This pen and ink drawing a call to action on climate change. My purpose is to raise awareness of the need to promote cleaner sources of energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through new habits.

As I thought about the lack of action to counter climate change, it seemed to me that it may advance at a pace too slow for many to perceive. Because of this, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary (glaciers melting, countries experiencing the hottest days on record, rising sea level and temperatures, for example), many people may remain in denial and even might think climate change is a hoax.

In my drawing, I have exemplified the devastation being caused by climate change as a tree which has been permanently bent over through years of high winds. In the background, the ultimate driving force of climate change is exemplified through the sun drawn large and prominent in the dusty hot and dry background.  

The yellow skies signify that climate change has been going on for many years unchecked, the world has been polluted, and the time when the problem could have been resolved has long passed.

The idea of denial is exemplified through the fat cat lounging in the tree blissfully unaware of the ongoing devastation.

When I thought about how to solve this problem of inaction, I realized that denial is only part of the problem. Climate change is a worldwide problem and can only be resolved through worldwide collaboration.

I was reminded of a problem known as the tragedy of the commons, a situation in which none of the owners of farm animals, allowed to graze them on common land, took responsibility for looking after the shared land which then inevitably became depleted and useless for grazing.

It seemed to me that this phenomenon could underly resistance to collective international action.  A Gallup Organization survey supports this notion. It revealed that the more a country is a polluter, the less its population perceive climate change as a problem. 

The tragedy-of-the-commons phenomenon may therefore explain why every attempt, to obtain international agreement on collective action, has failed.

I entitled this piece “Chances Lost” to emphasize the fact that while the international community fails to act, the problem is getting worse. These lost chances are symbolized in the drawing as tiny wind turbines flying off into the wind. Literally, the fruit of denial and inaction.

I also wanted to emphasize in the drawing that trying to resolve the problem of international inaction through political intervention could be doomed to failure.

In my drawing, I use the fat cat to represent big business and the potential solution to the problem. My thought is that, attention should be focused on getting big business involved.

Currently, part of the problem, is that sustainable energy is both more expensive and, because it tends to be intermittent, less easy to exploit.

However, history shows that when big business gets involved, costs drop dramatically and then the politicians get in line.

In my drawing therefore, the fat cat symbolizes both the problem and its solution.