inel

Choosing a title inspired by Steve Bloom—whose other comments in tamino’s Uncivil War post on climate change make plenty of sense to me — I’d like to respond to John L. McCormick’s reaction to Steve’s out-of-the-box thought (number 4 below). Steve said:

Just briefly, also bear in mind that climate change denialism/skepticism is a cultural phenomenon that has its roots in other things (which is why setting one of them straight on the science so often has zero effect on their views):

1. …
2. …
3. …
4. Hard wiring: Our species did not evolve to deal with problems like global warming. I’m not sure about this, but I don’t think it’s implausible that there is simply a fraction of the human race race who are quite literally incapable of taking seriously any problem whose consequences are sufficiently far out into the future.

Then John responded:

I believe there is a far greater number than a fraction of the human race—all of us have the same ailment. We are wired to live the moment.

In response to John, I would respectfully say

“Please speak for yourself “

We are not all wired to live the moment: you only have to be aware of the existence of any one of the World Heritage Sites designated by UNESCO to recognise that. The list includes 644 cultural properties—witness to the fact that mankind is far more capable of long-term dreaming, thinking, planning, and achieving success than perhaps you dare to consider.

For example, here is the City of Venice and its lagoon, which are together subject to a UNESCO International Safeguarding Campaign. Even young kids in Britain know about this, because whenever they choose a Veneziana pizza (at Pizza Express, for instance) a percentage of the pizza cost is donated to this successful campaign to save the city from flooding

We are not all wired to live the moment. Yes, short-term goals are built into business model planning. And yes, record-keeping is necessary to track returns on investments. Setting goals and keeping records are responsible business activities. To my mind, you are mixing the idea of a responsible business attitude with an irresponsible life approach in claiming we are all hard-wired for instant gratification. In some cases, there may be very little difference between a corporate course of action and an individual’s role, as people look for a quick gain here and immediate satisfaction there. However, the world beyond the shores of America has woken up to the climate challenge, and in millennia past humans have achieved incredible feats that we can only stand humbly in awe of now. So if, as you say, John:

My present view of the world governs my actions.

perhaps it all comes down to people’s limited views of the world? Spatially and temporally, I mean.

Would anyone today have believed that man could have built anything as awe-inspiring as this Basilica di San Marco in Venice almost a thousand years ago? Probably not. But men did. They may have worked in poor conditions, but this building still stands as evidence that men can achieve great things when they cooperate under steady leadership to achieve a common goal.

When you added:

I am convinced we Homo sapiens do not have the neurological pathway to conceptualize, anticipate, and foresee anything for which we do not have an accessible context.

It occurred to me that perhaps your statement could apply to hoBo sapiens , but we are hoMo sapiens sapiens—wise wise men, as one of my young sons reminds me—and we obviously have the ability to conceptualise, anticipate, and foresee climate change and we have an accessible context for doing so.

Your idea that we are all just “living for today” possibly stems from your self-described hunter-gatherer worldview.

Living for today and in the present is a childlike state, which is admirable in children. Living in the present is also something many adults who have lost the habit aspire to—it is worthwhile for adults to practise being immersed in the present from time to time, allowing us to take advantage of great opportunities as they occur, without worrying about things that we can do nothing about. It is not, however, reasonable to expect most of the world’s educated adults in wealthy countries to remain in this “living in the present” state most of the time, especially when this leads to them abdicating their responsibility to future generations! That’s why climate change has to be tackled now—by governments if not by individuals, if too many people lack the motivation to get off the couch and turn the light off, as you say. It is not impossible to change our projected climate course, and it would be irresponsible of the adults of the world not to try.