can keep carbon levels from exceeding three percent, which is the level at which only the ‘minor’ effects of climate change shall eventuate, it is inevitable that we shall experience climate change to a certain degree and right now we are concentrating on reducing the ramifications.
This brings me to my second issue with green fatigue.
What shall be required of the individual by the environment is only going to grow, not diminish over the next few decades.
If what is socially expected now appears tiring and daunting, it is with great concern that we look towards the future where policy and law shall dictate what one must do rather than what one can do.
We must also engage the fatalistic attitude that tends to compliment green fatigue. Those who may be experiencing green fatigue are feeling that it has become too intense and that the end result is inevitably dire. It is imperative to demonstrate to these people who are in a process of ‘giving up’ that this is only the beginning and the individual can make an impact.
It is also the responsibility of those in the First World to shoulder a greater part of the responsibility because without our individual and communal efforts it will be impossible for the Third World to undertake what is required of them.
So if you hear comments in the coming month of green fatigue, you should berate those who express sentiment of discontent, violently assault them with a tree branch until they are crying for mercy, then carefully tend to their injuries explaining in a soothing voice how time heals all wounds and how if they do not offset or plant we will be tearing at the wounds we have inflicted on our planet in the past, and that you will find a bigger stick.
The concept of green fatigue is not legitimate until our lifestyles have changed and our efforts can be conceived as impacting upon the reformation of our environment.