David Swanson: New Year's Utopianism Needed Fast

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http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_david_sw_061227_new_year_s_utopianis.htm

New Year's Utopianism Needed Fast

by David Swanson

By David Swanson

Unbeknownst to many Americans, there is overwhelming consensus among scientists that we are very close to reaching a point of no turning back on global warming, which is caused by the burning of fossil fuels. We are approaching a point at which all of the following will become unavoidable: massive desertification, rising sea level, explosive growth of insect populations, widespread habitat destruction, mass extinctions, mass migrations (including of humans), the disappearance of sea life, and in all likelihood wars over drinking water that will make the wars over oil look civilized. These changes are likely to lead to human disease, starvation, and death on a scale that will dwarf the current reality, much less what Americans are currently able to imagine. The desperation and suffering involved, combined with the too-late awareness of the planet's fate, will almost certainly bring about a blossoming of religious and magical thinking that will make current American evangelists look reasonable.

As the end of human civilization begins to look inevitable, myths that make it look desirable will grow in popularity. Enlightenment notions of human progress will reach extinction as the long-term planning of slow projects becomes seen as futile. Of course, we're almost at that point already. Were we not, we would not be destroying the world of our great grandchildren with the mad furiousness with which we are knowingly destroying it. That is, some of us know we are doing it. And most of us lack the future-historical attention span to process the knowledge. We are pounded with such a flood of infotainment about this week that next century is unthinkable. And so we don't think about it, for now. But unless we very quickly think and act, global warming will take over and violently instruct us or our children as to what we will think about.

The loss of hope for the future will be devastating, even if lessened by religion and already shortened attention spans. For a moment, it will look less worthwhile to save and plan for retirement, to research diseases, to study archaeology, to attend architecture school, or to practice the violin. For just a second it will look less significant to prevent torture or the proliferation of nuclear weapons. For an instant it will seem to matter less if you are cruel to someone else. These painful impressions will come and go, but not last long. In part, again, this is because we are almost there already. Already we imprison not to reform for future years but to prevent freedom this week. Already we do not save or plan. Already we seek pleasure in the face of a looming catastrophe that we could stop. Already our political horizon is never further than two years. But the world of global warming will be a leap into fatalism unlike what most of us are used to. That alone will not, however, alter our microscopic, self-absorbed sense of priorities, decency, manners, or ethics. We will struggle through, recognizable, to the end. But why should we – or rather, our grandchildren – have to face this fate?

This New Year's let's make a resolution together that we will accept the responsibility that has been thrust upon us. Resolved: we will treat global warming as a dire emergency and reverse the behaviors that cause it before the year is out.

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