Global Warming: Man-made or not?
Jul 3rd, 2009 by ethicalimpact
I can really understand the resistance to taking responsibility! Entitlement has become a way of life and what would be more confronting than being “responsible” for the speed of changes happening on the planet. Easter Island springs to mind. Even there, I suspect that as the last tree was cut down the rationale was, “But I NEED it.”
I have no doubt that life will continue, but I will miss the beauty that I’ve come to love. given time, I’m sure a new beauty will be created. I do not know if the species can “mature” as David Korten says, or if entitlement will be too strong a habit to break.
The other belief that keeps “doubters” locked into apathy is an unwillingness to ‘own’ the power that humans have acquired. Perhaps it’s the fear of responsibility, perhaps it’s the implied call to action that seems overwhelming.
What is not so clear to me is why does it matter? OK, so what if Global warming is not true, are any of the actions we need to take to prevent it actions we should NOT take if it isn’t real? I think the answer is no. We need to clean up our air and water, we need to rethink how we grow food, we need to value our resources more (walls to protect trees, doesn’t even begin to impact that issue), so let’s stop kevetching and create a world we’d love to live in - period.
The question that begs an answer is - what if it IS true and we do nothing. what are we willing to risk losing? What are we willing to experience as the Earth crashes? What kind of experiences do we want our children to have?
The real issue facing us is what kind of world do we want to leave as our legacy? Answer that one and then act accordingly.
