[Letters] ‘An eye for an eye’ may be the solution for climate change

The human race has gone mad altogether. All man thinks about is today; whether one can put as much food in his or her belly and can hold as much money in one’s pocket as yesterday. He or she doesn’t think about tomorrow, even though it seems likely that tomorrow one might find oneself as roasted as the chicken he has managed to eat for lunch today.

The Bible tells of a raging fire in hell that will eventually devour everything when the time comes once people’s sin reaches the highest point ever in human history.

And even if one isn’t a devout Christian, it is easily perceivable that this is relatable to the situation we find ourselves in, right about now: climate change.

Climate change has been an issue concerning the whole human race and the future of this planet.

Yet even after decades of serious talk sessions and meetings, we as a people have not made any significant move in cutting back the gas that’s about to squeeze the life out of all of us.

Many, including me, would agree that we have had enough of empty agreements and moral posturing, because these simply have not brought us anywhere closer to safety.

We’re still in danger and it is now very clear, in my opinion, that climate change summits are no use anymore. Copenhagen, our last hope, has proven it.

Sadly, when global powers and their leaders can’t agree altogether to make a decent commitment, campaigns by activists around the world seem, realistically thinking, “useless” too.

So now, it is time we realized mere talking with carrots will never work in solving this urgent problem.

It is time we realized that sticks must come into the scene. It’s time we began thinking realistically.

So let us now face the truth.

We humans are too corrupt and way too selfish to be motivated by moral posturing and empty agreements.

Therefore, we must come up with ways that our selfish nature cannot help but respond to.

Bjørn Lomborg, the director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and author of “Cool It” and “The Skeptical Environmentalist” states in his article “Beyond Copenhagen” in Time magazine that “Instead of trying to make fossil fuels more expensive, we should focus on making alternative energy cheaper.”

I agree with Lomborg’s idea.

The main reason nations such as China simply won’t give in to take part in this global carbon diet, is because these nations depend so much on fossil fuels and because turning to other energy sources to cut back emissions costs them way too much money.

When it’s so much cheaper for them to continue to use fossil fuels, there’s no reason for them not to use them.

Therefore, the only way to get them to use more alternative energy instead of fossil fuels is the reduction of prices of alternative energy.

“An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.” This is the point we discover that old sayings like this one don’t always apply to everything.

If all they care about is money, it seems only reasonable to use money to make them cut back on emissions. And that means not raising the prices of fossil fuels, but reducing the prices of alternative energy.

Woo Hyo-eun, student at

Seoul Global High School