This pretty much sums up how humanity is facing climate change. Here in the U.S., our OWN efforts are the most embarrassing, but hey, at least we're honest! We don't even go to the trouble of PRETENDING we care. Cartoon by Stephanie McMillan, from "Code Green".
A cartoon (Stephanie McMillan – Code Green) that pretty much sums up the world’s “resolve” for tackling climate change. I blame basic biology…
We’re animals. We have the same biologic factors driving our behavior as do animals. We’d LIKE to say that we’ve evolved beyond that. We’re very good at ACTING as if the “good of mankind” is an important factor that drives our behavior. But when push comes to shove…we’re selfish little biological creatures with an overwhelming desire to personally survive and thrive.
Hence my reason for liking this cartoon. Even amongst the nations that act as if they care about climate change ( a group that sadly does NOT include the U.S.), there’s a lot SAID about reducing carbon emissions. There’s a lot SAID about changing how we use the land. But…emissions continue to rise. Forests continue to be destroyed. And atmospheric CO2 levels continue to skyrocket.
Even amongst those who seemingly DO “care”, efforts are typically feeble. There are some very good-hearted people who run some of the conferences I go to for work, who allow you to donate to “carbon offset” funds, where perhaps a tree may be planted to offset the cost of your traveling to the conference. Sounds good, but…c’mon. It’s not worth a hill of beans, in terms of affecting atmospheric CO2. It’s kind of like voting…individual human beings can do it, can (and should) feel good about doing it…but when push comes to shove, any one person’s vote just typically doesn’t matter much by itself. And even if every conference in the world would do this, the impact would still be negligible.
It’s only when humanity as a whole “cares” that any real change occurs. However…people are greedy, selfish lil’ biological creatures. Thinking 100 years down the road? Not important for the vast majority of people, who are much more concerned that they have the latest and greatest cell phone, that they have a house and car more impressive than their friends and neighbors, and they enjoy the NOW as much as possible. Heck, even thinking one generation down the road seems to be too much to ask. Given how people treat the environment, it’s quite obvious that they are very happy to destroy the very environment their children will depend upon, all for the sake of their OWN short-term desires.
It’s tough to overcome basic biology. We’re just animals, fighting over that last bone like a pack of wolves…
