On Writing The King’s Gambit (Part 2)

(Source: https://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium_380_230_/public/images/event/montage-extreme-1.jpg?itok=aMTabGhg)

If you read my book and have a keen eye (or read the afterword) you’ll probably notice that it’s based on a world ravaged by climate change. There are other factors that led to the post-apocalyptic setting, but I’d be spoiling it for you if I mentioned them. Though it’s not explicitly stated in the story, much of the environment in the story is in its current state due to the effects of environmental degradation. It’s hot out, plants don’t grow as well, mosquitos are everywhere, people need to cover their skin from the sun, there are lots of storms, and the color green is used—a lot. I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to make my world post-apocalyptic. To me, that’s nearly synonymous with climate change. So, in case you care or are interested, here are some of my thoughts on climate change based on some scientific evidence. I provided some links at the bottom that I thought were relatively easy to read and understand, but there is so much more out there that can do a better job of talking about it than I. I just figured it was appropriate to write a post about climate change since it’s a major role in my book.

Climate change, the much heated debate of the 21^st century. Or is it? Well, it’s certainly heated (pun intended), but it isn’t much of a debate. The whole “97% consensus thing” is thrown out there all the time and somehow a 3% level of uncertainty equals 100% for some people. If you think about it, 97% is a great number. That’s an A+, it’s higher than most of us see on our phone’s batteries, and it’s greater than the likelihood that many medications will be effective; when it comes to climate change, it’s also most likely wrong. More and more data comes out to show that more than 97% of climate scientists agree that climate change is real, man-made, and that it will cause harm. The publications that disagree are flawed, outdated, and contradictory.

But hey, I’ll play devil’s advocate for a minute. What if climate change isn’t real? What if we didn’t do anything to cause it, it’s all one big coincidence that the Earth’s temperature has increased since the industrial revolution, and it’s just part of the Earth’s normal cycle. Well, assuming for a second that all of that is true (a big ‘if,’ I know) then tell me this: why shouldn’t we at least be cautious? Why bother denying it and the potential cataclysmic implications? Wouldn’t it be better to stay on the safe side? After all, we spend tons of money on the military and weapons in an effort to feel safe. If climate change could affect everyone (it will, and already does), then why not take measures to protect ourselves?

Okay, I make a bad devil’s advocate.

Honestly, I think it has to do with ego, money, and impatience. People don’t want to think that it’s our fault that the planet is in danger. They don’t want to accept the possibility that their way of life is detrimental to the environment and people around the world. People don’t want to lose money. The fossil fuel industry makes the big bucks. It provides lots of jobs, and people don’t want to lose those jobs; they want to be able to live and provide for their families—and that’s a valid concern. Renewable energy doesn’t have that same stability just yet, even though it will continue to last and fossil fuels are a finite resource. To get that kind of stability we need to understand the importance of it. We need to be better educated about the dangers of climate change. We also need to be worried about the future more than ourselves. And that’s really hard for people to do, especially if they’re living paycheck to paycheck. But here’s the thing, climate change is bigger than any of us. It’s not about if it will affect us, or how it will affect us. It’s about when and who. We should be concerned for the generations to come because, if we don’t change things, they will be left to clean up the mess that we’ve left them. Unfortunately, it may be too late by that point.

So, what can you do? Quite a lot, actually, and a lot of it is quite simple. Things like small diet changes, driving behaviors, and turning off your appliances while not using them can go a long way. If you can afford it, try getting a low-carbon impact vehicle; get some solar panels; cut back on your water use. A lot of these things will help save you money in the long run, too.

Further Readings

25+ Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: https://cotap.org/reduce-carbon-footprint/

97% consensus on climate change? More like 99.94%, study finds: https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/climate-change-consensus-07042018/

About half of Americans don’t think climate change will affect them — here’s why: https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/29/17173166/climate-change-perception-gallup-poll-politics-psychology

Causes of global climate change: https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

Effects of global climate changes: https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/

The effect of the industrial revolution on climate change: https://history.libraries.wsu.edu/history105-unangst-fall2017/2017/12/07/the-effect-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-climate-change/

The Industrial Revolution kick-started global warming much earlier than we realized: http://climate.anu.edu.au/news-events/industrial-revolution-kick-started-global-warming-much-earlier-we-realised

Those 3% of scientific papers that deny climate change? A review found them all flawed: https://qz.com/1069298/the-3-of-scientific-papers-that-deny-climate-change-are-all-flawed/