"It's More Than Most of Us Do Now"

Elizabeth Cripps (Edinburgh University), uses her background in moral philosophy, to refute many of the most common excuses for climate crisis apathy (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/12/excuses-tackle-climate-crisis-apathy). Cripps points out that the climate crisis is not some distant, future event. Damaging climate change is occurring now, more intensely in some parts of the world than others. She also maintains that people can't claim, that taking measures to ameliorate the climate crisis, are 'too expensive'. Not taking measures is known to be be more expensive and anticipated future deaths and damage remain our responsibility. As Cripps points out, these climate crisis impacts will fall, for many of us, on our own children and grandchildren. She also demolishes excuses in which climate crisis responsibilities are loaded on a) governments (we elect them and, if they want to be re-elected, they are interested in our opinions) and/or b) other individuals (it's what is collectively done, rather than a few folk deciding to become vegan and/or give up flying, that is important). Cripps clearly feels that, if direct action like 'lying in front of lorries isn't your thing', individuals can still make a difference in other ways. People are not powerless. Folk arguing that they 'already have enough to do' also don't convince her (this is 'head in the sand' behaviour). Perhaps, Cripps' last words, directed at those living comfortably in rich countries, puts it most succinctly. "However much we should do to avert this tragedy, it's more than most of us do now". How true!