The Roman Empire was one of the largest civilisations in human history, renowned for its impressive army and sheer magniture in the Mediterranean basin. They established a lasting system of infrastructure: roads for efficient transport and a legal framework that forms the foundation of modern law, alongside significant intellectual achievements. The Maya civilisation in Mesoamerica, which comprised 40 cities, was also one of the most advanced societies of its time, excelling in areas like their highly accurate calendar and engineering skills.
Despite these successes, both civilisations shared one thing in common: denial, which ultimately led to their end.
While Romans ignored their internal weaknesses and economic concerns, Mayans ignored climate change and built temples to tackle droughts rather than taking tangible action.
Today, we face a similar challenge: a climate crisis, much like the Romans and Mayans once did. The difference is, we still have time. Learning from the flaws of our ancestors, we must act on this flaw, with urgent care.
Recently, the City of Angels, Los Angeles, suffered from one of the most catastrophic wildfire incidents. Thousands of dwellings, once part of the most affluent communities of LA, are now rubble. As resources dwindled and the fire became uncontrollable, it sparked a renewed hope in nature to prodive a solution.
This is not an isolated event. In 2016, Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, faced a similar crisis, destroying homes for over 88,000 residents. In 2020, Australia faced the catastrophic Wild Bushfire season, which affected over 3 billion animals and devastated the residents of New South Wales and Queensland.
Each of these incidents shares one key factor: climate change. While climate change did not throw out matchsticks to start these fires, it was responsible for making these incidents uncontrollable.
And the story doesn’t end there. Coastal regions around the world are now threatened by rising sea levels, and the Amazon rainforest, once known as the “lungs of the planet,” has become a net carbon emitter due to droughts and wildfires.
We need a universal initiative to heal our planet. It’s called decarbonisation.
We might want to believe that we have done irreparable damage so we have mentally prepared accordingly. While preparing for such events is important, we don’t have to accept this as our only reality. We don’t need to take a “dot-your-i’s-and-cross-your-t’s” approach to reversing the harm we’ve caused. The journey is difficult, but not impossible. It requires our immediate, undivided attention, as well as a deep understanding of both the economic system and the environment.
Much of today’s “normal” is man-made because we decided not to conform to the environment but rather to shape our own path. While this has led to the crisis we’re now facing, it’s time to use our capabilities to once again reject the “new normal” and take action.
We frequently hear about the harm caused by fossil fuels: coal, petrochemicals, and plastics, and their negative impact on both our health and the environment. These concerns are valid, but before we villainise fossil fuels completely, we must acknowledge our universal dependence on them. We all interact with fossil fuels and plastics daily, through our amenities that contribute to our standard of living, such as the food we buy in supermarkets, the energy that powers our homes, and the data centers that run our digital lives.
This doesn’t mean we ignore the consequences. Rather, it means we need to reduce their harmful effects and gradually replace them, without casting fossil fuels as the “Lex Luthor” of our sustenance and the environment.
Our economic system, conditioned by the constant push for growth and profit, has a profound impact on both the environment and sustainability. We have more resources per capita today than ever before, thanks to economies of scale: the more we produce, the cheaper it gets. While this has improved our quality of life, it has also instilled in us a “disposable mindset,” where we treat goods, including food, as cheap commodities that we can afford to waste.
This conditioning affects our sustainability efforts in ways we may not realise. For example, at restaurants, we often receive large portions of sides and condiments we don’t need, leading to waste. Similarly, only a small portion of an animal is consumed, while the rest is discarded. This isn’t just ecological waste; it’s also a disrespect to the luxury of accessibility that we enjoy. The system is designed for economic satisfaction; the restaurateur is paid, the farmer is compensated, and the butcher profits. However, this reactive model leads to inefficiencies and increased prices, especially when waste is factored in.
Now is the time to think more generatively. Does the ecology afford to bear the waste? Every product we consume leaves a carbon footprint. While it’s natural for some level of carbon to be released, we must take responsibility and raise awareness about the consequences of excessive waste.
One excellent example of sustainable thinking comes from Thai Airways, which uses disposable earphones made from wheat straw. These earphones are recyclable and upcycled, demonstrating how waste can be reduced while still serving a practical purpose.
Recycling and upcycling highlight the need for professional facilities that can manage the process efficiently. This could open new economic opportunities focused on both sustainability and economic growth.
We need these changes, and we need them now. Policymakers must integrate recycling and upcycling into society more efficiently, financiers must fund such initiatives, and most importantly, thinkers must creatively develop new solutions.
Our capitalist system is already primed for these kinds of initiatives. It’s based on profit maximisation, and what could be more profitable than reducing waste and creating more efficient, sustainable goods? Human creativity is limitless, and now is the time to channel it into the right pathways.
We are at a point where every action matters. We don’t want to look back in ten years and regret the actions we failed to take. Whether it’s planting a tree or turning off the AC when we leave a room, every small act makes a difference.
The fight against climate change is like an expedition to Everest. No matter how well-equipped we are, we risk falling behind the moment we lose hope. Let today’s crisis be a wake-up call. Let’s take action now before we face the full social and cultural repercussions of climate change.
