Believe it or not

Humanity is currently dealing with two self-inflicted major issues, the pandemic and climate change. I know there are other issues of concern, but many of them are directly or indirectly influenced by the two mentioned. We witness the impacts of the pandemic and climate change every day, but there is a difference. Currently the pandemic is more in our faces. We see the masks. We here about hospitals being over-burdened with too many serious cases. We know about burnout because we have experienced it first-hand. For many the mental health issue as impacted by the pandemic is front and centre. Some are more affected than others of course depending on their states of health and susceptibility to the virus. Jobs have been lost, hours changed, places of work altered and job importance has been magnified. The economy in various ways has gone south although some sectors seem to be doing fine thank you very much.

Climate change is also happening in many ways with temperatures rising, ice melt, drought, wild-fires and extreme weather events in different forms and places. Communities, especially but not exclusively coastal and sectors in our societies going forward will be impacted in ever increasing ways and amounts. Similar to the pandemic, there will be no escaping the impacts of climate change. Yet, despite all the warnings, despite all the suggestions for preventing and mitigating, some people continue to display a callus disregard for the concerns, the protocols and impending consequences. Collectively we dither and respond inadequately to the degree and scale of the issue. 

Step back and away from those issues for a moment and think about the elements, the conditions, the systems, the sciences and technologies supporting societies around the world. In a great many ways our societies are the products of mental acuity in research and development. We have discovered and with deep understanding we have applied. Two of the most important of these supporting elements are health care and energy applications. In our societies one way or another people make use of them regularly. Indeed, no matter how you slice it, our so called modern societies are absolutely dependent upon them to the extent of habitual repetition. We gain a lot of personal and societal benefit and are more than happy to indulge.

Humanity is not so good at facing up to and doing something about consequences especially when there is conflict between a sense of personal gain and loss, unless the crisis is in our faces, unless there is no way to avoid it. I must qualify here by saying, as one would expect, not everyone is complacent or denying. Many have recognized the issues and are trying to do something about them. Unfortunately, it is like pushing the boulder uphill. But, our collective response or lack of collective response means we are all at fault because we have allowed issues to happen and fester including condoning, even supporting excessive gain by a few or relaxing regulations where and when personal freedoms and pocket book values are deemed more important than societal health. 

There is no question in my mind, we are living a contradiction. On the one hand we accept science, proven research and discovery, when and where we recognize / realize benefit, but ignore or deny it when our privileged ways are threatened. We deny efficacy / accuracy / findings of science while using the findings of science all the time. Unfortunately, we cannot have it both ways because ultimately such an approach will lead to disaster on a huge scale and by then societies will be faced with riding out the storm rather than preventing it from happening in the first place. 

We make choices, but the opportunities to choose need to be available. If governments have failed beyond just setting regulations, it has been in the realm of failing to provide opportunities to enable choices to be made. Climate change solutions are not just a top down affair. Bottom up initiatives and collective action is incredibly important, but the opportunities to do so need to be available. We have fallen short here with our responsibilities.

Our societies in large part stand on the shoulders of science and discovery. Accepting science only where and when it is convenient or of personal immediate benefit means cherry picking will continue until of course the cherries are gone. We need to come in from our separate realities of blissful ignorance and denial and really in earnest start to make the difficult choices. Disengagement at all levels is no longer an option.