Two and a half Earths—to meet the level of consumption I had normalized during my time studying in Chicago, we would need two and a half Earths’ worth of resources. Regardless of whether I could take a year abroad every year, that realization horrified me. I was first made aware of this by my social justice professor, who had us use the WWF Carbon Footprint Calculator. As I begrudgingly answered the questions before the rest of the class, my head lowered with each one:
“In how many meals does meat appear?”
“Every.”
“Is your food locally sourced?”
“The school caf… so, God knows.”
“How many flights do you plan to take this year?”
“Six?”
The once-ardent refuser of plastic bags and individually wrapped yogurts was now spotlit as a guilty offender—unknowingly contributing so much to global warming, I’d have scorned myself had I been born as one of my classmates. Some facts remain: America almost revels in how much waste it produces, as though it were a sign of opulence. And that the brunt of pollution is felt by the Global South, pollution that is overwhelmingly produced by the Global North. Still, I’m reminded of my responsibility as a political science major to help rectify such egregious inequality.
My classmates would often remind me that just 100 companies are responsible for 70% of the planet’s emissions—a convenient obfuscation of personal responsibility. Yet it is in the political scientist’s best interest to support efforts to reduce individual carbon footprints, even in the face of such disproportionate offense. What we allow for ourselves must be permitted to all; after all, a right afforded to the few, and not the many, is privilege.
An interesting observation I made during my time in Chicago was that students on scholarships from South Side working-class neighbourhoods often had little concern for practicing sustainability. My roommate, case in point, refused to eat with metal cutlery or separate his “garbage.” This illustrated another lesson from my year abroad: it is precisely my middle-class habitus that has the most capacity to recognize unsustainability and subsequently effect change. We have the privilege to explore hobbies, receive quality education, and gain new perspectives through opportunities like studying abroad. I saw no group both more responsible and more conscious. After all, were it not for open-water swimming, nature trekking, and birdwatching—hobbies typically associated with the middle class and free time—there would be far less outrage over pollution of areas greater than just these fields.
One final lesson became strikingly clear: no productive push for environmental justice has ever begun as a government-led initiative. What we care for in our ponds should translate to our seas. It doesn’t take a benevolent government. Holding ourselves accountable is what enables us to hold those same 100 companies to the same standard. It takes locals becoming globally attuned.
References:
https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/questionnaire
https://www.cdp.net/en/press-releases/new-report-shows-just-100-companies-are-source-of-over-70-of-emissions
