Science Snippets: How Late Are We?

Draft script:

Every day, I see indications that if we start right now, we can solve the climate crisis. This opinion indicates the climate crisis is a problem to be solved, rather than a predicament with no solution. This short video addresses how we can positively approach the climate predicament without having the ability to solve it.

First, let’s take a look at how far back we need to go to get to the root of the climate crisis. I frequently see that if we had only done something a decade ago, we would have avoided the ongoing and ensuing disastrous impacts. This is a stunningly ignorant statement, as I will address in this short video.

For those taking a longer view, civilization lies at the root of all evil. If we merely rid ourselves of civilization, we will fix all the ills of this world. As a result, we need only go back in time several millennia or, alternatively, start today to get rid of civilization. This, too, is a stunningly ignorant statement. Actually, most people promulgating this idea know better, which indicates their desperation rather than their ignorance.

Ample evidence indicates that we cannot simply rid ourselves of civilization. As I have indicated dozens of times in this space, civilization is defined as a set of living arrangements in which grains are grown, stored, and distributed at a large scale. Civilization allows us to escape the hard times associated with shortages of food. As a result, it allows cities to be created. This means that we no longer need to hunt or gather wild foods from nature. In addition, it means somebody else will be growing and harvesting the grains, so we need not take on this task as a personal challenge. As with most aspects of civilization, supplying the grains encourages and eventually requires increased specialization.

The predicament of civilization, and all the attendant problems, did not start a decade ago. We cannot solve the myriad difficulties associated with civilization by returning to a simpler set of living arrangements. Racism, misogyny, homophobia, and other challenges occur with every civilization. Those who would turn back the clock a decade, or even a century, will not solve the ills of civilization with this minor alteration.

What about ridding ourselves of civilization and all its ills? That seems like a fine idea, until one takes a realistic look at what would be involved. We would not only rid ourselves of the ability to grow, store, and distribute grains en masse. We would also need to eliminate a few billion people. Along the way, we would lose aerosol masking. Doing so would cause a rapid increase in global-average temperature in a very short period of time, as I have pointed out a few dozen times in this space. In addition, unattended nuclear facilities would implode, thus causing ionizing radiation to strip away stratospheric ozone and therefore superheat the planet beyond the ability of any life to survive within a matter of days or weeks. Again, habitat matters. Without it, human animals will not survive.

Human mentality and intellect brought us to this point. These attributes date to more than 70,000 years ago, with the Cognitive Revolution. As I have previously indicated in this space, the Cognitive Revolution was the time during which human animals concluded they—meaning, we—were different from, and therefore better than, other organisms. This mentality transported us from the so-called garden of Eden to monarchy. We declared ourselves queens, kings, princesses, and princes of Earth. Members of the human monarchy rule over other organisms, as described in the Christian bible.

We cannot go back in time. We cannot go back a decade. We cannot go back several millennia. We certainly cannot go back more than 70,000 years. We are here. We can live here and now, or we can play video games and convince ourselves that the games represent reality.

Well, then. If we cannot go back in time, then what? I began this video by pointing out that I would indicate, “how we can positively approach the climate predicament without having the ability to solve it.” At this point, doing so seems like quite the undertaking. That’s because it is.

All I have at my disposal is the same information I have presented several times in this space and at guymcpherson dot com. More than 20 years in classrooms at colleges and universities have demonstrated quite clearly to me that I have no control over the behavior of other adults. I used to announce to each class, on the first day, that students are adults. As with everything else in their lives, they can do what they want in this class. Everything I asked them to do was optional, not mandatory.

As a result, what follows in this video is a set of recommendations. As with my time in classrooms, these are not a set of commands. I am offering only recommendations.

First, I recommend living where you feel most alive and, simultaneously, where you feel most useful.

Second, I recommend living fully, with intention.

Third, I recommend living urgently, with death in mind.

Fourth, I recommend the pursuit of excellence. You do not need to be the best at something. You need only try your best.

Fifth and perhaps most importantly, I recommend the pursuit of love. Without love for each other, for nature, for ourselves, and for strangers, we allow fear into our hearts.

In light of the short time remaining in your life, and my own, I recommend all of the above, louder than before. More fully than you can imagine. To the limits of this restrictive culture, and beyond.

For you. For me. For us. For here. For now.

Live large. Be you, and bolder than you’ve ever been. Live as though you’re dying. The day draws near.

I understand the simplicity of this video. I understand that the simplicity of this video is a poor match for the complexity of our lives. I also recognize that, as big-brained animals, we often tend to overthink before we act.

With this video, I am again suggesting carpe diem and pressum diem. Not only am I recommending that we seize the day, but that we squeeze the day, too. As we are living every moment, let’s squeeze all the goodness out of simple, insignificant lives. In so doing, perhaps we will demonstrate to others that our lives are not so insignificant after all.