You can’t shout a slur if you can’t breathe.
For the moment we must put our differences aside to save the world—at least until 2040, then those less evolved humans who hate others for their skin color or sexual preferences can continue to indulge in their ignorance. We’re living in age that’s quickly becoming known as the “era of climate responsibility,” and what that really means is that the only race worth fighting for—at least for the next twenty-five years or so – is the human race.
When you consider that: 7 million people worldwide in 2012 died from air pollution; bees (whose honey is one of the most incredible non-perishable foods that can kill almost every type of bacteria) and the crops they pollinate face extinction due to climate change; and in order to stay under 2°C of warming the world is limited to releasing only 1,000 gigatons of carbon, however, as of 2011, 531 gigatons have already been emitted; any logical thinking person must agree we really have no time to be racist, sexist or prejudice to anyone, for any reason – we all need to survive.
Check it: while you are attempting to cross the street to avoid the scary group of hooded teens chilling in front of the store, the street itself is crumbling beneath you. As lawmakers draft policies that disfranchise poor people of color, policy recommendations for climate change mitigation and adaptation go unheard from the “conspiracy theorist” shouting “the end is near!” As law enforcement habitually stop-and-frisk young black men for being young black men, companies like DuPont—who is the fourth largest corporate source of air pollution—go un-policed and unchecked, profiting as they poison.
While the soft-spoken poet is labeled “faggot” and teased unmercifully, the polar caps melt—they drip like the tears from the queer boy who hung himself to quiet the jeers. As the mild-mannered young Latino girl is made to feel like an alien by everyone from her classmate to her Congressman, coastal flooding increases—in 2013 there were 41 extreme weather disasters costing more than $1 billion a piece. While we concern ourselves with who’s married to whom and who sucks what and when, the vast majority of the human race has no idea that every time one pair of sneakers are manufactured, 30 pounds of carbon dioxide are being released into the air.
The real-time impact of climate change isn’t a black issue, a white issue, a gay issue or a straight issue. For all of us residing on Earth, climate change is a reminder that there’s only one race: human.
If for no other reason to forgo discrimination and bond together for environmental advancement, just think about this: you can’t shout slurs if you can’t breathe.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
Source: TBO Inc®
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Photo: Andrew/Flickr