Episode 113

[FOCUS] Myth 9: Climate Change Doesn't Affect Me (Really?)

Episode Summary:  This short segment is taken from a previous episode that focused on debunking myths about climate change, particularly Myth 9: that climate change doesn’t affect me.

A 2019 poll revealed that only 24% of the respondents believed that climate change would impact them personally. Jenn and Inma dissect this misconception

The truth is, if you live on planet Earth, you are all affected by Climate Change in various levels of severity, and it’s not too late; there are things that can be done to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Start a conversation. Find a climate action group. It’s not too late, but we have to get started and take action together.

For more information on the project, and to order your copy of the Carbon Almanac, visit thecarbonalmanac.org


Listen to the full episode: Myth 9 and 10 about Climate Change

For more information on the project and to order your copy of the Carbon Almanac, visit thecarbonalmanac.org


Want to join in the conversation?

Visit thecarbonalmanac.org/podcasts and send us a voice message on this episode or any other climate-related ideas and perspectives.

Don’t Take Our Word For It, Look It Up!

You can find out more on pages 32 and 33 of the Carbon Almanac and on the website you can tap the footnotes link and type in 342.

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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Jenn Swanson and Inma Lopez

From Langley in British Columbia, Canada, Jenn is a Minister, Coach, Writer and Community Connector, helping people help themselves.  

Imma is from Cádiz in the South of Spain, living in Aberdeen, Scotland. Imma is a sommelier, a poet, a podcaster, a mother, a slow food advocate, and an animist activist.

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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.

Transcript
INMA:

Hi, I'm Ima

JENN:

And hi, I'm Jen.

? INMA:

Which one is, uh, another MIS gem.

JENN:

This myth is that climate change doesn't affect me.

INMA:

Oh, because you don't live in planet earth.

JENN:

exactly.

INMA:

Very interesting.

INMA:

Do you think there are people there that believe that?

JENN:

Apparently, apparently there are.

JENN:

, and there was actually a poll done in 2019 that that found that only

JENN:

24% of the respondents believed that climate change would have a great

JENN:

deal of impact on them which is interesting because as you say, we all

JENN:

live on this planet and it's already happening and we're already seeing.

INMA:

Yeah, I think it may be that that poll was made before.

INMA:

COVID.

JENN:

Oh, yes.

JENN:

Yeah, it was,

INMA:

And then, and then having experience something as small as a

INMA:

virus being planetary dimensions and affecting almost everyone or everyone.

INMA:

Uh, I think that changed, uh, our minds about how connected we are.

JENN:

I think you're.

JENN:

I think you're right.

JENN:

And we've had some in our part of the world and in many parts

JENN:

of the world, we've had some extreme weather experiences.

JENN:

Um, we had

JENN:

words that I'd never even heard of before, like heat dome and

JENN:

atmospheric rivers and, and wildfires

JENN:

That were super serious.

JENN:

So, , there have been more and more of these things.

JENN:

Um, there have been tornadoes in places where there were never tornadoes before

JENN:

and , so quite some drastic things.

JENN:

And,\ uh, at king tides, another term that I hadn't heard.

JENN:

And so if you're living near the ocean and you happen to have a place near

JENN:

the water and the sea level is rising well, then that is gonna affect you.

INMA:

Oh, and, and, and in things as, common as the price of food,

JENN:

mm-hmm

INMA:

it's rising and it will go, it keep going rising.

INMA:

And that affects everyone of us

JENN:

That does too.

JENN:

And so does, um, more expensive house insurance.

JENN:

Um, you know, when, when you have to ensure for things like hurricanes,

JENN:

uh, earthquakes, tornadoes, flooding fires, uh, your house

JENN:

insurance will go up quite a bit

JENN:

as well.

INMA:

So yeah, I would think that directly, we can see that happening

INMA:

already and affecting all of us.

JENN:

And if it gets warmer, then you're going to have more costs to

JENN:

do with cooling your home or cooling your company, your business, um,

JENN:

to keep air conditioning running, or keep fans going.

INMA:

Yeah.

INMA:

Or, well, I hope not many air conditioner machines going around because that

INMA:

also affects and make things worse.

INMA:

So,

JENN:

Yeah.

JENN:

Another thing, uh, that has been changing our, our warmer temperatures

JENN:

cause, uh, allergy season to be longer.

INMA:

yes.

JENN:

So people suffering with higher pollen counts and more allergy

JENN:

symptoms as a result because ground level ozone, uh, is part of smog.

JENN:

and people can feel difficulty breathing and, and things like that too.

JENN:

So, um, you might not think of that, but that might

JENN:

be, something that's affecting you.

JENN:

So.

INMA:

Things are gonna get worse.

INMA:

I think we are all clear on that.

INMA:

living a sea level right now , is to enter in the dangerous zone

INMA:

of, uh, and then, uh, migration.

INMA:

It will start happening.

JENN:

mm.

INMA:

So all these things is gonna affect all of us,

JENN:

Water quality.

INMA:

what quality.

INMA:

Exactly.

JENN:

Yeah.

JENN:

And even things like disruption to travel.

JENN:

If there's a storm, you know, and you're trying to go somewhere.

INMA:

yes, exactly.

INMA:

So it's is we are, we don't want to be, uh, really doom in this, in this, in this,

INMA:

but we want to be real and, and we want.

INMA:

Everyone to, to, to know that is gonna affect or is affecting all of us.

JENN:

It is.

JENN:

And, and as you said at the beginning, even with food prices, you will

JENN:

have noticed that food is a lot more expensive everywhere right now.

JENN:

And, uh, and so we're in this together, we're in this together

JENN:

and we need to, um, join together

JENN:

to be able to, , to work towards, reducing.

JENN:

And slowing down this climate change because it is

JENN:

affecting everybody who shares

JENN:

this planet.

INMA:

Yeah.

INMA:

Uh, I remember when, uh, few months ago, , and I, someone

INMA:

was comparing this situation.

INMA:

Well, comparing a little bit, this situation with when the.

INMA:

Also, uh, layer was starting to be damaged and we got it on time and

INMA:

everyone, everyone in the world went at once and it's one of the

INMA:

things that we did it together.

INMA:

So, I, I think , it's a bigger issued now, but, , I'm definitely

INMA:

sure we can do it together.

JENN:

We can, we can let's do it.

INMA:

Let's do it.

JENN:

thanks.

JENN:

EDMA thanks so

JENN:

much.

INMA:

you, Jen.

INMA:

Thank you.

LYNN:

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LYNN:

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LYNN:

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LYNN:

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LYNN:

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LYNN:

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LYNN:

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LYNN:

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LYNN:

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Carbon Almanac

When it comes to the climate, we don’t need more marketing or anxiety. We need established facts and a plan for collective action.

The climate is the fundamental issue of our time, and now we face a critical decision. Whether to be optimistic or fatalistic, whether to profess skepticism or to take action. Yet it seems we can barely agree on what is really going on, let alone what needs to be done. We urgently need facts, not opinions. Insights, not statistics. And a shift from thinking about climate change as a “me” problem to a “we” problem.

The Carbon Almanac is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between hundreds of writers, researchers, thinkers, and illustrators that focuses on what we know, what has come before, and what might happen next. Drawing on over 1,000 data points, the book uses cartoons, quotes, illustrations, tables, histories, and articles to lay out carbon’s impact on our food system, ocean acidity, agriculture, energy, biodiversity, extreme weather events, the economy, human health, and best and worst-case scenarios. Visually engaging and built to share, The Carbon Almanac is the definitive source for facts and the basis for a global movement to fight climate change.

This isn’t what the oil companies, marketers, activists, or politicians want you to believe. This is what’s really happening, right now. Our planet is in trouble, and no one concerned group, corporation, country, or hemisphere can address this on its own. Self-interest only increases the problem. We are in this together. And it’s not too late to for concerted, collective action for change.