In every heroic story there is always the period of neglect, and sweat and work has to be put into that part too
If
we don’t manage to
undertake these initiatives in the very near future, our models will only
become more inaccurate — and far too optimistic. Even worse, the massively
business-friendly political climate that dominates the developed world makes
affecting any immediate, substantive changes to the way our economies operate
functionally impossible. And even in the rare instances where wealthy
nations have attempted
to move away from fossil fuels, developing nations having simply picked up the
slack, accounting for the vast majority of carbon emission growth throughout
the last decade. In fact, a recent
forecast projects that the developing world will increase their total emissions
by 50 percent in the next twenty years — a far cry from the carbon draw-down
needed if we want any hope of avoiding climate change’s most perilous impacts.
What’s so
frustrating about all of this is that there are very real solutions still
available, though they’re certain to be massively painful and, potentially,
economically catastrophic. Yet such is the price of our decades (centuries?)
-long campaign to maintain our collective self-delusion — a delusion about
humanity’s limited influence on our global climate, and a delusion that global
capitalism can eternally expand on a planet of finite resources.
We’ve
know of our illness for decades, and yet, instead of undertaking a treatment
course, we’ve avoided our doctor’s calls, refused to talk about our condition
with friends and loved ones, and found comfort in prayer rather than hospital
beds. Sure, we’ve kept up to date on the latest experimental trial drugs, ever
optimistic that some new palliative might come along to save us. And yet, this
whole time we’ve had the option to undergo the global equivalent of chemotherapy,
that unfathomably painful (and oftentimes dangerous) treatment course. We just
chose never to pursue it. (“We aredeluding ourselves: the apocalypse is coming – and technology can’t save us,” Tim
Donovon, Salon.com)
- - - - -
What’s so frustrating about all of this
is that there are very real solutions still available, though they’re certain
to be massively painful and, potentially, economically catastrophic. Yet such
is the price of our decades (centuries?) -long campaign to maintain our
collective self-delusion — a delusion about humanity’s limited influence on our
global climate, and a delusion that global capitalism can eternally expand on a
planet of finite resources.
This attitude was prevalent during the
Depression, where people felt they were doing the suffering owed to it by their
previous 20s lavishness. Whether or not there needs to be a massive
self-correction, it's probably true that we'll want it to require that. Force it to.
And as to the impossibility that enough
people couldn't be motivated — we may not need to point out how change could
come about as just un upgrade, as a previous poster interestingly suggested.
All we need is to collectively click into some archetype way of imagining our
world, where after years and years of disregard something precious is finally
now at very great risk of disappearing altogether. This'll work, and'll
probably be a huge part of the number of jobs suddenly found for people over
the next few years while we turn nationalistic and traditional and united,
under command of a crusading president.
And as to why we didn't make this
"turn" before, it has to do with psychodrama. Our becoming virtuous
and self-sacrificing again requires our going through the lengthy motions of
showing ourselves self-centered and spoiled, even with people around constantly
pointing out what we were doing to our fragile earth.
It's all one already determined play. Makes one want to just
go to sleep for a decade and wake up when there might be occurring something unwritten.
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