Climate Change Is Burning Down Our Palace – But Do We Care?

I like to comment each year at this time, and remind readers that today is believed to be the anniversary of the fire that burned Rome in 64 A.D., while the emperor Nero supposedly played his fiddle. According to the Writers Almanac, in fact, Nero wasn’t even in Rome when the fire broke out; he was 35 miles away at his holiday villa on the coast, and his own palace was one of the buildings that burned.

Be this as it may, the concept is a metaphor that’s lasted in our culture for more than 2000 years; it represents a casual indifference to suffering and a shocking failure to take responsibility in a time of urgent need.

Perhaps you see where I’m going with this….