Capitalism Vs. The Climate By Naomi Klein And Global Warming's The New Math

In the articles “Capitalism vs. the Climate” by Naomi Klein and “Global Warming’s the New Math” by Bill McKibben, both authors discuss many issues and possible solutions to reconstruct our economy structure and reduce carbon emissions. Climate change, and the effects of global warming are just a few issues that are affecting everyday life. Another concern that needs to be dealt with is capitalism. CEO’s of big corporations that have economic power, control the root causes of these problems. Owner of big companies are financially stable to do as they will and are not being taxed enough for it. Naomi Klein’s six points include; reviving and reinventing the public sphere, remembering how to plan, reining in corporations, relocalizing production,

There are three numbers we have to worry about. The first is the 2 degrees Celsius, which is the agreement that the temperature would not reach beyond that number. The second number is 565, and this is how many gigatons of carbon dioxide the atmosphere can hold and have hopes of staying under 2 degree Celsius warmer climate. The last number is 2795, and this is how many gigatons of fossil fuel are still available and ready to burn. Statistically speaking the numbers is increasing at a faster rate than before, Bill McKibben replies with, “environmental efforts to tackle global warming have failed. The planet’s emissions of carbon dioxide continue to soar, especially as developing countries emulate the industries of the West” (5). Majority of the population is aware of climate changes and the negative impact it has on society but people either look the other way or lose interest in finding new solutions. Klein’s article shows the reduction in world coverage of climate change, she states “in 2007, the three major US networks ran 147 stories on climate change. No longer. In 2010 the network ran just 32 climate change stories” (3). These numbers show that the general public is becoming less aware of climate concerns and the media instead is displaying material that gains more viewership such as the latest fashion trends. The main theme that is presented by both Klein and McKibben are the effects of global

Capitalism is the root of the problem that is causing our climate to change. This occurs when a political system, where the countries trade and industry is controlled by private owners rather than the state. These owners are part of the top 1% population that have the financial means to carry on with their operations, for example Bill McKibben states, “Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson told Wall Street analysts that the company plans to spend $37 billion a year through 2016 (about $100 million a day) searching for yet more oil and gas” (8). CEO’s that are spending so much money searching for more fuel are usually blamed for the climate change. Tillerson is one of the richest and most reckless human that is hungry for power and wealth. Klein’s article states that, “the airborne waste of industrial capitalism is causing the planet to warm, with potentially cataclysmic results,” (11). It is clear that both authors state that wealth owners and capitalism is the head of the problem that needs to be addressed. Another one of Klein’s six points is ending the cult of shopping. Klein states, “ecological crisis that has its roots in the overconsumption of natural resources must be addressed not just by improving the efficiency of our economies but by reducing the amount of material stuff we produce and consume” (9). However there is a solution that tackles capitalism, in his article Bill McKibben explains that, “If you put a price on carbon, or