Climate Refugees#
Around 2022, there was a widely circulated article that mentioned a term called "climate refugees." Since after 2020, the whole world seemed to have entered a period of great chaos, where previous orders no longer existed and everything that once existed was overturned. We can only try to live in the present and then attempt to establish a new order, just like the climate.
The term "climate crisis" sounds very serious because it is important for each and every one of us, not just limited to humans. The entire ecology of the Earth is affected by the climate crisis. As humans, being the dominant species on Earth, we possess knowledge that can be passed down, allowing us to continue moving forward based on what our ancestors have left behind. Therefore, it seems that we should not only care about the climate for the sake of humanity, but also for other species. This is what I consider to be humanitarian.
Why am I writing this article? Because the weather has been strange lately, sometimes cold and sometimes hot. A friend of mine posted a dynamic on their social media saying that the weather this year is very strange. When I opened the curtains this morning, I was also taken aback, thinking that it was the end of March again, with the weather being dusty... But yesterday was sunny, and the weather for the past two days has been similar. If the weather continues to be strange like this in the coming days, it should also catch the attention of the public.
Speaking of climate refugees, the definition of this term is that people who still live in certain areas that are no longer suitable for human habitation due to the climate crisis are considered climate refugees.
The definition of climate refugees is somewhat vague. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, there is an area that experiences severe flooding almost every year, which can be described as being submerged by water for generations. However, the people who have been submerged by water for generations are not climate refugees, but rather a group of people who choose not to relocate.
If a person's original place of residence is no longer suitable for survival due to climate reasons, but they still have to live in that area, then they can be called climate refugees.
There was a report in 2022: https://www.cdmfund.org/30840.html.
The numbers in it seem terrifying. In 2020, there were 30.7 million climate refugees worldwide. This number is actually much higher than I imagined, but it seems that people dismiss the changes in the climate. Most people's view of the climate crisis is not that it is unimportant, but that there are more important things to do. This view leads to the continuous destruction of the climate unless a crisis occurs that makes the entire human race realize that it must be addressed. Otherwise, the climate will continue to deteriorate until things get better.
Collective Attention Deficit#
First, let me explain how I define attention: attention is the combination of time and intention, and both are essential. So when talking about how strong attention is, it means that one's intention combined with time is accurate.
Now let's talk about the collective attention deficit. I believe that under the influence of the internet today, each of us seems to have a deficit in attention, meaning that we have lost focus on what we should care about.
Everyone's intention is more or less attracted by everything in the virtual world, and perhaps the reason is that current product designs are like this, using attention to attract users and sell advertising, which inevitably leads to this situation.
As a result, the entire society has lost sight of the goals that we should have cared about, such as the possibility of another major epidemic, or the impact of a small asteroid that could potentially lead to the extinction of the human race, or the climate crisis that we can all feel at present.
The harm caused by the collective attention deficit may not be evident until ten years later, and this harm may bring unimaginable disasters to the entire human population. If an asteroid collides with the Earth, we will face the crisis of extinction. However, this phenomenon has occurred in the past ten years, the rapid expansion of digital technology. Each of us needs time to adapt to the changes that digital technology has brought to the world. We should carefully consider the compatibility between our attention and digital technology, otherwise our own experience can only be unfortunate.
The Unfortunate Side of Digital Technology#
Digital technology allows each of us to see the lives of others, so we can see the visible happiness created by others.
This leads to a comparison mindset in each person. When a person starts to compare, unhappiness begins to occur. From my past experience, once a person starts to compare, there will always be someone weaker and someone stronger. At this point, when seeing someone stronger, the discomfort in one's heart can be resolved by spreading rumors. Whether others believe it or not, one believes it first. This is a way to protect oneself and neutralize the sense of disparity brought about by comparison.
But if you think about it carefully, most people are neither at the top nor at the bottom. As a result, a large number of lies emerge. In 2018, there was a book called "Post-Truth Era," which explained that in the current internet era, lies spread longer than the truth. This is an unfortunate consequence brought about by digital technology, but it seems that there is no solution. After all, even in the era without digital technology, there were still lies. This requires our humanitarian spirit to solve.
Regarding the solution to the climate crisis, we need our collective attention to address it, and the deficit in collective attention is an unfortunate consequence of digital technology. "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" proposes several methods to address attention deficit:
- Increase mindfulness
- Actively respond to the climate crisis
- Defend democracy
- Cultivate decentralization
- Promote learning
- Promote and practice humanitarianism
Each of these points is worth discussing in depth... I will discuss them later.