Wishful Thinking and Climate Change
I was raised in a religious cult. From an early age, I was told that my days were numbered, that death was stalking my every move. Furthermore, if I didn’t die young that the world was scheduled to end in my lifetime anyway, so there was little point in planning ahead. Needless to say when I left the religion at age eighteen, it took several decades for me to eliminate those deeply ingrained beliefs buried in my brain from years of relentless indoctrination.
Yet, here I am at age seventy, alive and still kicking.
Good thing I planned ahead a bit, because getting two degrees and enjoying a long career has benefitted my family and I tremendously. I’m now retired and looking at most likely reaching the average lifespan at the very least.
Never in a million years, however, did I expect to outlive my parents predictions only to witness climate change predictions coming to pass.
My parents poo-pooed the science behind climate change. My dad was a conservative who thought most progressive ideas were stupid. Don’t ask me why he found it easier to believe that the rapture was imminent or that he didn’t need a burial plot because he expected to be swept into the sky with other righteous souls before The Great Tribulations were unleashed upon the earth. Somehow that fantastical story was extremely easy for him to relate to while pollution from big business and most ecological concerns that were degrading the quality of life on earth were considered to be government propaganda designed to destroy our great country and the free market.
It is somewhat ironic, however, that after decades of trying my best to rewire my brain from its childhood traumas about the end of the world that I find myself living in unprecedented times.
Ominous tipping points are being predicted and weather patterns are beginning to noticeably change for the worst. Insurance companies are raising their rates on what once were considered prime properties. In fact, those prime properties themselves are becoming less and less desirable. We seem to be fluctuating between burning or flooding. Water is quickly becoming the new gold, a tradable commodity since October 2020. Future water wars seem a likely outcome. It feels apocalyptic.
My dad used to compare the general public’s reaction to the promise of the end times to Noah’s ark.
The villagers observed the building of the ark and heard Noah’s warnings regularly but they ignored him, even mocked him, rather than take heed. They literally partied until the floods swept them away.
Of course, I understand how unrealistic the ark story is — a mere parable or fairy tale.
Yet, when all is said and done, humans do behave similarly to the villagers in Noah’s tale. Their refusal to plan ahead for what is coming down the road is predictable. We seem to be better equipped to respond to the wolf on our doorstep than planning for what’s way down the road.
I watch humans going about their daily lives as though these strange weather patterns are nothing new, even those who believe in the science of climate change.
I see cities sinking billions of dollars into repairing and rebuilding from the devastating damages that keep hitting their communities rather than upgrading their infrastructure for the new climate. I see people insisting on rebuilding in flood, fire, and drought prone regions that once held such promise and were considered sound investments. I’m appalled that regions blessed with large sources of water still squabble about the need to protect it.
In some ways, I’m able to look at reality with less denial than many of my friends.
After all, I debunked religious myths by applying the scientific process. It was scientific principles that made it easier for me to see the utter ridiculous nature of the stories in the Bible. From Adam and Eve to Noah to the rapture and the Great Tribulations, these old stories just didn’t hold up to scrupulous examination. I was finally able to free myself from the god virus that my parents had tried so hard to infect me with and then move on with a life of my own choosing.
However, I’m fully aware that the parable about how wishful thinking and denial can cause societies to party until the flood sweeps them away has some truth to it.
We’ve been privy to the scientifc studies and predictions about climate change for decades and done nothing. Nothing! In fact, now as many of the predictions are beginning to play out right before our very eyes, we still have those who mock the science, deny the reality of what they see, and refuse to prepare.
Even those of us who believe in the science and look to it to provide answers as the studies evolve, do almost nothing.
Either we feel powerless or we don’t have the will, but the fact remains that we’re stuck in a pattern of behavior that guarantees if not us then our children will be swept away with the floods.
Just like wishful thinking kept Noah’s friends and acquaintances from listening to him, wishful thinking is keeping modern societies from listening to scientists.
We want to believe that either it’s a lie or that technology will pull something out of the hat that will save the day without expecting us to sacrifice the life we enjoy. So we go about our daily lives as though there’s nothing to worry about even as the wolf is getting closer to our doorstep.
I’m still waiting and watching for a sign that humans are willing to give up their wishful thinking and do something. Or will we all simply be swept away with the flood?
Teresa Roberts is a retired educator, writer, world traveler, and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.
