Le Vert: Climate Change Awareness
A look at toxic masculinity from an environmental viewpoint:
When you think about some of the ways in which the environment is damaged, you would mostly think about pollutants due to human activities. But, what really causes these pollutants to come up in the first place? Industrialization? Sure. Oil spills? Sure. Landfills and deforestation? Definitely. Something else, however, that we feel like is a threat to our environment is toxic masculinity, i.e, certain norms in society that lead to climate change.
One of the most common examples of this is a stereotype around men about the environment and about homosexuality. A lot of men don’t want to be associated as people who care about the environment, or people who are actively trying to prevent environmental damage by going green because they think that it makes other people think that they are ‘gay’, which is not only entirely false but also extremely homophobic.
According to a study published by the Journal of Consumer Research in the year 2016, using things like recyclable bags are perceived to be more “women-like” or feminine. Moreover, many men seemed to prefer using plastic bags over recyclable bags simply because of this association which is wrong and also causing harm to the environment. This also seems to explain the amount of reluctancy many men have while adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet. The cause for this is deep-rooted in societal norms and patriarchy. According to traditional gender roles, women are expected to make more sacrifices and be more selfless than men, while it is thought that men can do whatever they want to do.
We also believe that there is most certainly a psychological factor behind this thought process, something known as the Social Cognitive Theory. The Social Cognitive Theory aims at explaining how and why people replicate behaviour by observing people and seeing what outcome certain behaviour yields. Due to this very toxic behaviour by some people, other people surrounding them (especially young children) look at their parents and other role models, observe how they’re behaving and then try to see what reward comes out of it. The “reward” in question here is being seen as someone who is masculine at the cost of neglecting our environment and causing it harm. Seeing this and after going through another construct of the theory known as ‘self-efficacy’, people start to replicate the same toxic behaviour in hopes of being rewarded in the short term by being regarded as “masculine” by people from their own community. Conformity or the tendency to change one’s behaviour to fit in with a group also comes in here, since some people are almost forced into behaving this way due to societal pressure, and in order to avoid being seen as an outsider in an in-group or to avoid conflict (a construct of the Social Identity Theory, a variation of the Social Cognitive Theory) the same behaviour is replicated by many people. The concept of Schemas, or associations that our brain forms with pre-existing information that we already know to encode new information in our memory is also something that can be used to explain how this stereotype
came about and still persists to this day.
It’s important to understand some key points here, the main one being that we need to tackle this norm in society. The most important part is to inform people about such baseless claims and stereotypes and explain to them how such behaviour leads to pollution in the environment. Moreover, it is also important to expose the entire notion about this stereotype and tell people that the “reward” in question here is not actually a reward in any way, which would prevent people from replicating this toxic behaviour. Last, but not least, patriarchal norms must be removed from society not only for the environment but also due to the social impact they have.
How polythene bags cause global warming and climate change.
Something that can be found in every household is polybags, and for a good reason too. Polybags seem to be the most convenient way to dispose of any garbage or to store things in. Something that is not focused on, however, is their environmental impacts. Made popular after the First World War, poly bags are made from organic compounds known as polymers which are repeating units of large molecules known as monomers which are mostly made of ethylene or ethene (a hydrocarbon). Given their popularity, it’s safe to state that polybags are produced in a pretty substantial quantity, about 100 million tons annually, and not only is this a major threat to marine and wildlife, it’s also accelerating the process of climate change.
Plastics are not commonly associated with climate change, but this is why it’s of the highest importance to spread awareness about their impact on our climate. Plastic is one of the most difficult substances to be decomposed naturally. It lasts for about 400 years, and during all of these years it contributes to climate change by producing greenhouse gases such as methane, a pollutant that’s 25 times more potent in trapping heat in the atmosphere than Carbon Dioxide. How this takes place is actually quite simple. Almost all plastics are derived from fossil fuels (Just the extraction of which also produces a significant amount of methane). 8 million tons of plastic ends up in oceans which is going to double by the year 2030. Not only does this plastic choke marine life and disrupt habitats, it also breaks down under sunlight (due to UV rays) which causes methane to be released into the atmosphere (And potentially free radicals, which break down Ozone molecules). This methane leads to more greenhouse gases and hence higher temperatures, hence accelerating climate change. What’s more? This is an extremely dangerous cycle of Earth’s temperature increasing, which further leads to plastics being broken down more quickly and more methane being produced, which further complicates the situation and makes it harder to reverse the damage caused.
This is a situation that people should be made aware about as soon as possible. Action should be taken by us to not only reduce our plastic consumption and production, but also to make sure that no plastic ends up in oceans or in any other places where it can harm life and cause damage to the environment by producing greenhouse gases. Researchers have estimated that given the rate of plastic production, it is equal to 180 coal powered stations, which will later triple by the year 2050 and will be responsible for 13% of the total carbon budget on our planet, which is on par with what 165 power stations would emit. Just reducing our plastic consumption and waste is not enough any longer. We need to come up with alternatives that won’t be as harmful to the environment, and for the time-being, come up with ways to dispose of the plastics that have already been produced by us in the past years. It’s critical to dispose of the idea of polybags altogether, and work towards a future that’s more sustainable.
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Pretty much everyone has come across this idiom at some point in their lives, and while its mundane reality can be something that may be a bit questionable, a place where you can get to see this actually happening does indeed exist (And no, it’s not a work of fiction). The place we’re talking about is Sweden, home of the Viking culture, Swedish meatball and world-renowned companies like Volvo, Spotify and IKEA.
Something else that Sweden is quite well-known for is its waste management system. Sweden is considered as a world leader in sustainable waste management and in the reduction of carbon footprint per capita. Over the last ten years, Sweden has almost perfected waste management, which is easily reflected in the following statistic: Less than one percent of all of the waste in Sweden makes it to landfills. The rest of it is recycled, repurposed and used to produce energy. And this is not limited to just Sweden. The statistic mentioned above also holds true for other Scandinavian countries, such as Norway. In Sweden, over 49% of the total waste generated is reused or recycled in some way, 50% is used to generate power from steam, making up a total of over 99% of the total waste being used in a way that’s sustainable and not harming the environment. With such an amazing waste management system, there’s definitely a lot that we can learn from Sweden and implement it in our own countries.
One of the biggest contributing factors to how well Sweden manages its waste lies in how the people in Sweden perceive waste. Waste is viewed as a way to extract energy rather than just trash, and this has gone a long way in helping Sweden reduce pollution and slowing down climate change. For starters, Sweden is already a country that takes sustainability quite seriously, with hydro energy and nuclear energy generating 83% of its total energy and 7% being generated by windmills. The rest of the 10%? The rest is generated with the help of the trash that is generated in Sweden with the help of a plan called “Waste to Energy” which involves making power plants that produce electricity with the help of turbines that are generated by steam. How’s the steam generated?
The trash thrown out by people is what is used as fuel for a fire in an incinerator at a temperature higher than 1500 degrees Fahrenheit, and this incinerator is in turn used to create steam, which is then used to spin the turbines mentioned earlier. There are 34 of these power plants all over Sweden and all of them are used for the same purpose. Instead of burning coal or other sources of fuel for conventional energy, these plants make use of trash, and the energy generated from these power plants is massive in magnitude, so much so that the energy produced from these plants power 1.25 million apartments and 680,000 homes with heat! These systems are made to be extremely efficient as well. Since heat is generated in these power plants, they’re also used to heat water for domestic and commercial purposes which brings up their efficiency to roughly 90%! (Which is a lot more as compared to 40% for conventional power plants). This energy is used to supply heat and hot water to apartments and houses from the power plant, which is why it’s called ‘Central Radiator Heating’.
Many people might argue that even incinerating this waste can lead to pollution and climate change, but an important thing to remember is that landfills produce methane, a gas that is 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide (Which is produced in the incineration process). Moreover, it is estimated that Sweden’s approach has avoided 467,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted in the last year. Sweden also produces methane biogas from organic and food waste which in turn powers city buses and other forms of public transport, further slowing down climate change. And these actions have been greatly appreciated by Swedish citizens as well, who appreciate and support this waste management system. In 1975, each person in Sweden recycled 18 kilograms of waste on average each year, while in 2016, each person in Sweden recycled 170 kilograms per year on average! As impressive as these statistics are, an important thing to remember is that we cannot entirely blame the system for the state that our country is in today. Waste collection needs to be more organized and logistical, but at the same time, people also need to be aware about recycling and properly disposing off of waste. We play a role that’s just as important in keeping our surroundings clean as the government plays.
Imagine the following in your mind: A night sky, filled with stars, each of them emitting a brilliant and bright light, even a nebula if you’re lucky! Chances are that you’ve never seen this mesmerizing sight though. Ever wondered why you’re never able to see the night sky, filled with a sea of stars, and in some cases even celestial bodies? Sure, air pollution would be the first thing most people think of, but there’s also another source of pollution that people don’t consider, artificial light.
Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution is the excessive use of artificial lighting which leads to an alteration in the circadian rhythms of organisms and, alters natural light patterns from the stars and constellations and all of this, in turn, affects the environment, energy resources, wildlife and humans. Most of all, photopollution is also a source of pollution that may link to climate change and it may even play a role in accelerating climate change.
This is not a new phenomenon. As a matter of fact, the effect of light as a pollutant has started to become more clear over the last fifty years, with urbanization taking place everywhere. It can’t be denied that urbanization is a good sign, but some part of it does end up harming the environment in the long run. An example of this can be the way that light pollution affects animals, especially nocturnal animals. The circadian rhythms of nocturnal animals are calibrated in such a way that animals such as owls and bats sleep during the day and are active only during the night. Excessive light pollution in recent years has radically changed the way the sky looks, making it brighter and resembling the sky during the day, which would of course affect how these animals move around, which would be detrimental to the normal functioning of the ecosystems around us. It’s not just nocturnal animals that are taking the hit though. Birds that migrate during the night are also much more likely to deviate from their course due to the light from cities and can lead them to migrate too early or too late, which can even affect certain ornithological species that act as pollinating agents. This again affects a part of the ecosystem, and a characteristic feature of an ecosystem is that everything is connected to each other, which can be understood with the help of the Butterfly Effect, or Chaos Theory. A change in just one species of animals can lead to drastic changes in the ecosystem which would affect all of us in the long run.
And that’s not it. According to a study done by scientists in the UK (This study was also featured in National Geographic), it can even cause spring to arrive earlier than expected. The study observed the effects of light pollution on four different species of trees, and it was found that all four tree species that were exposed to light pollution were blooming or producing buds a week earlier than needed on average, marking a strong correlation between light pollution and how trees and plants bloom during Spring, again affecting local ecosystems. Light pollution also contributes to climate change by adding excess heat into the air. Phototropism due to artificial light also affects in what direction plants and trees grow, which would affect their overall growth and since the plant’s cycles are altered, their dormancy and growth patterns are also affected, a problem that could very easily present itself in the agricultural sector. Given that the ecosystem works in synergy, all of these effects caused due to light pollution will affect us eventually.
There are some ways by which you can lessen the impact you’ll have on the ecosystem and our environment, since stopping artificial lighting at night altogether is not at all a feasible idea. As an example, you could perhaps shield the light away from the atmosphere by adding a fixture on top of the light source, which will make the light reflect downwards, not only making your surroundings more visible with light but also stopping the light from affecting nocturnal animals and plants. You could also choose to automatically shut your lights outside after a certain time by setting set times during which the light would remain on and off. Motion-sensor enabled lights can also be used, reducing the overall light in the atmosphere. Alternatively, you could also just choose to switch outdoor lights off when they are not in use, which is the most simple solution and works just as well as the others. It is imperative that we spread awareness about such forms of pollution that are lesser-known so that we don’t inflict any damage on our environment. Quite ironically, light pollution is not something that should be taken lightly.