As the climate crisis becomes more acute — exemplified in interminable wildfire "seasons", intense drought and extreme weather — it's becoming clear that saving the planet will involve more than politely asking consumers to recycle their yogurt cups. Indeed, many of climate change's effects are largely spurred by resource hoarding and inequality via the super-rich. This is not the perspective of a progressive op-ed writer, but rather the conclusion scientific research that sought to quantify the relationship between resource consumption and wealth.
Intriguingly, it is not merely that the wealthiest are causing global warming — they are also engaged in behaviors that are hurting the world's poor more than climate change is. Particularly regarding access to safe drinking water, overly extractive and selfish behaviors often outpace the damage global heating is inflicting on the world's poorest.
