For climate alarmists, this famous expression and call to action has morphed into ‘think global, act global‘…

Primate v. Climate

When you boil it down all CO2 emissions reduction initiatives are a twisted version of the famed “think global, act local” approach to environmental matters, and not in a good way.

Let me explain.

By reducing your CO2 emissions, via whatever means, you are contributing to a global process, not restricted in any way by borders or government zones, but just a general lowering of the total amount of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere, correct?

Many will think sure, that’s great, even better than having to contribute locally to achieve something, that’s the beauty of emissions reductions, it allows individuals to contribute globally (even if you can’t and never will be able to see or touch the unbelievably insignificant results of your contribution).

OK then, sure, reduce your own emissions and preach your opinion as much as you like, while wallowing in your glorious (yet insignificant and certain to be made redundant by any one of millions of external factors, most of which are natural) contribution to, well, the total amount of CO2 in the planet’s atmosphere, but just remember what you are most definitely not doing by leap-frogging the local element:

  • Directly assisting your friends and neighbours with real world problems
  • Contributing in any way to a guaranteed better future for your children, unless you count praying and throwing coins into a wishing well as effective approaches to influencing positive outcomes
  • Effecting in any material way any positive change at all, in the short and medium and probably even long term, for your local community
  • Directly improving the life of a poor person, anywhere on the planet, at any time during your lifetime

Of course, there are many ways to achieve such aims, just none of them hinge on whether you reduce your CO2 emissions, and many involve increasing your emissions – ie. paying the (grid-supplied) energy bill for a poor family to ensure their kids are warm through the winter; donating a diesel generator to a poor family in a developing country that currently cooks by burning animal faeces and night-reads by candlelight; giving a lift in your (evil) SUV to a poor kid who walks 20miles each day to school – you know, those sorts of things – acting local as it were…

I know I know, nowhere near as noble as reducing your emissions, but we should all play our part even if we can’t attain the dizzyingly altruistic and benevolent heights of the enlightened CO2-offsetting, net-zero-worshipping guarantors of a ‘stable’ future climate…

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