A Fight for Our Future

By Nick Chappelear

Recent TikToks have gone viral this month (some with over 12 million views) that depict Dr. Peter Kalmus making an emotional plea for climate action prior to getting arrested. By chaining himself to a JP Morgan Chase bank in Los Angeles on April 6th, this NASA scientist became one of over a thousand protestors involved in the most recent campaign by the Scientist Rebellion – now the largest civil disobedience operation by scientists in history!

These protests came in response to the IPCC’s (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) most recent report released on April 4th, which showed that limiting global warming to below 1.5° C is now impossible without extreme and immediate reductions in emissions across all sectors. Sparking action in 26 different countries, scientists from around the world voiced their anger, fear, and desperation for the public and their governments to recognize this soon irreversible threat that climate change poses to humanity. Demonstrations like this are not the first of their kind; like GD Agarwal, a former environmental engineering professor in India who sadly died in 2018 while protesting the pollution of the Ganges River, scientists have put their lives, careers, and safety on the line for years now while trying to purvey the necessary urgency of climate action.

And yet, companies and leaders around the world relentlessly downplay these concerns and continue to invest in carbon fuel sources. For example, President Biden agreed to increase US export of natural gas to accommodate the rise in global energy costs from the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine. Environmentalists fear this will only deepen US reliance on carbon fuels and lead us further away from our Paris Accord emission goals. This ignorance and inaction is why Dr. Kalmus and his colleagues took to the streets this spring to advocate for climate change recognition and accountability. Looking at the bank Kalmus chained himself to, JP Morgan Chase has contributed over $382 billion dollars to fossil fuel projects, the most out of any other banking corporation. In an interview with AJ+ a few days after his arrest, Kalmus explained “they are literally funding the destruction of Earth’s system, and that’s got to stop.”

If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic, onslaught of severe natural disasters in recent years, and growing stress of food and water insecurity in developing nations have shown the growing danger that climate change poses to not just our society but our survival as a species. So, what can you do to help increase support for climate policy and pressure your governments into taking action? First, try to stay updated on current climate-related events; you can check out this reading list from the Scientist Rebellion and follow activists like Peter Kalmus on whatever platforms work best for you! Despite the daunting weight of climate inaction, the most important thing you can do is stay hopeful. I know how unsettling these realizations can be and it’s easy to feel helpless in light of these global problems. However, as Peter Kalmus urged, “this is for all of the kids of the world, all of the young people, all of the future people. This is so much bigger than any of us.” It’s about time we recognize this climate crisis for what it is and stand united as we face this fear together. Because if we don’t join in this fight for our future, then who will?