Temperatures around the world are soaring to record heights. Lives are in danger. Our infrastructure cracks. The very balance of our planet tilts to a perilous extreme. With this truth, so omnipresent and flagrant that it can no longer be denied, decades of dissembling, dismissing, and demeaning those who looked at the data and foretold our crisis are evaporating more quickly than water on scorched pavement. Unfortunately, “we told you so” provides no relief from the sweltering summer sun. The cowardice and complicity of the modern Republican Party (and some others) on this issue may go down in history as one of the great tragedies of our current age. The full scope and duration of the damage they inflicted is unknowable but profound — at a scale that is likely beyond our ability to comprehend. They scapegoated science, eviscerated expertise, and basked in know-nothing shortsightedness. Infuriatingly, too many of them, even now, refuse to give up the lie. Perhaps climate denialism should be a permanent disqualifier for public office — not by law, but in public opinion. Maybe the equivalent to denying 9/11, another existential threat to our national security. All of which still leaves us with the question: What do we do now? We begin by repudiating cynicism and all who use it as a weapon for undermining the truth. Many on the frontlines of the climate fight now worry about a new obstacle to progress — fatalism. That should be banished as well. Hopelessness is not helpful. We need determination, resilience, and, yes, hope. The last of these, we acknowledge, may be hard to summon. But it is necessary. Humans have a remarkable power to destroy — each other and our environment. But our species also has an inspiring ability to mend, create, innovate, and persevere. Think of all the seemingly intractable challenges, threats, and destructive forces our courageous ancestors labored to conquer. This is not to diminish the daunting odds we face on the climate. Sadly, there will be untold amounts of loss and suffering. Those who are already the most vulnerable and marginalized will be hurt disproportionately. Resolving to mitigate that as much as possible should be a priority. Also a priority is heeding the pleas of younger generations. They will be the ones with no choice but to live in this world we have left for them. They will try to raise and protect their own children and grandchildren. In fact, many are choosing not to have kids because they worry about the health of our planet. Their voices are unmistakable. They are desperately pleading that we act decisively and urgently. They are right. Many young people are gripped with despair. It is understandable even as it is paralyzing. But we can also find a renaissance of resilience. New ways of thinking about energy, construction, transportation, consumerism, and environmental protection proliferate. Need is meeting opportunity in a generative blossoming of rethinking and reimagining. Fertile young minds who have only known an Earth of uncertainty devise new methods to restore its equilibrium. We need to seek out and elevate their stories, champion their narratives, and support their dreams. And we should do so in a way that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion. We need everyone from everywhere if we are to build sustainable solutions. What’s done is done. Immense damage has been perpetrated by many who still seek to wield power over our country. The danger they pose cascades like the danger they helped unleash. We bake in part because of their bad faith. But all of us bear some responsibility. Especially those who have lived the longest. Human activity helped cause the crisis. But human ingenuity can help fix it. If we don’t have some hope amidst the heat, much more will be lost. |
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