Part Three, sections 3.1 - 3.13
Section 3.1 The world has a fever
Greta Thunberg begins part three by likening the current climate crisis to a symptom of a greater infection the world is suffering from, one characterized by the exploitation of the Earth and its people. She points out that the wealthiest members of the population not only perpetuate absurd inequalities but are also responsible for twice as many carbon emissions as the rest of the world. Thunberg reflects on the Covid-19 pandemic and how it may be the first of many on a planet succumbing to climate stress. She then ends the section by pointing out that the sustainability crisis is rooted in greed, selfishness, and inequality.
Section 3.2 Health and Climate
The catastrophic health consequences of our climate crisis range from vector-borne diseases and water scarcity to mass hunger. These effects are disproportionately felt by poor and marginalized communities. While over three-quarters of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) members have committed to health and climate change action, low- and middle-income countries do not have the resources to implement meaningful changes. There must therefore be global solidarity when adopting more sustainable energy and food systems.
Section 3.3 Heat and Illness
Heat is one of our biggest environmental threats, with heat-related deaths each year almost on par with deaths from malaria. 37% of the heat-related deaths these past decades can be attributed to anthropogenic climate change. If global warming is not mitigated, projections place heat-related deaths at over ten times the current figure by the end of the century. Air-conditioning and heat warning systems are mere band-aid solutions, and we must engage in more holistic efforts toward sustainability.
Section 3.4 Air Pollution
Over 10 million deaths per year can be attributed to outdoor air pollution exposure, which significantly increases the risk for heart and respiratory diseases. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will have the two-fold effect of mitigating both air pollution and climate change. While climate change action requires long-term global cooperation, air pollution is a national and regional issue. Along the long road to climate action and emissions reduction, improved air quality is one of many benefits, helping both small- and large-scale communities by creating immediate improvements in local health.
Section 3.5 Vector-borne Diseases
17% of all deaths, illnesses, and disabilities on the planet can be attributed to vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue, Zika virus disease, yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis. More than 80% of the Earth’s population—but especially those living in poverty and inequality—are at significant risk of vector-borne diseases. Global rising temperatures have facilitated the spread of these diseases across different altitudes and countries, as well as increased their infectiousness. Failing to limit global warming to 2°C will sabotage global efforts to control and eradicate these diseases.
Section 3.6 Antibiotic Resistance
A group of medical researchers composed of John Brownstein, Derek MacFadden, Sarah McGough, and Mauricio Santillana warns that antibiotics may soon become obsolete due to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This evolution has been sped up by anthropogenic climate change, as higher ambient temperatures correlate with the most resistant bacterial infections, as is seen in the case of the NDM-1 gene in New Delhi. Rising antibiotic resistance, accelerated by climate change, might lead to millions of deaths per year by the mid-twenty-first century.
Section 3.7 Food and Nutrition
Climate change scientist Samuel S. Myers captures a snapshot of a Kenyan farmer’s failing crops in 2020; the farmer’s crops struggled due to a litany of problems, including rising temperatures, erratic precipitation patterns, and unprecedented insect infestations. Common to all these phenomena is the fact that they are all borne of human disruption...
(This entire section contains 1272 words.)
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of the planet’s natural regulatory processes. Compromised planetary health impacts the food system every person so desperately relies upon, leading to weakened production and significant nutrient reductions in crops to ocean warming, which puts global fisheries at peril. Myers concludes that protecting the planet is essential to safeguarding human health and productivity.
Section 3.8 We are not all in the same boat
Greta Thunberg points out that the Global North is spending the global carbon budget—a limited global resource—at a much higher pace than the underdeveloped nations they have historically exploited. There is also the underreporting of emission figures on the part of the UK and Sweden, as these nations conveniently leave out numbers associated with international aviation, shipping, and imported goods. Thunberg maintains that members of the Global North must be conscious of ecofascism and racism in their treatment of the climate crisis; moreover, these rich nations must be held responsible for their role in creating the current conditions.
Section 3.9 Life at 1.1°C
In 2021, the IPCC Working Group I released its sixth assessment report, declaring for the first time that climate change is now unequivocally present in the atmosphere, oceans, and land. Bangladeshi-British climate scientist Saleemul Huq states that the world is no longer in an era of prevention; instead, it is in one of “loss and damages.” The underlying implication of this, which is taboo to mention in diplomatic discussions, is that the United States and other rich countries must be held accountable for their emissions. To effect meaningful change, it is necessary to collectivize and center the climate crisis conversation around global injustice.
Section 3.10 Environmental Racism
Jacqueline Patterson, the founder of The Chisholm Legacy Project, shares how her experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica in the 1990s awakened her to global justice. The founding histories of both Jamaica and the United States are rooted in land theft, genocide, and oppression, leaving the Indigenous populations of their original lands displaced and disenfranchised. This dynamic remains prevalent in the current white supremacist capitalist system, which is structured around exploitation and the reckless depletion of natural resources. As low-income communities and people of color stand at a unique intersection of environmental racism and climate injustice, Patterson advocates for the transition from an extractive economy to a sustainable, living economy.
Section 3.11 Climate Refugees
Environmental journalist Abrahm Lustgarten reports that increasing droughts across Central America have impacted over 3.5 million lives, with half a million suffering from malnutrition and even starvation. Due to crop failures and worsening La Niña cycles, some citizens have started leaving their homeland. Populations across the world find themselves in the same situation, building up to what may be the great climate migration. At the current rate of global warming, 19% of the planet might be uninhabitable by 2070—a significant jump from 1% today. Lustgarten warns that this might lead to globally destabilizing mass migrations and major geopolitical conflicts.
Section 3.12 Sea-level Rise and Small Islands
When discussing the growing sea-level rise, climate correspondent Michael Taylor conjures the image of small islands disappearing, a future that is unavoidable even if efforts to mitigate global warming succeed. He gives as an example his home in the Caribbean, where the disappearance of small islands has greatly impacted the region’s tourism and fishing sectors, as well as the livelihoods dependent on them. Taylor points out that, even though small islands have contributed very little to the climate crisis, they are disproportionately burdened by its consequences.
Section 3.13 Rain in the Sahel
Chadian environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim recounts how climate change has impacted the communities living around Lake Chad, which has lost 90% of its volume over the past six decades. As the land has become dry and infertile, the region has been beset by climate wars, with its citizens fighting over what little resources are left. However, Ibrahim still feels hopeful, as members of the community are fighting back through resilient agriculture and ancient indigenous knowledge. She cites this as proof that indigenous communities are not remnants of the past but representatives of a more sustainable future.
