Rethinking Lifestyle

My friends and family from Alberta periodically post some version of the line “if you’re against pipelines, go turn off your natural gas and see if you miss it.” or “if you’re against oil, better tune up your bike.”

It’s a joke to them, because they live in communities where most jobs are directly related to the fossil fuel industries, where their electricity is generated by coal, and where everyone uses natural gas. They are dependent on the industry to pay for their homes, to heat those homes, and to put food on the table (and to cook it). They can’t imagine a world without fossil fuels, and think that environmentalists are living with our heads in the sand – and in their world, that makes sense.

I find those jokes frustrating, not only because they are mildly rude and belittling, but also because they spread misinformation. Most of Canada doesn’t generate electricity with coal plants, not everyone uses natural gas to heat their homes and cook their food, and renewable energy is actually cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Electric cars are becoming more affordable and common, and many people live in cities and could use transit for most outings. These are mostly changes in technology, not lifestyle – they don’t even require us to change our behaviour. These “jokes” ignore decades of technological progress and centuries of science, and undermine the work of those who strive to secure a cleaner world for all of us.

The reality is that while it is currently very difficult to completely avoid fossil fuels, it is also increasingly difficult to avoid the effects of climate change and pollution. The ocean is acidifying due to increased carbon levels, killing the great coral reefs and disrupting ocean ecosystems; agriculture is being affected around the world, as some areas flood and others suffer droughts; populations of pollinators are being decimated, not only by pesticide use but also by changing temperatures; the range of tropical mosquitoes is increasing, bringing malaria and zika farther north; and so on.

It is also terribly ironic that our position in the world – north of the hottest areas and south of the coldest areas – is where we who pollute the most feel the effects of that pollution the least. We could take that as an extra point of guilt: we are the most responsible for climate change through our high levels of consumption, and yet we are able to live in ignorance of it because we experience its effects so little.

Nevertheless this is a reality we need to recognize, and it is only as we recognize it that we are able to take responsibility for our actions. A cliamte change view that focuses only on our own perception is also unhelpful because it alienates people. If we can all recognize that our economic, physical and social location profoundly affects the way we see climate change, then we can better understand those who depend the most on fossil fuels even as we develop greater sympathy for those who feel the effects of climate change the most. Then we can all work together.

Jeff Wheeldon lives in a house heated by natural gas. He is saving up for an electric furnace.