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Our Choice
Introduction
Our choice
Twenty years ago, the late American novelist Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “Is there nothing about the United States of my youth, aside from youth itself, which I miss sorely now? There is one thing I miss so much that I can hardly stand it, which is freedom from the certain knowledge that human beings will very soon have made this moist, blue-green planet uninhabitable by human beings.” With his trademark blend of surrealism, dark humor and cynicism, Vonnegut continued, “If flying-saucer creatures or angles or whatever were to come here in a hundred years, say, and find us gone like the dinosaurs, what might be a good message for humanity to leave for them, maybe carved in great big letters on a Grand Canyon wall?” “We probably could have saved ourselves, but were too damned lazy to try very hard… and too damn cheap.” The knowledge that serious damage has already been done to the global environment and to the healthy climate balance on which our civilization depends can become a cause of paralyzing despair. The danger is that this despair may render us incapable of reclaiming control of our destiny in time to avert the unimaginable catastrophe that would unfold on this planet if we don’t start making dramatic changes quickly. Yet the majority of experts in the climate crisis agree that we probably still do have time to avert the worst of the impact and set the stage for a long but ultimately successful recovery of the climate balance and ecological integrity that is so crucial for the survival of our civilization.
In any case, despair serves no purpose when reality still offers hope. Despair is simply another form of denial, and invites inaction. We don’t have time for despair. The solutions are available to us! We need to make our choice to act now. An old African proverb says: “If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” We have to go far … quickly. Our choice is about the solutions to
Introduction
Our choice
Twenty years ago, the late American novelist Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “Is there nothing about the United States of my youth, aside from youth itself, which I miss sorely now? There is one thing I miss so much that I can hardly stand it, which is freedom from the certain knowledge that human beings will very soon have made this moist, blue-green planet uninhabitable by human beings.” With his trademark blend of surrealism, dark humor and cynicism, Vonnegut continued, “If flying-saucer creatures or angles or whatever were to come here in a hundred years, say, and find us gone like the dinosaurs, what might be a good message for humanity to leave for them, maybe carved in great big letters on a Grand Canyon wall?” “We probably could have saved ourselves, but were too damned lazy to try very hard… and too damn cheap.” The knowledge that serious damage has already been done to the global environment and to the healthy climate balance on which our civilization depends can become a cause of paralyzing despair. The danger is that this despair may render us incapable of reclaiming control of our destiny in time to avert the unimaginable catastrophe that would unfold on this planet if we don’t start making dramatic changes quickly. Yet the majority of experts in the climate crisis agree that we probably still do have time to avert the worst of the impact and set the stage for a long but ultimately successful recovery of the climate balance and ecological integrity that is so crucial for the survival of our civilization.
In any case, despair serves no purpose when reality still offers hope. Despair is simply another form of denial, and invites inaction. We don’t have time for despair. The solutions are available to us! We need to make our choice to act now. An old African proverb says: “If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” We have to go far … quickly. Our choice is about the solutions to