The most recent United Nations climate report reminds us, once again, of what we already know: The steady rise in global temperature spells catastrophe. We must adapt to what cannot be undone and commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
We at home are left to wonder whether our daily decisions matter, as we watch a continuing parade of environmental and humanitarian disasters. Many of us have begun to accept that our children and theirs won’t know the same planet that we do.
Still, out of habit or hope, we continue to refuse plastic bags and search the underside of containers for the faint chasing-arrows symbol, eager to place them correctly into recycling. And we wait, looking to our elected officials for policies that will change our trajectory. We’ve been waiting for decades, as the distance in years between where we are and where we don’t want to be shrinks.
The question remains: What can we do?