Zachary McNulty

Honors 100 AC
11/19/16
Assignment 3: Global Challenges (Prompt 1)
Part of what makes an interdisciplinary response necessary to such a major issue as
climate change is the complexity of the issue itself. It is not simply a matter of rising
temperatures and environmental change: it is an issue of compromising the immediate needs and
desires of a wide variety of ecosystems and economies, whose struggles are often only
exacerbated by climate change, with the long-term goals of sustainable living. To live a
sustainable lifestyle is not enough to control the issue as long as others are simply incapable of
doing so. In some cases, local economies are based almost entirely on unstainable practices such
as the mining of coal or the fishing of a dwindling population of an endangered species. To
simply ban or eliminate these practices would jeopardize the well-being of these economies and
these people. Thus these people will always have their own personal agenda which is naturally
conflicting with the goal of worldwide sustainability.
As an individual, there are certain steps I can take to reduce my own personal impact
towards the goal of sustainability. I can bike rather than drive, limit my use of electricity, support
environmental policies in my local and federal government, limit my consumption of meat or go
entirely vegetarian, and encourage others in my local community to do so. However, this is not
an issue that can be solved alone: it requires support on a worldwide level. From the standpoint
of a developed nation with a flexible economy, the solution requires a massive change but at
least seems attainable and somewhat straightforward. If I and my community adopt these
sustainable practices, or even if the whole United States followed in suit, we may be able to slow
the effects of climate change and other environmental issues. However, without worldwide
support, climate change would still continue, and this will never be possible if we continue to
ignore the needs of less flexible economies. This is where the importance of dialogue, as
mentioned in our Global Challenges discussion, comes in.
Once we as a society open this dialogue, we will be able to recognize the trials and
struggles of the numerous economies that make up our world. It is only through this can we
understand and meet the needs of the world and eliminate the aforementioned conflict of
interests which stagnates our progress towards a solution. Doing so will not be easy.
Anthropologists will have to transverse the world to develop a knowledge base of how people
live their lives, reporters and journalists will have to spread their findings, scientists will have to
support sustainability through their research, engineers will have to develop sustainable
alternatives, and foreign diplomats will have to find solutions to shift those unsustainable
economies towards something more sustainable. As an individual, I think my most important role
is to recognize this complexity and not get frustrated asking questions like Why doesnt
everyone drive an electric car? or Why do people have so many kids? Rather, I must accept
this diversity with all my heart and instead of forcing everyone to adopt my solution to climate
change, I spend my life searching for a solution that encompasses such diversity and encouraging
others to do the same. I must recognize this is not a simple problem with a simple solution.
Otherwise, I will get caught just repeating myself and my frustration while nothing gets done.