Perspectives and Initiatives for Energy Efficiency and Combating Climate Change in Guanajuato, Mexico: A Report
by A discussion of climate change and the perspectives on the problem of a few typical residents of the city of Guanajuato, Mexico, including an argument for stronger implementation of practices reducing the effects of climate change.
Matthew West
Spring 2008
Perspectives and Initiatives for Energy Efficiency and Combating Climate Change in Guanajuato, Mexico: A Report
Imagine that you live in Bangladesh and that your family’s livelihood has for as long as anyone alive in it can remember, been fishing. Naturally, you might live near the coast. Now imagine that for the past five or six years your family has had to relocate farther inland two or three times due to rising sea levels; your country is essentially on the verge of disappearance.
The facts and evidence are out there, global warming is a problem. Our planet, at least as far as we know at the moment, is not an unlimited reservoir of resources. We are beginning (at the very least) to understand what happens when we are not careful, responsible stewards of our planet. The effects are not always obvious to identify, but we can notice plenty by following what is now more or less basic science. When we burn excessive amounts of fossil fuels, the release of greenhouse gases contributes to rises in global temperatures, which greatly affect living conditions around the world, some regions so much that it pushes people to the breaking point, like Bangladesh and tiny islands in Indonesia. The existence of these islands is increasingly threatened by rising sea levels, caused by the melting of polar ice caps, itself caused by the rise in global temperatures.
Some maintain global warming is still just a theory, that we cannot be sure humans are the principal cause of this global trend in temperature increases and climate pattern alterations. However, when large numbers of expert scientists from several different countries, who have more or less devoted their lives to the study of our environment, tell us that we are causing a great deal of the damage, I can only conclude that it would be foolish to ignore their warnings.
Beginning from the most basic logic, we can say that if a global problem exists, a problem that either now or later will affect just about everyone on our planet, the best way to combat it and maybe solve it as soon as possible would surely have to include the participation of just about every part of the world. Therefore, we can apply this logic to our world’s looming climate crisis. If we really intend to curb greenhouse gas emissions and begin to stabilize and eventually lower the temperature of our planet, it is going to require initiatives from all parts of the globe, from the largest cities to the smallest villages. Any progress in this department is often attributed solely to large cities and states, but we must not fail to acknowledge what actions people are and are not taking in smaller communities either, and give them credit where it is due. And although we can certainly say the most immediately effective changes will be made only by the actions of the largest states and cities, there also must exist a certain mindset among our world’s people about the problem and what each individual can do to contribute to its resolution. For without the mindset, there can be no initiative to change. This means raising awareness, developing institutions, organizations, clubs, etc devoted to this purpose, in order to engrain in the minds of citizens that we must all participate if we truly want to fight this problem.
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