Well... There really is a lot in common.
Firstly, some people care about it, some people don't.
Even within the people who know they have to do something about it, a lot of people also don't do anything about it.
The thing is, retirement planning and climate change doesn't happen overnight. It takes years and years of planning to achieve the desired outcome.
And 30 years down the line, when the climate is too hot for humans to live comfortably... well... same as retirement planning, 30 years down the line, when people realize they should have started saving for retirement 30 years earlier...
Oh but wait... if the climate is too hot, then maybe humans won't survive in the next 30 years anyway so it's ok not to plan for retirement.
Ok there are many people who don't believe in man made climate change.
The science behind it is simple. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere retains heat so the Earth heats up and stays hot. Previously, there was a lot of carbon stuck underground as fossil fuels. Now, humans have dug up the hydrocarbons (oil) and started burning them. Thus, more carbon dioxide is in the air. This is very different from burning trees. Trees can regrow, and the carbon that was released while burning a tree can be locked back into a tree again. (more or less, just that it takes time, only a few decades).
BUT you can't lock burnt oil back into the ground as fossil fuels, cos this would take millions of years.
You COULD lock back the carbon burnt back into trees. That's called carbon sequestration. Just grow more trees, BUT, obviously, we are losing more trees than we are growing them anyway... so... yea more carbon dioxide in the air the atmosphere heats up FASTER.
Yes, the Earth has gone through multiple stages of ice age and hot ages. That's true... the only difference is... well... the Earth was different then. Humans didn't rule the world then. Oh the Earth will still be fine. But maybe humans will just find it harder to survive in the new environment.
A lot of people know they have to plan for their retirement. But people just don't do it. Think about it. If it's hard to make someone think about their OWN financial future, which is fairly quantifiable, would it be easy to persuade someone to make changes in their life to improve the climate which is intangible?
Furthermore, if someone saves for HIS own retirement, he knows it's his own bank account, no one can take it away... and even this is hard to make someone plan his own financial future.
Think about climate change, even if someone makes changes to his life to reduce his carbon footprint. Someone else can just take a plane from Singapore to Paris and that would negate a lot of the efforts of one person.
So the idea becomes... "so why should I do it? Cos someone else can easily undo the good that I've done."
Now, I've said this before, I'm not particularly an environmentalist. I'm someone who likes free things so, somehow the stars aligned and what I do to save money also reduces my carbon footprint.
I look at this whole climate change thing as a progression of time. Dinosaurs have ruled the Earth, they have died out, in the next 100 years, some animals will die out, if humans are one of them, then so be it. The Earth WILL still keep on turning. The Sun will keep on shining for a long time more.
Anyway moving on...
So let's say we ignore all the people who don't believe in climate change.
Based on the people around me, I think there are quite a number of people who believe in climate change.
So I'd say maybe 50% of the people around me believe in climate change. Now... can you imagine the power IF 50% of the world did something about climate change? It would be a force to be reckoned with.
IF the 50% of the world which believe in climate change reduced consumption by 50%. Stop buying "stuff", but still consume necessities. The total global demand would drop by 25%. How much resources would that save?
BUT... from the people who believe in climate change, I also did some estimation and well... 95% of people don't care, or it's not convenient, or they just go about their daily lives, aware but... cannot be bothered. So maybe only 5% of the people who believe in climate change has made some changes to their daily life to try to be more environmentally friendly.
If we add the non-believers, that is only 2.5% of the total population who are doing something about it. Which is pathetic really.
Ok so these are just my own personal estimates. But really... the people who don't care are just as bad as the non-believers.
Bringing it back to financial planning... Well, there's no difference between the people who know about financial planning but don't do anything about it, vs the people who know nothing about financial planning. The knowledge is not enough. The action is what will change things for your future and your children's future.
The thing is... both of these issues are way in the future. And humans are typically not good at looking into the future.
Here's an article about why people are so bad at planning for the future.
Simply put, we look at our future selves as someone else. We DON'T feel a direct relationship with him. We feel he is superman. He can do anything. We feel we can just load all our burdens on this superman of the future. Who is actually ourselves... now... in a few thousand days time.
Our future selves have a lot of things to do you know... save for retirement, exercise, learn a new language, travel the world, etc... If we keep thinking that we can think about it or handle something in the future... then we will never truly take responsibility of how we want to live our lives.
And the thing is... most of us here are aware of saving and financial planning.
I live a pretty decent life. I eat well, have clothes to wear, have a roof over my head, etc. Saving for my retirement wasn't that hard. I didn't eat plain rice all the time and wear tattered clothes. I was pretty much living a normal life with just less consumption of material things that I don't use. Basically, I buy stuff that I actually use, and I don't buy stuff that just sit around the house with no use at all.
I think most of us know that it's not about living a pauper's life. It's just being more conscious about spending and spending on good value.
Similarly, for climate change and environmental issues. It's not about going back to the stone age. It's not about not using the mobile phone or laptop. The small things add up. Just by buying less stuff is a good start. Buying less bags, clothes, if it isn't broken, then don't buy. That reduces consumption and in return, all the resources spent to produce that particular item. Eat more vegetables, less meat. That's good for your health. Don't smoke, save money and good for your health. Don't buy bottled water. Seriously. That's just a waste of money, unless you're in some third world country when the water quality is definitely undrinkable. If you carry a backpack/bag out, then keep a reusable bag in your backpack/bag so that you don't need to take a plastic bag from a retail shop when you buy stuff, which you shouldn't buy anyway.
The answer to retirement planning is simple. Save more spend less. Not spend nothing at all. But people don't like this answer, they want the results they want, by doing whatever they want, life doesn't work this way.
It's the same for weight loss. Eat less, exercise more. Not starve yourself. But people also don't like this answer. They want results but they want to continue to do whatever they want.
And same for climate change... all it takes is for more people to just consume less. Not don't consume at all. But once again, people want the answer to just fall on their laps, they want the end result without doing anything themselves. And once again, life doesn't work this way.
Or you can just don't do anything about it at all. Cos it's like financial planning. Personally, I feel that it's not going to affect me much. I won't have kids to inherit the Earth. Cos you know... pretty much, the next generations are the folks who are going to have to live through the rough times.
Which is also the same as financial planning. Cos... if you don't plan for your own retirement and your kids have to take care of you AND their own kids, well, they are also going to have a tough time taking care of multiple dependents.
<<PREVIOUS POST // NEXT POST>>
Did you like this post? If so, could you "blanjah" me 1/4 cup of my morning coffee pls.
You may also consider subscribing to receive the articles in your email, link in the column on the right.