But it's also hard to go in to bat for lofty ideals when large chunks of your population are without work and living in a bubble of despair.
Or when many communities are unravelling as small towns spiral into decay because the factories have closed and jobs gone offshore.
We should be as distraught about their plight as that of our planet.
The planet, after all, will survive. It's us who may not.
It is doubtful if reopening coal fields and playing merry hell with the environment will bring those jobs back.
But who is to blame Trump for trying?
What are a few more fossil-fuelled years if it fixes some of the inequalities in the world?
We should all aspire to a greener world. One where our energy is derived cleanly without adverse impacts on the climate.
Once the weather becomes too extreme to grow crops, we're in for one hell of a battle.
But equally, we should address the ridiculous inequalities that have led to such desperate policies as those just enacted by Mr Trump.
Adele went on stage for a few hours this month and had a whale of a time in Auckland.
She walked away with a reported $9 million in her pocket -- more than most earn in a lifetime.
And let's not get started on corporate taxes.
If burning a bit more coal promises to fix that, it's hard to argue against.
