We’re Doomed?
How many scientists believe our civilization has gone past the point of no return with respect to climate change and other forms of environmental damage? That’s impossible to say, given these people’s understandable reluctance to make that terrible statement.
In the goodbye video he made when he knew he was dying, the late science fiction icon and social observer Arthur C. Clarke said he was optimistic that humankind would evolve out of the tribalism and violence that defined much of the 20th Century, on the basis that, as an organizing principle, optimism was a self-fulfilling prophesy. The problem with optimism, however, is that it can lead to complacency. If things are going to be OK anyway, we needn’t exert too much energy in making them turn out that way.
Pessimism, of course, is even worse. If we’re screwed, even concerned and decent people will be tempted to say, “That’s too bad, but let’s break out the martinis and party like rock stars.”
This is why most learned people are loath to make statements like that of British intellectual Mayer Hillman, who wrote recently, you guessed it, we’re doomed to climate change-driven catastrophe. I hope you’ll check this out.
Craig,
I’ll bet when the first group of humans gathered around a fire enjoying a cooked meal, there was some miserably old curmudgeon complaining everyone was doomed!
There was also some early forerunners of the odious Guardian newspaper standing staring disapprovingly at those enjoying the meal (but having already eaten their fill) agreeing with him.
Mayer Hillman and the Guardian are happily continuing a long tradition of Prophets of Doom. Mayer Hillman should sanctimoniously pedal off to his old age sinecure at the university of East Anglia and let the rest of us get on with more useful pursuits.
In Hillman’s case the old adage “there’s no fool, like an old fool” truly applies.
That’s so true. If we say that we will be ok, no one will do anything to ensure it, but if we say that we are doomed, everyone will give up thinking there is no way. We should be more clear when we make statements like this. Instead of saying we are doomed, we could say that we will be doomed if we don’t do something to prevent climate change.