Why addressing climate change is like going to the loo

This was originally published on Medium.

My mum is well into her eighties. That’s old. Whether her age will be regarded in the future as middle-aged or really old is up for grabs. I have my hunches about where that will land. My wife’s parents are old too, but quite a bit younger. One thing they have in common is how little water they drink — for my generation and younger, the amount is astonishingly little.

Part of that is cultural, and the result of a lifetime of ingrained behaviour. For my mum’s generation it’s also physiological. It’s a trade-off. If my muscular control and mobility is trailing off, if going to the loo is uncomfortable, am I going to stay well hydrated to minimise the chance of problems such as dementia, or am I just going to drink less? I’ll drink less.

Put another way:

Shall I avoid discomfort and frustration in my immediate future, or shall I work on my behaviour to reward myself with some vague promise of a longer, better life?

Sounds a lot like averting climate catastrophe.

Except there is a world of difference between outcomes. In my mum’s case, there is a sad hastening of decline for one person, daily realising the consequences of their own actions in ways they cannot see. In the other case, the stakes could not be higher, the injustices could not be more extreme.

For too many, the glass is almost full. But for them, they’re convinced that’s OK, because they’ve taken a few sips. And that’s enough, right?

No, it’s not: #RebelForLife.