Amidst the rising tension between United States and North Korea, the genocide of Muslim Rohingnya, and Syrian refugees, lays the constant crisis that has been around for more than centuries: Climate Change.
Not too long ago, we bid goodbye to the threatening Cempaka Cyclone which took up to 41 victims with the total number of 28.190 people fleeing their home. Â The loss costs trillions of Indonesian Rupiah along with the damages of infrastructure, settlement and the economy.
However, we are again faced with another cyclone, the Dahlia Cyclone. ITB Climatology Expert, Armi Susandi, explained that the cyclone would be faster than the prior, with its speed reaching 80 km/hour compared to the Cempaka Cyclone which only reached 57 km/hour.
The danger of climate change is as real as it can be. Yet, why does it appear so distant?
According to a psychologist, Daniel Kahneman, when we're faced with uncertain treats about things we might lose in the distant future, our brains will invent all kinds of excuses not to act on them today. In this case, we feel like there are other global priorities bigger than climate change.
Imagine reading about an event affecting a group of endangered animals. While we do sympathize with their whole experience, we don't have the motivation to do anything about it until they are actually gone. Our brain subconsciously fills our thoughts with more urgent matters. Something that needs to be taken care of immediately and concerns us personally.
When we talk about climate change, it always seems to be in future tense and its effects sound unlikely to affect us directly. Words in media like 'sheltering future generations,' 'standing up for our future,' and news of extreme weathers and disasters have become so familiar to the point where it becomes normal. But, it doesn't feel like it's happening to us.
Climate change is something that proceeds rather slowly. It will be the cause of a long chain of events. Â We wouldn't realize its effects until it's gone too far. Climate change is not something that can be magically disappeared with one move, either. It takes time and continuous actions.
So, yes, climate change is real and it's that bad. It's happening now, right in front of our eyes. It's affecting us. Not just polar bears.