To Cautious Asian Americans, This is Why I am Alarmed by the issue of Climate Change
By: Andre Chu
Tags: Climate Change, Bay Area, California, Climate Action, Asian American

When reflecting on myself, I attribute most of my values to my identity as a second-generation Asian American who comes from a comfortable background. If I’m being completely honest, the climate crisis has never really been an issue that I was motivated to fight for. My community values education and stability over anything else, so issues that don’t directly threaten our well-being are often ignored and tossed aside. I wouldn’t generalize Asian Americans as selfish, but our Asian background inclines us to focus on our own self-interests as we are expected to progress through higher education in pursuit of a successful career. As a result, climate change is not an issue that many Asian households value, resulting in inaction from second-generation Asian Americans like myself. Out of the six Americas, Asian Americans are most likely cautious about the climate crisis.

I never doubted the existence of man-made climate change, but I’ve always sat on the sidelines as I viewed it as someone else’s issue, instead of my own. But seeing the impacts of climate change in my community, more recently through the Northern California wildfires, has made it a personal issue for me. Nothing but safety and health mattered to my family as we drove across the Bay Area to pick up my grandparents. As my family was forced to evacuate, my ignorance dawned on me as I realized that climate change doesn’t discriminate nor does it care for your socioeconomic background. All of my school work, extracurriculars, and interests were forgotten as all I could focus on was the uncertain future. Even though my neighborhood was lucky enough to avoid damage that day, I learned my lesson during the evacuation process; living in wealth and comfort can only protect you for so long. I saw the first-hand effects of climate change and I finally understood why so many people viewed it as an issue that they were willing to fight for.

This map, from the National Wildfire Situational Awareness website, depicts the wildfires that forced my family to evacuate in August. Wildfire locations are shown in yellow, orange, and dark red (with dark red being the most serious).

As a result, I started to transform my once closed mindset after that traumatic experience. I decided that any issue that affects those around me is an issue that needs to be taken seriously. After reading Roser-Renouf’s report about global warming’s six Americas, I aligned my past beliefs with the cautious group, the second largest of the six Americas at around 25% of the population. I would classify myself as cautious for most of my life as I paid little attention to the climate crisis and lacked the motivation to be involved in this issue. I believed that my individual actions were insignificant in fighting against climate change, resulting in my view of climate change as a problem that did not need immediate attention. That has now changed as I strive to become both an environmentally sustainable individual and an advocate for this planet’s environment. I will start participating in both individual and, more importantly, collective action to combat climate change.

What can we do as a Group?

Climate change is not a distant issue for us as Asian Americans. We shouldn’t use our careers and education as a reason to ignore such pressing issues that will continue to increasingly threaten the well-being of our communities. We don’t need to choose one or the other, we can strive for success in our fields of choice while protecting our families and future generations by calling others to join the movement for climate justice. We need a full effort from everybody, individual efforts like recycling a few times a week and driving electric cars are not enough to save our planet if only a few people do it.

As Asian Americans, we have the power to bridge the gap between our Asian background and the community that we live in today. I aim to educate my family and my relatives on issues that don’t seem important to them. Regardless of if they agree with me at first, I will make a concerted effort to educate them about the seriousness of climate change and how it is a personal issue for all of us. Focusing on education and prosperity doesn’t mean that we need to avoid these issues and take a backseat on issues regarding politics and legislation. As we fix the disconnect between the political and social climate of America to the values of our Asian communities, we can create unity as combating climate change will require all of us to take part in the movement for climate justice.

What can we Achieve?

We need to participate in voting, instead of sitting back and watching the chaos unfold, we need to take action and fulfill our civic duties. Voter turnout among Asian Americans has been historically low, but we can change the trend. Even though there was a significant increase in Asian American and Pacific Island (AAPI) voter turnouts in 2018, it was still relatively low at only 40.2 percent. I have recently turned 18 and I hope that this can inspire my fellow Asian American college students to use their civil duty to make a difference in federal and local elections. Our voice could be a key group in deciding elections in swing states that will affect how our government reacts to issues such as climate change. In this past election, climate change was an extremely divisive topic as the two candidates disagreed on climate policy and the seriousness of climate change. The presence of climate change as a wedge issue will only increase as the environment around us worsens. For those who are too young to vote, you guys can still make your voice heard. Join environmental and green clubs on campus, spread the word about future events such as walkouts, sign petitions that advocate for environmental justice.

In this day and age, especially with the current global pandemic, social media has become ubiquitous in our everyday lives. The impacts of social media can be monumental, as information regarding climate justice can be spread to frequent consumers of social media. The internet allows us to work together and connect from all around the world. To my fellow Asian Americans, even if you’ve been inactive in the climate justice movement like me, it’s not too late to make an impact. Make your voice heard, educate your community and peers, and fight to protect our environment. Even though we may be young, our voices and our unity will be our weapon against climate change.

References and Sources

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Mike Gainey who has provided me feedback and instruction during this writing process. His lectures have helped me improve my writing strategies throughout this year. I also thank my classmates, Sumedh Prasad and Abel Seyoum, who peer reviewed my rough draft. They provided thoughtful suggestions that were incredibly helpful during my revision process.