A time to heal

Keep your eyes on the horizon, act today before time runs out

The tragedy of the RMS Titanic captured the imagination of the world. The story is in some ways similar to the climate crisis we face today. In April 1912, the 2,400 passengers were happy to be the first to travel on the Titanic. The coal-fired state-of-the-art ocean liner had gold plated fixtures for the world’s wealthy in First Class. Like America today, not all passengers had the same privileges. Social classes were kept from mingling.

All was good until they hit an iceberg. The captain was not worried, icebergs were common, and he had promised to arrive on time. He had to keep his promise. Like the U.S. economy, the Titanic was said to be unsinkable. But the gleaming ship had structural flaws – cheap steel plates. The poor folks were the first to see and feel the destruction to the hull of the ship. They tried to escape the icy water rapidly flooding their damaged compartments. They found steel bars blocking their way, with no way out. The music kept playing with plenty of drinks for the wealthy, unaware of the danger.

Living in the Anthropocene

Humans have been around for 200,000 years, on a 4.5 billion years-old planet. If you plot the Earth’s history on a 24-hour clock, humans appear two minutes to midnight. Our name, humans, comes from humus, or soil, together with nature, Gaia, Mother Earth.

Our behavior comes from greed, hate, inequality, and the presumption of a white dominant super race. The laws of ecology have been rolled back to push for economic growth faster than the ability of the earth to regenerate the soil, rivers, oceans and atmosphere. Ecologists know there are limits to growth, everything is connected, waste has to go somewhere, nature knows best, and there is no free lunch. These laws of nature are not subject to amendments, congressional approval, presidential veto or dirty money.

Starting with the 15^th-century European colonization and then burning fossil fuels for energy, we the humans, have wrecked 95 percent of the Earth’s landscape. Vanishing animals are unjustly taken off the endangered species list for profit. Grabbing indigenous and public lands for fracking and mining continues. Life is destroyed for the love of money in the Age of Man, the Anthropocene.

Overcoming fear

Fear is one of the greatest obstacles to respond to the climate emergency. Fear of failure, fear of guilt, fear of the unknown. Fear has many faces, and massive fear has driven the conservative and extreme right to inaction and the promotion of lethal fossil fuels. Yes, we are all afraid and the first step is to acknowledge and confront your fears. Fear lives in the mind. Please see the YouTube “TED How to overcome your fears” videos. The story of the whale ship Essex, by novelist Karen Thompson Walker, shows how fear propels imagination, as it forces us to imagine the possible futures and how to cope with them.

Loss and grief

Please listen to Xiuhtezcatl Martinez speak about the grief he and young people feel from lost forests, rivers, and mountains at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP21. These intense personal losses – the wildlife gone extinct, the polluted rivers and oceans, safe food, air and water – are driving unstoppable youth all over the world to demand action. The June 2015 video is available in YouTube.

Individual discovery and collective action

Open your eyes and take a walk in the forest and rivers, the places you remember and loved. Do they look the same, do you hear the same sounds, do you see the same wildlife? Self-discovery is the most powerful force.

Justice demands that polluters pay. Dr. James Hansen asks you to join the Citizens Climate Lobby and support their Carbon Fee and Dividend program. Hansen says making polluters pay with a price on carbon and a monthly check to every household is essential for change. Katharine Hayhoe says, the single most important thing we can do about climate change, is talk about it!

Dr. Luis Contreras