Essay by Eric Worrall
According to research associate Flossie Kingsbury, learning how your ancestors exploited the natives and burned a lot of coal will help you grasp ideas about climate remediation.
How a closer look at your family tree can help you better understand climate change
Published: May 19, 2022 12.17 a.m. AEST
Flossie Kingsbury
Associate Doctorate in Historical Studies, University of Aberystwyth…
Simply put, climate change is the result of two processes: industrial and colonialism. Industrialization is when society’s basic mode of production shifts from manual agricultural labor to machine-assisted production. Colonialism is when one country occupies and exercises control over another, often involving violence and exploitation.
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Take a look at some examples from my own family. Samuel Polyblank (born circa 1816), one of my great-grandfathers, was a shipwright from London’s East End. The ships on which he worked helped meet the needs of international trade, transporting goods to and from the colonies. They may even have been used by East India Companythe world’s first global corporate superpower, and a key player in colonial rule and exploitation in Asia.
Through his work, Samuel Polyblank found himself caught up in and working to support, a system Whose influence? – including widespread deforestation, pollution, soil sterilization and biodiversity collapse – continues to be felt today.
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A challenge of personal interaction with climate crisis is knowing that your ancestors were complicit in the things you want to distance yourself from. But this is not to blame our ancestors, who may have been taken advantage of.
Instead, understanding these connections can help encourage us to prioritize climate justice and eco-friendly behaviors in our lives, from cutting down on meat and Unsustainable tourism write a letter to you elected official about environmental issues in your community. …
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I don’t understand. Why should I feel responsible for what my ancestors did? I have no say in their decisions and actions. I’m grateful that the world they built allows me to sit in a comfortable, dry armchair typing WUWT articles, while a storm rages outside. I miss the ancestors I know who are no longer with us. And what non-British ancestry has passed on to me so I can hang out in the tropical sun without getting sunburned, that’s a special thanks.
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