The exponential growth of industry has birthed a contentious debate concerning the longevity of using fossil fuels as our primary energy source. Their fleeting abundance has given rise to our country’s economic prosperity but at the cost of the stability of the environment, and has the potential to fundamentally alter life on Earth. The economic prosperity that has been reaped will be erased as sea levels rise, geographic areas become inhabitable, and resources scarce.
Fruitless discussions are held primarily within political institutions that have no genuine interest in addressing the inevitable existential crisis that will soon confront the future electorate. Time and time again experts are called to testify to the severity of the crisis that will face our future society but their words fall upon deaf ears. Politicians chastise the facts of settled science, to which experts have all agreed upon, because of the monetary benefits of aligning themselves with businesses within the fossil fuel industry. Politicians that believe the wants of their electorate today outweigh the needs of their electorate tomorrow, and who fail to represent the democratic ideals of representation by placing the immediate financial concerns of business ahead of the health of the environment, and thus the electorate.
There is a disturbing abundance of apathy coursing through the public conscious. The apathetic can be separated into two groups by their rationalization of the looming crisis. Either they blindly and willingly accept any rebuttal ‘evidence’ that is spouted by a politician or worse, they do not care about the struggles that society will face when they are no longer apart of it. Time and effort is wasted attempting to convince voters of the direness of the effects of our current actions. Why do we lie to ourselves and believe that every citizen will suddenly become an altruist rather than continue their current ways of life? Further, it is naive to believe a business would willingly increase their costs for a future communal benefit. However, do we not owe it to our society to protect it in the future as we would to-day? Why do we steer our ship into the iceberg despite the numerous warnings?
The magnitude of this future crisis has been marked by the current state of political communication. Politicians have a responsibility to represent the best interests of their electorate, whether present or future, but represent neither when they spout falsehoods to misinform. Ultimately, their blatant failure will come to fruition long after they have exited society.