The Five Stages
Norwood, NJ
2017, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
I. Denial
A generation that claims
Global warming is a Chinese hoax,
An economic strategy
Created for the elimination of competitive manufacturing,
Rising ocean acidification is “just more piffle,”
That the scare is baseless because
“Acidic seas are a good thing,”
Ocean pollution is impossible,
The ocean being too vast
To be affected by humans and their “trivial” actions.
Perhaps the biggest challenge
Lies not in our actions,
But our ignorance.
Stage one,
Denial
II. Anger
The clash between
Environmentalists and conservatives.
Pointing of aimless fingers to the
Perpetrator to take charge of such harm.
Fingers point toward
Careless oil companies,
Faulty miners,
Garbage-dumping countries,
Because placing the blame on others
Is easier than accepting one’s own faults.
Stage two,
Anger
III. Bargaining
Suddenly comes to the eye
What has been lost due to
Negligence and ignorance.
If only we had stopped to consider
The things that we drop into the waters
And the consequences of our actions,
If only we had paid attention to
The news, the media, and the scientists,
What if?
Would ocean environments have been healthier?
Would aquatic animals have had a better chance?
Stage three,
Bargaining
IV. Depression
Dread and remorse
Upon the realization that
With the current mindset of
The far too many people
Dwelling in denial and anger,
There is nothing to be done
To fix the situation.
Stage four,
Depression
V. Acceptance
If the biggest challenge
Lies not in our actions,
But our ignorance,
The solution to the problem
Of ocean pollution
May lie simply in ourselves
And changing the way we think.
“The greatest threat to our planet
Is the belief that someone else
Will save it”
Stage five,
Acceptance
Bibliography
Atkin, Emily. “Air Pollution Denial Is the New Climate Denial.” New Republic. N.p., 15 Mar. 2017. Web. 8 June 2017.Atkin, Emily. “Air Pollution Denial Is the New Climate Denial.” New Republic. N.p., 15 Mar. 2017. Web. 8 June 2017.
Axelrod, Julie. “The 5 Stages of Grief & Loss.” Psych Central. N.p., 19 Feb. 2017. Web. 10 June 2017.
Marcin, Tim. “What Has Trump Said About Global Warming? Eight Quotes on Climate Change as He Announces Paris Agreement Decision.” Newsweek. N.p., 01 June 2017. Web. 8 June 2017.
Stevenson, Aiko. “Robert Swan OBE: “The Greatest Threat to Our Planet Is the Belief That Someone Else Will Save It”.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 01 Mar. 2012. Web. 8 June 2017.
ThinkProgress. “New Climate Disinformer Fad: Ocean Acidification Denial.” ThinkProgress. ThinkProgress, 30 Aug. 2010. Web. 8 June 2017.
Wire, Alex. “They Once Denied Pollution on Land and Ocean, Now Conservatives Deny Climate Change.” Daily Kos. N.p., 3 Apr. 2015. Web. 8 June 2017.
Reflection
With the ongoing issue of climate change and denial of certain issues, I have recently been intensely considering the way people respond to issues regarding ocean pollution. Through my exploration of ocean pollution, I came to realize that the reception of ocean pollution follows a pattern similar to the five stages of grief. In my personal opinion, most people are stuck in the beginning stages: denial and anger. People avidly deny ocean pollution in fear of the later consequences, and some also blame others to give up the burden. This trend seemed to me to be the biggest challenge in our efforts to minimize and fight ocean pollution. And in this realization also came the solution to ocean pollution: to accept our shortcomings and faults and work collectively, as one, to clean up the mess we have caused.