We can’t fight climate change.

Hear me out.

I had this thought yesterday (and I’m hella excited because I often have thoughts and hope to remember them, but rarely do. haha). I was thinking how the term ‘climate change’ is a distraction. It keeps us from fighting, or even seeing the real problem. Climate change is a symptom. It’s like saying “fight headaches” when what you need is a flu vaccine. Or “fight air pollution” when the smoke is coming from a forest fire. Climate change is a symptom, a product of a system. You can’t fight the product, you have to fight the system and attack the underlying causes. And for people to do that, we have to name the system and the problems and start using that more direct and clear language so we can really start to work on the problem rather than running around like confused ants. We’ve seen the same thing in other contexts. Remember fighting sexual harassment. It was a step in the right direction, but these days, we’re able to name the patriarchy and the thinking it engenders as a root cause of violence against and dehumanization of women. So I think we should follow suit and reach that next level for climate change. However, my idea of “fight capitalist white supremacy and domination culture” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Some options: 

• Environmental exploitation
• Profit-first policies
• Consumerism (this is a nice, neat “Fight the -ism” moment)

This shift lets us get beyond the symptom to the levers we can pull to change course and actually do something that stems climate change at the fountainhead, rather than try to deflect its multifaceted advance. It also forces us to name the actual problem. Which is hard. Which is why well-meaning people are avoiding it. It’s hard to get people to agree on a root cause. Symptoms are easier to attack, because they’re visible and measurable. But, we’ve learned time and again that change is the business of root causes. Without them, we’re all treading water while the sharks continue to do whatever they want. We have to name our enemy to fight our enemy. And the enemy can’t be the outcome, it has to be the thing behind it. Like in war (games) the enemy isn’t the rifle or the bullet, but the person holding the gun, and the person controlling them.