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)

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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.