Stolen Future, Broken Present: The Human Significance of Climate Change - David A. Collings

8/12/2019 Stolen Future, Broken Present: The Human Significance of Climate Change - David A. Collings

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102 Chap er 5

will come oo la e. We are he heirs, in shor , o a ragic con radic ionan impasse no one chose. Te challenge o our ime is no only o ghagains his impasse, o bring abou ha necessary, impossible revolu ion;

i is also o discover how o live in a world wi h a disappearing u ure. ohis las , devas a ing challenge, we now urn.

Notes

95. For he ve energy plans, see MacKay,Sus ainable Energy , 203213; or hemap illus ra ing one plan, see 215.

96. William R. Caton, Jr.,Overshoo : Te Ecological Basis o Revolu ionary Change (Urbana: Universi y o Illinois Press, 1982).


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Chap er 6

Te Ruins to Come

I we ace he reali y o clima e change hones ly, aking in o accoun

urgen a ask lies be ore us and how dim is any hope we will ac in im we mus acknowledge ha a grea shadow darkens our presen momenTe biosphere changes apace; he land dries, he ice cap mel s, he ores burn; hose who lead our public ins i u ions deba e, s uter, and go silen

he prospec on which we rely hroughou our daily ac ivi ies erodand al ers; and he hope ha inspires our poli ical lives ickers and godark. We have always aken or gran ed ha a livable u ure lies be or

ha wha ever happens o us now, omorrow is ano her day. Bu we cno longer be so sure.

Human socie ies have always had a s rong image o he u urradi ional socie ies have assumed ha he u ure will be much like

presen ha he ribe, kingdom, or na ion will con inue o replicai sel , genera ion by genera ion, sus aining he link o he gods, he leo he ances ors, and he undamen al human ways in perpe ui y. Modsocie ies, in con ras , have held or h he image o he general liberao he human race, so ha a some poin in he u ure no oppressionpover y, no ignorance or violence would afflic he Ear h.

Tese images o he u ure, however, have relied on he even more basic assump ion, never previously called in o ques ion, ha he planeecosys ems would remain in ac and ourishing orever. Te seeminglyindes ruc ible con inui y o he living sys ems ha surround us has mall our imaginings possible. Bu wha happens i ha con inui y is

ques ion when we begin o realize ha he Ear h's ecosys ems are vunerable o des ruc ion or decay?

Our rs ask in con ron ing his ques ion is simply o absorb signicance o puting ha con inui y in doub . How do our mos bas


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104 Chap er 6

assump ions change when we begin o imagine he u ure differen ly? Wha , or example, akes place when we ake he scenarios o general cli-ma e change, social disloca ion, and perpe ual adap a ion seriously?

When scien is s imagine wha he world migh look like in a cen uryi we con inue wi h business as usual or al er our energy economies a ew years rom now (and hus oo la e), providing de ails abou changes o

amiliar landscapes and he consequences or he places we know bes ,hey ul ima ely depic or us he ruins o our own cul ure. Te bes sci-

ence available o us requires us o imagine an America wi h damagedcoas lines, decaying ores s, and drying soils, wi h coun less rees, plan s,

and animals under severe dis ress and o envision par s o coas al ci iess anding in he wa er o eleva ed seas, as well as he ci ies o he hear lacrouching benea h he dus s orms rising rom parched elds.

Tese images cap ure or us he ruins o our own u ure. I we con-inue o live in he way we do oday, we will even ually nd ourselves in

s range, almos unrecognizable places. Our own lives will change as well: because hey will be a once some hing like wha we know oday and verydifferen , wi h major elemen s missing and o her elemen s adap ed onew condi ions, hey oo will be in ruins.

o hink o ruins in his way provokes a new emo ion. We are all amil-iar wi h images o ruins o human s ruc ures, buil long ago, ha havesurvived he disappearance o he cul ures ha crea ed hem, have allenin o par ial decay, and remain in he landscape as reminders o a dis anera and as symbols o wha ime will inevi ably do o all human en er-prise. In he presence o he ruin, wha ever i may be rom he RomanColosseum o an abandoned arm down he road one con empla esno merely one's own mor ali y bu he mor ali y o cul ures or his oricaeras; one senses a grea gap be ween he in ensi y wi h which we pursueour goals and he indifferen ow o ime.

Bu now, we con empla e he prospec o u ure ruins, conceiving oa cul ural decline ha has no ye aken place. Indeed, he hough o

hese ruins is so ascina ing o us ha we have long enjoyed depic inghem c ionally in science c ion s ories and movies. (Tink Plane o he

Apes or Wa erworld.) More recen ly, however, hose c ional scenarioshave given way o sober orecas s o whawill ake place i we con inue

o live as we do. Reading he IPCC repor s, we can nd uterly serious,


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Te Ruins o Come 105

de ailed analyses o wha is likely o happen i greenhouse gas emissiorise o a cer ain level. We no longer need science c ion o help us imagine u ure ruins: a genera ion o scien is s is now analyzing our prospe

while atemp ing o remove every race o c ion rom i s scrupulous ema es. We can now absorb pro essional assessmen s o how dry cen r A rica and eas ern Aus ralia will become, how much he wa er levels

he Grea Lakes will recede, how much o Bangladesh or Florida will bsubmerged, how much o he grain o nor hern China or he AmericanMidwes will die under he grea er hea o he sun. As we begin o o adap ing o hese and o her possibili ies, wha was once science

ion has become he reali y o our world, he ruins in which we mus ppare o live.Tose ruins are no erribly pic uresque. Con empla ing he remains

o Mayan emples, we migh ake pleasure in he surviving s ruc ures dis an cul ure. Con empla ing he ruins o ourown ci ies and landscapesis en irely differen , i only because we s ill live in hem. While we aka c ional scenario, we migh enjoy puting ourselves in a dis an u u

o look back a he presen wi h wonder or regre . Bu in reali y, we he ongoing viabili y o our lives or gran ed. o hink abou our u

ruins, hen, is ul ima ely o con ron he ac ha he world in whnow live is abou o rans orm in o some hing else some hing we mano wish o live hrough a all. Tose u ure ruins, in shor , bear upon o presen , cas ing a shadow over who we are.

Tose u ure ruins are s range in ano her respec . In hem, he idea oruins will ex end rom buildings o landscapes, rom landscapes o co

inen s and seas, and hen o he Ear h i sel . oday we can easily imine ha an observer a cen ury hence, viewing a pine ores in Colorado will see a good share o i s rees browned and dying, o hers already alland in decay. Such an observer, having experienced par o he previouscen ury and having learned abou he res , will see in ha landscape ruins o a ores . o hink in his way o an ecosys em in ruins also p vokes a new emo ion. Where a visi or o he Colosseum migh ponde

he decline and all o Rome, and hus he mor ali y even o he mighempires, his observer o he pines will con empla e some hing qui e

eren . Te inevi able mor ali y o na ure? No exac ly: hose pines shere or millennia and presumably could have s ood much longer. Te


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106 Chap er 6

end o a civiliza ion? No qui e: ha civiliza ion will no doub be endur-ing in some orm nearby, mos likely in he observer hersel . Wha , hen, will hese ruins speak o ? Te power o ossil- uel civiliza ion o pu ha

ores in o irreversible decline.I migh work, hen, o say ha he ores speaks o he ruins o a cliza ion. In ha scene, hen, a cul ural disas er will be made visible in a wounded ecosys em. Bu even ha unusual ea ure does no ully cap ur

he s rangeness o our u ure ruins. Normally when we hink o ruins, wedo no imagine ha he people who buil hem s ill live on in hem; hosesi es are abandoned and emp y. No Caesars visi he Colosseum oday

o wi ness gladia orial con es s; somewhere along he way, he inhabi -an s o Rome gave up such spec acles and ailed o main ain ha anciens ruc ure. No soldiers now pa rol along Hadrian's Wall; i los i s origi-nal unc ion, ell in o disuse, and some o i s s ones were plundered oro her purposes. A cer ain cul ural con inui y was los , bu he physicalobjec remained. In con ras , we mus imagine ourselves or our descen-dan s ac ually living in he ruins o he ci ies we buil or perhaps in

he less difficul regions nearby. In some sense, hen, hose u ure ruins will be he opposi e o he pic uresque ruins o he pas :we will ou live

he environmen s we have des royed. Te buildings we use will s ill serveimpor an cul ural unc ions, we will s ill live in heir vicini y, and ye we ace he prospec ha even ually our use o hem will no longer be

enable. We wouldlike o s ay in our ci ies; we wouldhope o main ainour radi ions ye our way o li e will erode never heless. S rangely, ha way o li e, hanks o he ecological consequences o i s very success, will end up in errup ingi sel , making i sel unlivable and obsole e. A er we realize as much, however, we or hose who ollow us will s ill live on,scrounging in he shadows o hose ruins or habi a ion and sus enance. We will be par o he ruins, eking ou a damaged way o li e.

No doub o hers in he pas have lived hrough some hing like hisexperience. When enemies ook over a ci y, burned i , and des royed i ssacred places, hose who lived here know hey wi nessed he passing o

heir way o li e. Bu hey never doub ed ha he lives a leas o heirmies would go on. When civiliza ions exhaus ed heir surrounding envi-ronmen s, ou living he resources available o hem whe her in ancienMesopo amia or he Yuca an people cer ainly lamen ed he passing


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Te Ruins o Come 107

o heir civiliza ions, bu hey could s ill assume ha hey migh selsewhere and ha hey or heir progeny could build anew.97 Te passingo a civiliza ion, however enormous an even , is never deni ive; every

body knows ha some hing else will happen, ano her round o his o will begin. And all hese changes are pal ry in comparison o he enduance o he na ural environmen ha human beings ake or granRome alls, he Holocene endures, and hus Rome can be buil again.

No anymore. I any hing, Rome s ill ourishes, only more successully han ever. No previous genera ions have experienced any hing

approaching he abundance o modern li e. Modern, indus rial civiliza

ion is being replica ed around he world, developing na ions seek join he club o weal hy coun ries, and he reckless consump ion o Ear h goes on unchecked. Ye ha ossil- uel abundance is hrea en

he Holocene, he complex, rela ively s able s a e o he Ear h we enjoyed over he las 10,000 years. Now, Rome ourishes so ex rava-gan ly ha he Holocene will all and as a resul , so oo will Rome. Wcanno be conden ha o her socie ies will ourish in place o our ow wha will be all us will happen in some o her way o all he world's c

ures. Nor can we assume we will build anew. We may no ye know howo build any hing ha will endure on his rans ormed Ear h; ndin

way o do so will be a perpe ual challenge. A leas in one respec , eclipse o our u ure will bedeni ive: i admi s o no escape, or i willapply o he human species as a whole.

A de ea on his scale may s ill place us in a dilemma ha o hers haced. O her socie ies, a er all, have been aced wi h even bleaker pro

pec s, barred rom sus aining heir ormer radi ions on heir own erConsider he aboriginal asmanians. A er hey were colonized on heirna ive island, decima ed by disease and violence, and imprisoned by heirEuropean mas ers on a small por ion o heir ormer land, hey ou

hemselves so spiri ually des royed ha hey merely wai ed or deand wi hin a ew years disappeared en irely.98 A less devas a ing versiono his de ea happened in he recen pas , no long a er he all oBerlin wall. When capi alism swep over he Sovie Union, shatering hremnan s o communism's promises, he li e expec ancy among men drama ically declined, as i he loss o ha socie y's ounda ions gave litle reason o go on.99 Nei her socie y was especially hear ened ha


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108 Chap er 6

ano her cul ure would endure, or he world ha matered o hem, he world ha supplied hem wi h heir core sys em o belie s and concerns,had vanished.

Our dilemma is a litle like heirs: even ually, when we realize ha noone can escape he u ure we have crea ed, we oo will have o doub ourcore sys em o belie s. Bu his ime, no one will have de ea ed us; we wino be imprisoned, nor will we be he losers o he Cold War. We willhave de ea edourselves. Ta even will a once dis ress us, since we willindeed be s uck on an Ear h we never hoped o see, bu i will also giveussome hope, since as he agen s o our own undoing, we would s ill pre-

sumably have he chance o do some hing abou i . A once perpe ra orsand vic ims, we'll endure a crisis, o be sure, bu we will s ill be conden we can ace he crisis on our own erms, nd means o adap a ion, or dis-cover some s yle o living on.

Bu oo much condence in his respec will be illusory. Un il hispoin in our his ories, we could ake or gran ed ha i we oresaw a danger o our collec ive lives, we could ake ac ion and ward i off. I wedid some hing, we would seeresul s. Bu i our socie ies ail o ac soon and

hose posi ive eedback loops kick in, we will en er a ruly bizarre condi-ion. A ha momen , i i has no already aken place, we will discoveha he u ure we dread will arriveno mater wha we do in he presen . Inha s range hour, he u ure will become a once inevi able and alien; i

will bring abou devas a ing even seven i we atemp o preven hem. Where we could once shape he u ure in some ashion, in ha

momen we will discover ha he u ure has become es ranged:ha u ure, as well, will be in ruins. O course, our ac ions even in ha

momen will con inue o have an effec : hey migh preven an even moredevas a ing u ure rom aking place or migh save various aspec s o hplane or la er genera ions. Bu hey will be oo litle and oo la e o pre ven a wrenching change or all he world's cul ures.

Te possibili y ha we migh cross hose ipping poin s wi houknowing i makes our si ua ion uncanny. I we do make ha ransi ion, i will ake place silen ly, wi hou no ice as i we are on board a ship hahas been s ruck and will even ually sink even hough we heard no hing o

ha blow and he band plays on. In a case like ha , he even s de ermin-ing he u ure will have arrived already, while we carried on, oblivious.


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Te Ruins o Come 109

Al hough our cul ures will already be s ricken, we will con inue o picipa e in hem as i hey s ill hrive. Several recen movies imagine

ghos s are dead people who have no ye learned ha hey are dead; h

haun he living because hey are ignoran o heir rue condi ion.100

In asimilar ashion, he world's socie ies, unaware o heir ac ual s a e, soon become phan oms, enduring in a pos humous condi ion.

Bu his depic ion o ghos ly cul ures may s ill no do jus ice dilemma. For he mos par , we end o place hese ruins in he u whe her we are enjoying c ional ales or pondering scien ic assessmen s. We mos ly assume ha he major cul ural disloca ions caus

by clima e change are ye o come. Bu in ac hose changes are alreaking place. Some observers sugges ha he dryer, hoter condi ions ihe Dar ur region o he Sudan helped crea e he condi ions or con

and crimes agains humani y here.101 Alaskan owns buil on perma rosare il ing, heir ounda ions cracking.102 Coun less armers around he world, including in he Uni ed S a es, are discovering ha he seasorhy hms on which hey once relied are being suspended.

We arealready living in a ruined u ure, already enduring changes inhe biosphere or which we are no prepared. Bu why are we no ready

Why should he arrival o his u ure surprise us? Eviden ly, even ho we are highly en er ained wi h hehough o s range u ures, projec -ing hem endlessly in our c ions, we do no ul ima ely expec hemarrive: when hey do, hey seem prema ure, ca ching us by surprise. Te very ca egory o he u ure, i seems, oa s in he dis ance; even are orien ed o i as he basis o our presen ac ions, we keep i on o her side o a concep ual wall, sa eguarding he presen rom i s arrTe same is rue o he scien ic s udy o wha clima e change migh while we may absorb wha researchers ell us, heir ndings o en remaimere in orma ion o us, no a vivid reali y in our ordinary lives. Even weknow ha clima e change is happening and may devas a e our homes we migh no rulyacknowledge his ac o ourselves. Te arrival o ha

u ure deprives us o he securi y and pleasure we ake in con emplai in he dis ance, hrowing he concep ual map o our lives in o disar When i arrives, i shor -circui s wha we hough we unders ood. Nhaving lived hrough such a change be ore, we canno know wha i w


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110 Chap er 6

be like o experience i . We are inevi ably unprepared or his even ; i canonly ake place when we are unaware.

Our endency o keep he ruined u ure a a dis ance orces us in o

a con radic ion: i i s arrival has no aken place, hen eviden ly we s ihave ime ( o argue abou i in Congress, o nego ia e new rea ies, o prepare o al er our echnologies), as i i is s ill years away; i i has occurred

hen i 's oo la e, and we need do no hing. Ei her way, we believe wedon' really have o do a hing. Perhaps here again we live in he ruinso he u ure: modern cul ure has long since prided i sel on i s capaci y

o con rol i s condi ions, o plan or con ingencies, o predic rends,

provide or long- erm sa e y and securi y. Te u ure, you could say, wasi s special y. Bu his ime around, hose who manage he u ure are inover heir heads. Te u ure has been heir special y, jus nohis u ure.Tis version, i seems, is bydeni ion oo much o handle: we caused i , ye i eludes us, primarily because i con radic s our basic assump ions. We've been making li emuch beter , no worse; he hough o a devas-

a ed u ure pro oundly conic s wi h every hing we've been rying do. I he u ure is in ruins, so also is our exper ise in he u ure. Bu he

he mos basic premises o modern cul ure are in ruins as well. A rs glance, our way o enduring he prospec o hese u ure ruins

may share much wi h how we respond o our own mor ali y. We cannoknow when our dea hs may arrive; we migh know ha hey will akeplace even ually wi hou aking ha prospec seriously; we migh evenhave con rac ed a erminal disease wi hou suspec ing a hing. Bu doesi ollow ha pondering he ruins is some hing like con empla ing ourown dea hs? Are hese medi a ions on dire even s o come in some ways

he same? In an older religious radi ion, believers once medi a ed on hememen o mori , a reminder o dea h such as a skull, o each hemselves

ha hey would die, ha all heir passiona e atachmen s and erce long-ings would pass, ha every hing mel s away, so as o se heir sigh s one erni y ins ead. More recen ly, philosophers such as Mar in Heideggerargued ha he mos au hen ic mode o being or us isbeing- oward-dea h , he direc encoun er wi h our mor ali y.103

Bu his analogy ul ima ely ails. Clima e change is absolu ely vas ehan any individual's passing even one's own. I is o ano her order o

business en irely. We all know ha individuals will die in he ordinary


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Te Ruins o Come 111

course o hings. Bu or aspecies o die is ano her mater al oge her. Anindividual's dea h arises rom he same process as i s bir h, i s par ic

ion in reproduc ion, i s main aining a cer ain adap ive behavior wi h

a par icular ecological niche. Similarly, in he con ex o he biospherdynamic li e, he passing o a species arises rom he same process as emergence, i s ourishing, and i s par icipa ion in he rela ionships symbiosis or compe i ion. I s ex inc ion s wi hin he patern o a wder ully complex bu coheren in erac ion. Wha we ace, however, is ex inc ion o his kind, bu hemurder o species, ecosys ems, oceanspurely as a resul o he biologically unnecessary indulgence o our spe

cies. Tis is no dea h, nor even ex inc ion, bu a des ruc ive in ervenin o he web o li e.Clima e change, in shor , does ar more han mor ali y could ever d

i harms he li eworld ha sus ains our species, and in consequence daages he socie ies in which our dea hs have meaning, he cul ural con

or our own aspira ions and achievemen s. I imposes an ex ra level difficul y on each species, each socie y, each li e one ha none previously had o bear. As a resul , all will ace some hing more han mor alsome hing al oge her unan icipa ed and more s range.

Tis bizarre u ure differs rom mor ali y in ye ano her way. wcen uries ago, in one passage o his elegy o John Kea s, Adonais , PercyBysshe Shelley wro e ha when na ure revives in he spring and he dedo no re urn, we are reminded ha he circle o he year differs shar

rom he shape o an individual human li e. Spring canno bring back dead; ul ima ely, hen, i canno console us bu ins ead revives our grHe concludes his por ion o he poem wi h hese lines: As long as skare blue, and elds are green / Evening mus usher nigh , nigh urge hemorrow, / Mon h ollow mon h wi h woe, and year wake year o sorrow.104 For he speaker o hese words, human beings pass while na ureendures. oday, however, we ace vir ually he opposi e emo ion. Undeclima e change, you, or I, or a riend may live onbeyond he dea h o alocal ores , he silencing o a nearby s ream, or he browning o a nei boring green. Te years will re urn, no doub , and nigh will s ill urge hmorrow, bu whe her na ure will revive is ano her ques ion. Where wonce hough we would die and na ure endure, we may ins ead survive


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112 Chap er 6

a er he passing o an ecosys em we know. Our response o he land-scapes surrounding us al ers irreversibly.

In ha case, our rela ionship o many o her aspec s o experience

changes as well. Even in a na ion as indus rialized as he Uni ed S a es,he movemen o he seasons serves as he basis o he ri ual year, anchor-ing Eas er and Chris mas, Passover and Yom Kippur, Independence Dayand Tanksgiving; as he seasons dri o new regions o he calendar,plan s blossom or decay a o her imes, and he na ural world becomesmore con used, he signicance o hese ri ual even s changes oo, speak-ing less o he deep urning o he world and more o sheer conven ion.

Our associa ion o you h wi h spring, o age wi h all, begins o al erspring comes oo soon, i all ex ends in o win er; our me aphors s aro mel away, even hough you h and age remain o us. Our lives are cu

adri rom he seasons, our span o ime knocked askew rom na ure'srhy hms, our my hic associa ions made hreadbare.

We may in consequence nd ourselves grieving more or he vulner-abili y o he biosphere han or our own. Ta emo ion migh lead usalso o grieve or our excessivein vulnerabili y, our capaci y in hese la -

er, hi- ech days o de ea disease, mas er he body's ills, and generally ward off aging and dea h and or ha mater o pro ec ourselves romcold or hea , reduce hunger and hirs , shrink every dis ance, and mas er

ur her reaches o he unknown. We may end up wishing or a re urn o grea er vulnerabili y, a more open accep ance o weakness and mor ali y,

or only wi h ha re urn migh we release o her orms o li e rom devas a ing effec s o our dominance.

Such hough s, however, will ul ima ely demons ra e ha our ownmor ali y ades in comparison o some hing al oge her more harrow-ing he possible mor ali y o our socie ies, he na ural sys ems we know,and o some ex en he biosphere i sel . In our world, he emporal coher-ence o a u ure in o which our individual lives vanish he coherence,in shor , o mor ali y i sel is alling in o decay. Wha once served as anins ance o he ul ima e con empla ion is now dwar ed by a much moredifficul hough , he prospec ha our very me aphor o wha endureand wha is imeless has i sel allen in o ruin.


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Notes

97. On ancien Mesopo amia, see Clive Pon ing, A Green His ory o he World: Te Environmen and he Collapse o Grea Civiliza ions (New York: Penguin, 1991),

6873; on he Maya in he Yuca an, see Pon ing, 7883 and Jared Diamond,Collapse: How Socie ies Choose o Fail or Succeed (New York: Penguin,2006), 157177.

98. I re er o he a e o he asmanians afer being rounded up and imprisonedon Flinders Island; see Rober Hughes,Te Fa al Shore: Te Epic o Aus ralia'sFounding , (New York: Knop , 1987), 423.

99. Michael Wines, An Ailing Russia Lives a ough Li e Ta 's Geting Shor er, New York imes , December 3, 2000, htp://www.ny imes.com/2000/12/03/

world/an-ailing-russia-lives-a- ough-li e- ha -s-geting-shor er.h ml?pagewan ed=all&src=pm.

100. See, or example,Te O hers , direc ed by Alejandro Amenbar, 2001.

101. See S ephan Faris,Forecas : Te Consequences o Clima e Change, fom he Amazon o he Arc ic, fom Dar ur o Napa Valley (New York: Hol , 2009), 529.

102. Elizabe h Kolber ,Field No es fom a Ca as rophe: Man, Na ure, and Clima eChange (New York: Bloomsbury, 2006), 1317.

103. Mar in Heidegger, Being and ime , ransla ed by John Macquarrie andEdward Robinson (London: SCM Press, 1962), 279311.

104. Percy Bysshe Shelley, Adonais , lines 187189. See Donald H. Reiman andNeil Frais a , edi ors,Shelley's Poe ry and Prose , second edi ion (New York:Nor on, 2002), 417.


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Chap er 7

Te Broken Present

Many o us con empla ing hese possibili ies migh answer qui e simply,

Why should I care? Te even s you describe, i hey ake place a all, willchange human li e on Ear h a er I am gone. Besides, he problem is so vas , and he ac ions we mus ake are so difficul , ha I can make verlitle difference on my own. I'll jus live ou my li e in he bes way I canand le his ory ake i s course.

Tere is a kind o sani y in his response: in many circums ances oli e, repression may be a ne hing indeed. Bu is i ruly possible o seaside he reali y o wha migh ake place o us all in he u ure? Can wsimply divorce our presen ac ions rom heir consequences?

I , as I sugges ed in he previous chap er, every human socie y has cul-iva ed a s rong image o he u ure, i has done so because such an image

is necessary o jus i y i s ac ivi ies in he presen . Some kind o u usome orien a ion o a goal or des ina ion, is in rinsic o all o our in en-

ional ac ivi y as individuals and as members o groups. Whe her or no we care in a deep or hear el way abou wha will ake place o our soci-e y, or or ha mater abou he human race or he Ear h i sel ,some kindo inves men in he u ure is implici in our si ua ion as human beingsEven i we repudia e he signicance o ha u ure or us on a conscioulevel, he ac ha we are purpose-driven beings implies ha our ac ions will be ray us, endlessly demons ra ing ha in ac wedo care, ha we areeverywhere and always inves ed in crea ing a livable u ure.

So here is no way or us o evade some difficul ques ions. Iha

kind o u ure is in s ore or us, wha happens o he goals we have seor ourselves and ha we seek hrough our various effor s? Every hing

we do in our ordinary lives is based on he assump ion ha we will havea u ure ha our houses will remain s anding, ha we will con inue


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Te Broken Presen 115

o have a home in he na ions in which we live, ha he skills we hacquired will be use ul in some ashion, ha we will be able o par icipin he cul ural ac ivi ies we care abou , and ha we will have some ch

o achieve our goals. Our businesses run on credi , borrowing heir verycapi al rom he nancial resources o he u ure; our governmen s sand equip s anding armies o de end agains atacks ha may come pass; and we insure our proper ies, bodies, and lives agains harm hamay be all us. Many o our daily ac ivi ies are direc ly orien ed owensuring ha he u ure will be livable. Sus aining our loving and erorela ionships, cul iva ing our amily ies and our riendships, raising ch

dren, giving or geting an educa ion, giving or geting preven a ive andacu e medical care, and building and main aining he physical s ruc urein which we live and work: all hese, and coun less ur her ac ivi ireveal how grea ly we wish o sus ain he lives we already know, o ha

hem down o ur her genera ions, and o main ain some hing like curren level o abundance and happiness. Our orien a ion o he u uin shor , provides he very pi h and subs ance o our presen .

Individual lives ake or gran ed ha hey are shaped by narra iv wi h a pas , presen , and u ure ha hey are orien ed o sa is acachievemen s, or realiza ions ha will reward li elong commi menOnly hrough such narra ives can we live our lives e hically, or onl

hrough hem can we es ablish a con ex or in en ional ac ion, whai may be, in rela ion o everyone and every hing ha maters o us.105Such narra ives also shape he collec ive li e o amilies, communiand na ions, as well as poli ical groups, commercial en erprises, and religious ai hs. Wi hou such narra ives, i is hard o imagine ha moddemocra ic socie ies could legi ima e hemselves a all, or rom he

hey are ounded on he principles o libera ion and progress. Tis orien-a ion is so deeply embedded in our ac ivi ies ha even an ou righ n

is who repudia es all no ions o a collec ive good never heless assumhe will be able o sus ain ha iden i y and share ha perspec ive in

u ure. Merely speaking o ha viewpoin o o hers akes or granimeline o persuasion, he long- erm con ex s o argumen and deba A imes, o course, people sacrice oo much o heir presen li

or he sake o he u ure: hey oo eagerly prac ice he well-knowo de erred gra ica ion, working so hard in he presen ha hey alm


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116 Chap er 7

orge wha all he effor is or. We o en ell such people ha hey shous op living or he u ure and enjoy he presen . No doub we are giving

hem good advice. Bu we should no assume ha i is ruly possible o

liveonly or he presen . Even he mos dedica ed con rarian, one whorejec s a job and ignores her riends, will s ill urn off he wa er a er ak-ing a shower, knowing i would be nice no o ood he ba hroom. Ourprac ical ac ions cons an ly speak o our knowledge ha he nex hourand nex day will come, even i a imes and or specic purposes wemigh no wish o emphasize ha ac .

Bu wha happens when, in reviewing he narra ives o our lives, look-

ing ahead o he u ures we hope o have, we realize ha clima e change will damage our world in ways ha will direc ly and permanen ly affecus? Wha happens o our orien a ion o he u ure when i s livabili y icas in o doub and begins o dissolve? Wha i he place we choose orour abode becomes unlivable, he pro ession or which we have been

rained is no longer needed, or he income we hoped would suppor ushrea ens o disappear? Wha i we realize ha he li e we wan ed o le

is ecologically ou rageous, ha he children we've been raising have nochance o live as well as we have, and ha he poli ical causes or which we've been gh ing may never succeed?

Te answer, I hink, is clear: all our prac ical ac ivi ies, our humanrela ionships, our pro essions and goals, are harmed in heir very sub-s ance. Te value o our ordinary ac ivi ies begins o ray, and he en ire

ramework o our lives becomes suspec . Clima e change does no jusmel he ice caps and glaciers; i mel s he narra ive in which we s ill par-

icipa e, he purpose o he presen day. In his sense, oo, we are alreadyliving in he ruins o he u ure.106

Clima e change devas a es he u ure and he presen alike. Bu ha no all. Mos o us hope o ransmi o new genera ions some hing o h values, achievemen s, and joys we inheri ed rom our orebears. Whenour u ure is cas in o doub , so also is he ransmission o ha pas . much he same way, he memory o our own pas s, which we may s illregard as s rongly con inuous wi h our presen , shi s more empha icallyin o he pas ense, as i i now speaks clearly o some hing ha is gon A cer ain momen s, perhaps, we migh almos sense ha our very pres-en should be rendered in he pas ense as i , like hose on board he


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ship I men ioned above, we live in a socie y ha is already dead wiou knowing i .

Tis bizarre possibili y ex ends well beyond he ramework o our

own lives. We live in cul ures ha have long and s oried his ories, hhave produced and been shaped by he deeds o monarchs and rebels,he achievemen s o s a esmen and engineers, he hough s o he

gians and philosophers, he works o poe s, playwrigh s, and in ellecals, and he discoveries o scien is s. Bu wi hou a u ure, hese her while s ill crucial and precious, sub ly change, as i hey endure a

heir ounda ions have disappeared. Suddenly, all hese legacies belong

o a plane ary era ha is passing away, or hey were buil on he seco ecological ounda ions ha have collapsed. When he u ure goesdo he presen and he pas . Te en ire ramework o human ime idecays, disappears.

Does our si ua ion leave us wi hou hope? On one level, i does: wcan no longer hope ha he civiliza ion we inheri ed will hrive or

u ure poli ical changes will give all human beings a chance o par icpa e in he abundance we have known. I ha hope came rue, he Ea would perish very quickly. As Rober Jensen says, hope o ha kind lazy, and he radi ions i relies on are dead.107 As long as we s ick wi hin

he ramework o wha we have known, we will no longer envision grehings, only he preven ion o he wors . We will imagine no u opia, ohe bes dys opia we can ge .

Bu i we change our perspec ive and abandon he premises o ossuel cul ure, ano her kind o hope may be given o us: we could hope

a pos -carbon cul ure ha could hrive even on a grea ly wounded EarTa kind o hope, however, is ar more han he bare emo ion, or can arise only ou o he ac ivi y o reinven ing who we are and becoing uncharac eris ically hones abou he difficul y we ace. Ye evenhope canno come wi hou i s shadow: as I argued earlier, conver in

o renewable energy sources or everyone on his overpopula ed plane woulds ill do grea harm. Te hope we now have, i seems, will always bemixed wi h a cer ain dread. Rebecca Solni , wri ing abou he challeng

ha will always ace poli ical ac ivism, calls his hope in he dark. Imomen , ha darkness is darker ye .108 In our broken presen , however,

his may be he bes we can do.


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118 Chap er 7

I have been sugges ing ha an awareness o our u ure ruins harmshe very subs ance o our presen ac ivi ies. Does i ollow ha we shou

simply give up, abandon all our effor s, renounce he world, and live in

a kind o ca a onic despair? Why no jus s op all our labors and lie pas-sively on he so a?Ta would hardly be a solu ion; be ore long, he guyon he so a would wonder how o ge ood o ea , how o keep he rooover his head, and how o sa is y o her basic physical needs. I herulygave up aking care o himsel , even ually his riends would have o do so

or him. He'd become a pain o everybody he knew. However grea ourawareness o wha may come, he basic impera ives o li e demand ha

we carry on. In ac , he more we deny hose impera ives, he more weaci ly acknowledge hem: you can'delibera ely ignore some hing unless you already know i is here. Even he guy on he so a has o acknowledge

ha li e goes on. Would i work, hen, o embrace our everyday lives wi h a vengeance,

as i o escape our knowledge in doing so? Why no respond o ourdilemma by saying, I'll jus keep working un il he wa ers rise up andcarry me away? Bu i a person makes his declara ion, she would show

ha she values ac ivi y or i s own sake, no or any purpose i mighserve. She migh hope o prove ha she will no submi , ha she can con-quer any despair. While such a choice reveals a cer ain courage, i oo isul ima ely despera e, or ra her han ruly responding o he condi ionsaround her and adjus ing her li e accordingly, she would atemp o value wha she knows is u ile. Al hough ignoring clima e change migh seem

o pro ec her rom i , he uselessness o her effor s would necessarilys rike her rom ime o ime, especially when she relaxes rom her heroics rain, and since she had no crea ed a viable response o i o her hansheer s ubborn effor , i would hi her wi h special orce. Pure s ubborn-ness is no beter a response han passive despair.

Te difficul y o our si ua ion only becomes clear i we realize ha heu ure is in ruinsand ha li e goes on. As a resul , even i we are awareha he blow has been s ruck, even i we live in knowledge ins ead o

ignorance, we nd ourselves having o live on as i no hing has changed:ha knowledge, i seems, does no al er he basic challenges o everyday

li e, he ordinary asks o doing our work, aking care o our loved ones,and planning or he u ure. Te con radic ion is s ark, inconquerable.


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Our orien a ion o he u ure inevi ably remains, bu or us i is direoward wha is no longer en irely here. We are caugh be ween w

impera ives: we mus lead our lives, bu we mus also recognize ha o

li e narra ives are no longer credible. Nei her renuncia ion nor s ubbornness, nei her reckless grie nor urious asser ion, can nally erase heerie quali y o persis ing wi hin a narra ive whose conclusion is slow being erased. No plausible course o ac ion is open o us. Te ruined

u ure orces us o endure in a broken presen .Is i even possible o live in ull awareness o his con radic ion? C

we a once per orm our ordinary ac ivi ies and be conscious ha he n

ra ive hey imply may be in ruins? Our rs op ion is o do every hi we can o preven en ering his con radic ion a all: he prospec oin hese erms should be enough o mo iva e our unreserved par icip

ion in a movemen o change our socie ies and o change hemnow.Bu as I have been sugges ing, he ime available or ac ion is so shorhas vir ually disappeared. We may have litle choice, hen, bu o live ina mode ha migh seem impossible or us, o endure a li e ha wilon, even hough i has been damaged undamen ally. We who are alive a

his s range momen may end up having o reckon wi h i s s rangenessenduring in his impossibili y. I he Ear h passes he urning poin we s ill endure, we will discover ha he ruins o he u ure have hus off he rack o our personal narra ives and disjoined us rom who w

hink we are. In ha momen , i we are sane and aware, we will be okil er, ou o balance.

Te ruins o he u ure inevi ably undo any coheren way o live. even s orce us o cons ruc new s ra egies or surviving in an al world, we will also have o ace his more in ima e challenge: ho

o endure his incoherence, how o live on in he ruins o he lives whough we would lead, in he ruins o who we hough we migh be.

our basic emo ions will be up or grabs, or none will remain unchangeddesire and grie , joy and sorrow, hope and despair. Living in he physicalruins o he Ear h will be ough. Bu doing so will also symbolize living

he ruins o ano her sor , he broken language o he hear .


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120 Chap er 7

Notes

105. For an exemplary discussion o his poin , see Alasdair MacIn yre, A erVir ue: A S udy in Moral Teory , hird edi ion (No re Dame: Universi y o

No re Dame Press, 2007), 204225.106. For a rela ed argumen on how we migh respond o he possibili y ha

errible hings may happen o o hersa er we die, see Samuel Scheffler, Dea hand he A erli e (New York: Ox ord Universi y Press, 2013).

107. Rober Jensen, Hope is or he Lazy: Te Challenge o Our Dead World,Coun erpunch , July 9, 2012, htp://www.coun erpunch.org/2012/07/09/hope-is- or- he-lazy/.

108. Rebecca Solni ,Hope in he Dark: Un old His ories, Wild Possibili ies (New York: Na ion Books, 2004).


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Chap er 8

A Slow and Endless Horror

So ar I have been sugges ing ha our si ua ion o acing he co

quences o clima e change or our u ure is unpreceden ed. We've nev be ore con empla ed he possibili y ha he li e we know migh be a beyond recogni ion in qui e his way. Bu i 's wor h pausing o consi whe her his rela ion o he u ure is really all ha new. Are we inexperiencing as s range a momen as all ha ? Aren' people in modercul ures used o acing hese kinds o uncer ain ies as a mater o cou by now? Wha is really new in our curren si ua ion?

We are, a er all, he heirs o a long his ory o devas a ion. Over pas several cen uries our socie ies have engendered and endured sys-

emic, irreversible rans orma ion in i s various orms, including hoin which expansion and libera ion evolved in o devas a ion and genocide. For hal a millennium we have had o accep he possibili y hainvasive power o modern economic and poli ical regimes could des royen ire radi ions, cul ures, and peoples. Tis his ory is so long, difficuland bloody and so convenien o ignore ha i may be use ul oreview i or a momen .

Te European encoun er wi h he New World led o an era o coloni-za ion on nearly every con inen , a patern ha in urn requen ly dema ed na ive popula ions and drew upon he murderous enslavemen o A ricans o provide labor or he new world. Te scien ic and indus rirevolu ions, in heir urn, made possible he crea ion o modern indus rcapi alism, which superseded radi ional rades and handicra s, orce

a long demographic shi rom he coun ryside o he ci y, and subordna ed na ional economies o global rade and nancial ne works, oreval ering he preindus rial way o li e. A imes, ha process had beffec s. Te Bri ish applica ion o a par icular heory o he ree mark


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122 Chap er 8

coun ries across i s ar-ung empire led o he Irish amine o he 1840s,he devas a ing amines in India in he la e 1800s, and ul ima ely o wha

Mike Davis has called he making o he Tird World.109 Even ually, he

bureaucra ic power o he modern s a e, coupled wi h mili ary and impe-rial ambi ions, na ionalism, or racism, crea ed he concen ra ion campsin Sou h A rica during he Boer War, he litle-known genocide o heHerero and Nama peoples in Namibia ( hen Sou h Wes A rica) underGerman con rol in 1904 hrough 1907, and he Armenian genocide o19151923.110

Tis his ory has only in ensied over he decades since. World War I

shatered he complacency o Europe and des royed a genera ion o youngmen; a decade or so a er he war ended, he Depression began; ha longordeal ended wi h World War II, which in urn in roduced he nuclear bomb and he Holocaus . Te changed geopoli ical condi ions a er he war led o he ounda ion o he s a e o Israel and he displacemen o Pales inian people; i also opened he way or he independence o India, which came o pass wi h he Par i ion o India and Pakis an, an evenaccompanied wi h he slaugh er o around one million people. Shor ly

herea er began he Cold War, he arms race be ween he superpowers,and he proli era ion o nuclear weapons, which in limi ed ways con in-ues o his day. Over his period, he legacy o he Enligh enmen ookon a darker hue; he example o he American and French Revolu ions, which had ini ially opened he way or na ions around he world o in er- vene in heir radi ions and reinven hemselves, inspired he Russian andChinese Revolu ions, whose leaders even ually sough such sys emic, wholesale change ha hey plunged heir na ions in o amine or worse(under S alin in he 1930s and Mao in 19581962). In he wake o heHolocaus , which inspired he world o vow ha i would never again

olera e he atemp o des roy a people, we ins ead wi nessed genocideand he massive des ruc ion o human li e in Burundi, Cambodia, he

ormer Yugoslavia, Eas imor, Rwanda, Dar ur, and elsewhere, as wellas he murder o roughly ve million people, s ill ongoing, in Congo. In

he early years o he presen cen ury, 9/11 brough o he ore in erna-ional, s a eless errorism and i s coun erpar , he war on error; hes

developmen s, along wi h even s in Rwanda and Congo, sugges ha in


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A Slow and Endless Horror 123

he coming decades his his ory o violence will con inue ou side o scon rol, becoming an endemic ea ure in ailed s a es around he world

Troughou he pas several cen uries, hen, human beings have never

been assured ha he li e hey know will endure; on he con rary, prospec o global violence, he atemp ed decima ion o whole peopleand in recen decades, he des ruc ion o he en ire human race haloomed large as dis inc possibili ies. We have been living wi h disa

er or a long ime. By now we may have become used o he possibi y ha he en ire li eworld in which we live is erribly ragile andhumani y i sel may disappear. In response, however, we have atemp ed

o bea back he orces o des ruc ion in he hope we can pu he w behind us and en er an era o peace. In he Uni ed S a es, or examp we have ended o assume ha he emancipa ion o he slaves pumos egregious orms o oppression sa ely in he pas . Te in erna ioncommuni y, having ounded he Uni ed Na ions, warded off a nuclea war, survived he Cold War, and preven ed he ou break o many o hconic s, may also believe ha i has nally marked ou he boundarydisas er's kingdom.

How well does clima e change wi hin his his ory? In her remarable Ear hseed series, composed o he novels Parable o he Sowerand Parable o he alen s , Oc avia Bu ler depic s a u ure Uni ed S a e wracked by he consequences o clima e change, specula ing ha insocie y orn by violence, insecuri y, pover y, and lawlessness, slavery wre urn. Te orm o slavery she envisions is more sexual and economic

han racial, based in he exploi a ion o individuals ra her han a vible ca egory o persons. Never heless, her work sugges s ha i hgo awry, he orms o injus ice we Americans hink we have surpass will re urn.

While we have no o en con empla ed hese possibili ies in hdeba e abou clima e change, her sugges ion has he ring o ru h. I sis is deep enough and las s long enough, all be s will be off; he guaran

ees o he Cons i u ion will no pro ec he poor rom he rich weak rom he s rong. A er all, hey have never done so comple ely, aeven now he batle o guaran ee civil righ s or all con inues. Bu lenovels remind us ha we have no eradica ed inequali y and exploi a

rom our socie y; he endurance o class privilege and deep pover y, a


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124 Chap er 8

well as he resegrega ion o public educa ion and he neglec o inner-ci ycommuni ies, ell us ha we have used he ac o our previous aboli iono slavery and o her open abuses o jus i y olera ing a hos o social il

oday. Te persis ence o hese pro ound inequali ies crea es he condi-ions or harsher prac ices o re urn. Tis poin ex ends o he in erna-ional con ex as well. I we consider he inevi abili y ha under he pre

sure o clima e change millions o people will atemp o migra e acrossna ional boundaries, ha socie ies will clash over resources, and ha various s a es, weakened by perpe ual crisis, may no be able o prevenconic , we mus admi ha condi ions will be ripe or he re urn or pro

li era ion o many orms o injus ice.In ha case, clima e change may crea e he condi ions or reversing heguaran ees es ablished by democra ic socie ies and he modes achieve-men s o he Uni ed Na ions. Going orward in o he ruined u ure, we may ins ead recede in o a version o he pas . Te major differenceis ha his ime, we would no be able o escape rom ha pas so eaily hrough es ablishing individual righ s or crea ing economic grow h.Ta u ure will have discredi ed such possibili ies, showing ha heycould no deliver on wha hey promised, or he socie ies ha pro ec edindividual righ s will have been he same ha crea ed plane ary dis ress.Moreover, because we will re ain he memory o less woe ul days, we mayexperience such injus ice wi h grea er pain han did our ances ors, manyo whom had no memory, and no no ion, o human righ s. Used o being

rea ed airly, we will resen he opposi e ercely. Te re urn o cer ainabuses will no merely ake us back o he pas ; i will cancel wha we

hough were permanen guaran ees and hus rauma ize us in ima ely. We may hen learn ha he no ions o liber y and individual righ s areonly c ions, res ing wi hin a ne work o exploi a ive social rela ions wenever ully atemp ed o disman le.

Inspired by reec ions like hese, we may wish o denounce hose whokeep alive he s ruc ures o inequali y. Bu clima e change undercu s suchan atemp a moral clari y. A look a he in erna ional consequences oclima e change ells us his much. On one level, he ac ha he world'indus rial na ions have emited and will even ually emi ar more green-house gases han o her na ions is already a sign ha we live in a worldshaped by ye ano her orm o oppression, a greenhouse gas imperialism.


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We who live in he developed world are clearly perpe ra ors o a grea violence. Ye i is no as i we will escape he consequences o our ac We are immersed in a socie y ha con inues o emi greenhouse gases

a ridiculous pace, and mos o us will also live long enough o endure hconsequences o hose emissions. We, oo, will endure grea difficul ieour socie ies will be wrenched as well. As a resul , we will become ouown vic ims. Some o oday's weal hy may assume ha heir money enable hem o survive rela ively unsca hed hrough a dys opian uBu no individual should be complacen ; economic disarray and in erne-cine violence have a way o shatering any smug arrangemen s, des roy-

ing businesses and households, and leaving individuals s randed in hemids o chaos. Te re urn o injus ice and violence po en ially ex enoall o us; we canno be sure we are no enslaving ourselves, crea ing

prison ha nei her we nor o hers can escape.I we ake hese scenarios jus one s ep ur her, we can place

po en ial consequences o clima e change wi hin he his ory o colive des ruc ion. In a previous chap er I men ioned ha clima e cha

mos likely crea ed he condi ions or he bru al violence in Dar u111In i sel , o course, clima e change does no ac ually ake human livecrea es he miserable ma rix or ha violence. By des roying ecosysdepriving people o heir livelihoods, and orcing hem o migra e, cma e change vas ly increases he oppor uni y or conic . Te even sDar ur illus ra e ha ac well. Once clima e change increases in i s si y, ur her violence o his kind is nearly inevi able and no only areas ar removed rom he developed na ions. Because he modern s ao en akes unin elligen , corrup , and oppressive orms, because sever versions o violen s a eless en i ies (insurgen armies, separa is orza ions, or jihadis movemen s) have emerged and are likely o arise imany regions o he world, because absolu is ideologies o various kins ill have armed adheren s, and because e hnic rivalry and prejudice

hrive as well, all he ingredien s or in erna ional conic , civil war, sys emic murder remain in place. Now ha we're adding clima e chang

o he mix, hose ingredien s are more combus ible han ever be ore.Te prospec o his u ure violence akes shape agains he bac

ground o our grea er awareness o i s cos s. In recen decades, manin erpre ers have become increasingly conscious o he psychologica


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126 Chap er 8

consequences o surviving war, genocide, sexual violence, domes icabuse, and o her horric even s. As hey have argued, rauma is devas a -ing because i s severi y breaks in o consciousness be ore he mind can

adequa ely prepare i sel or, more precisely, in a way or which i couldnever prepare i sel ; as a resul , he mind bears he wounds o even s icanno absorb or unders and. Because rauma ic experiences in somesense never ullyake place or heir vic ims, hey can never move on,never en irely live a er hose even s.112 In he era o he Vie nam war anda er, we in he Uni ed S a es have called his pos - rauma ic s ress disorder, and in he wake o he wars in Iraq and A ghanis an, we recognize

ha his syndrome con inues o afflic soldiers and civilians alike.Bu i we ake he possibili y o severe, global clima e change seriouslyand hus acknowledge he near inevi abili y o he genocides o come, wha happens hen? Can we be rauma ized by even s ha have no ye

aken place? I rauma is charac erized by an inabili y o absorb experi-ence in o he ordinary reali ies o li e, could envisioning he horrors o

he u ure have a similar effec ? For a modern Cassandra, such a rauma would be possible: she would behold even s o come wi h an in ensi y

ha would devas a e her. Perhaps a modern version o a biblical prophe would endure he same. Bu i is ins ruc ive ha such gures, announc-ing wha hey see, are never believed; hose who hear heir warningsmel away, unmoved. Ta indifference makes clear ha or he res o us,an icipa ory rauma does no seem possible. A er all, i we areimagining

rauma, we are no ruly living i , nor is i shatering our minds in a wayor which we are no prepared. Perhaps u ure even s can never be as realo us as pas or presen ones. In ha case, clima e change simply canno

be as vivid or us as he horrors o a cer ain pas . Wha , hen, is he s a us o a violence o come? An awareness o h

immense consequences o our ordinary ac s oday or he lives o our-selves and o hers will shadow hose ac s, giving hem a haun ing dep h. A ru h ul look a our curren prac ices especially a he excep ionallyhigh ra e wi h which we burn ossil uels in he Uni ed S a es shouldgive us pause. Are we perpe ra ing a kind o genocide ourselves, jus one

ha will ake place la er? Are we par icipan s in a sys emic violence ha will work i sel ou only over he coming decades? Par o he answermus be no; as I sugges ed above, clima e change is no i sel genocidal,


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or i provides no more han he ma rix or conic . Bu since i doesmuch and can here ore genera e a perpe ualseries o horric even si is ac ually muchlarger han any single genocide. I is a once less and

more han he violence in Dar ur.In ac , since we canno know precisely wha orm o clima e chanour presen use o energy will crea e in he u ure, hespecic implica ionso our ac s remain ou o reach. Te problem here is no an experience

ha is oo vivid, so shatering we simply canno absorb i , bu one his oo removed, oo difficul o cap ure. Clima e change works on delay: someone ac s in a harm ul manner, and he resul s migh emerg

soon, perhaps decades la er. I also works in he aggrega e; any single acan con ribu e o an overall disorien a ion o he clima e, which in causes a series o ur her physical processes o kick in. Clima e chanis caused by a sys emic violence ha is cu off rom any direc ie consequences.

As a resul , our ac ions as par icipan s in a ossil- uel economy accompanied, no by rauma, bu by i s pho ographic nega ive, as i wi s equally devas a ing coun erpar a violence we can in er bu nac ually see. Our ac ions hus ake on an unknowable ex ra dimensionan imprecise bu palpable edge, or hey are inevi ably shadowed by hhorror o come. For rauma in i s original sense, even s are oo vivid anspecic or he mind o handle; in con ras , or he an icipa ory raumour ime, he mind conceives o a real violence ha is no ye vivid or cic enough. I rauma is he resul o an experience ha is oo in

oo heavy, we live an experience ha is oo ligh . Bu in his way, wepar icipa e in even s we canno absorb, a horror we canno assimila e.

Tese reec ions may clari y he place o clima e change wi hin hhis ory o enslavemen , war, and genocide. Bu wha abou i s effeca world now used o he prospec o global nuclear war? Ta hrea

ar more encompassing even han genocide, hrea ened o des roy en ire human reali y in a momen , almos wi hou warning, wiping oevery hing we cherish in a single blow. Wi hou a doub , i endangereour individual and collec ive lives on a undamen al level. Te ac ha head o s a e in he Uni ed S a es or he Sovie Union, and o a degree in o her na ions, could in a single ges ure hrea en he viabili y

he human race was unpreceden ed. In he nuclear era, he exis ence o


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128 Chap er 8

humani y as a whole ceased o be guaran eed; i was no longer as deni-ive a reali y as na ure i sel .113 No longer could we be conden ha a

divine orce was pro ec ing us or ha our cul ural values migh in some

way preven our annihila ion. Indeed, or a ime i seemed possible hahe con es over hose values mighlead o our annihila ion. Te hings we held sacred and he hings ha hrea ened our reali y were po en iallyone and he same.

Bu in con ras o clima e change, nuclear annihila ion, however hor-ri ying, seems almos com or ing. We imagined ha even as anin errup-

ion o our everyday lives. Wha made i ruly errible was he prospec

ha i would suddenly des roy billions o lives ha would o herwise con-inue and possibly ourish. As a resul , or vir ually everyone he hreao nuclear war inspired an immense desire ha ordinary li e i sel wouldendure. Te absolu ely horri ying hough o he world's end au ho-rized an absolu e affirma ion o he amiliar. Ta emo ion was ypicalno only o an i-nuclear ac ivis s bu o heads o s a e as well: he do

rine o mu ually assured des ruc ion, propaga ed by he U.S. Secre aryo De ense Rober McNamara, drew on his emo ion, claiming ha heSovie s would no des roy us i hey knew we would des roy hem in urnand vice versa. Te idea was ha our affec ion or he lives we led andour hope or he u ure would make i impossible o push he buton. Teprospec o o al des ruc ion could paradoxically lead ordinary ci izens as well as heads o s a e back o heir primary loyal y o he amiliar worlperhaps even in ensi ying ha loyal y in a manner no known o any priorgenera ion. I any hing, he nuclear era inspired us o regard ordinary li eas ragile and so o value i all he more. Te hrea could somehow give

he everyday a s unning in ensi y.Clima e change, however, is ano her mater. As I sugges ed in he

in roduc ion, his ime around, he prospec o u ure ruinsarises fom our way o li e, ra her han hrea ening o in errup i . Vir ually ever

hing we do in advanced indus rial socie ies is powered by he burningo ossil uels in a process ha direc ly con ribu es o global warmingTe implica ions o his hrea are hus ruly unpreceden ed. I we wish

o ward off a globally rauma ic even , our ask is no simply oavoid acer ain course o ac ion, o re rain rom hiting he buton. We ace hemuch more difficul challenge oundoing and rans orming a undamen al


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aspec o our socie ies on a massive scale. Tis ime,we are he hrea ,and i we wish o preserve any hing like he lives we lead oday, we mchange hose lives as soon as we can.

As a resul , his hrea has a very differen impac on our ati uoward everyday li e. Under he pressure o clima e change, he everydis a once precious and a hrea : i is spli a i s core. Where he nucled us o affirm ordinary li e vir ually wi hou reserve, clima e chan

orces us o imagine how i can be rans ormed so i will no longer undmine i sel . Tis affec ion or our way o li e paradoxically does oppos

hings: i a once mo iva es us o sus ainand o change i , o cherishand

rans orm wha we know. Our way o li e speaks a once o wha we o pro ec rom raumaand o he rauma i will crea e. In ha case, wareeven oday bo h perpe ra ors and vic ims, slowly des roying our liveand surviving ha des ruc ion a he same ime. Tus even he relaclari y o rauma dissolves in o a con radic ory, paradoxical s a e blends he imposi ion and endurance o disas er.

Te moral clari y o he hrea and he necessi y o responding oare differen his ime as well. I severe clima e change akes place, ino happen in a single, annihila ing even . An all-ou nuclear war ru would have decima ed he condi ions or human li e; even i a ew

ims s ruggled on briey, in he end no one would have survived. Climachange, however, has i s impac over decades and cen uries. In con ras

he single even , i s pace seems incredibly slow so slow ha we mighdecide simply o ignore i . I i seems slow, i is also sure; i we igni , i will des roy wha we ake or gran ed. I is hus a ruly ins

hrea , almos creepy in i s persis en orce. Bu i is also less absolui s po en ial devas a ion; because i is compara ively slow in human e( hough no on he evolu ionary ime scale), we can well imagine ha would never ruly annihila e us, never ac ually bring our world o an endon he con rary, given i s pace, we migh guess ha a good share o human race would survive i , hough wi h lives qui e differen rom w we know oday.

Tis con ras be ween nuclear war and clima e change may explain why we do no ye ake he later very seriously. In he nuclear era, we gused o an all-or-no hing scenario. Ei her he world would end, ruly an

or good, or i would go on wi hou a hindrance. Clima e change doesn


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130 Chap er 8

give us ei her ending o he s ory. I doesn' des roy us ou righ , nor doesi le us live on as we are. I combines devas a ion and survival. I doesn'give us apocalypse, nor does i give us he sa is ac ion o having avoided

he world's end. I is some hing al oge her differen , as i i is a once sinis er and benign. I 's as i clima e change ells us ha he world ends, ye goes on or ha i ends, gradually,as i goes on. I gives us ha unprec-eden ed experience: a slow and endless horror.

Tis dimension o clima e change compounds i s already paradoxi-cal effec on everyday li e. Because he consequences o clima e changeare nei her immedia e nor absolu e, we can surmise, i we wish, ha i

imposes ar less o a moral impera ive on us han he nuclear hrea did.Our socie y so ar hardly wishes o embark on he necessary effor ocomply wi h ha impera ive, or i is s ill hwar ed by hose who proagains aking ac ion, and he res o us have no ye demanded a revo-lu ionary rans orma ion s rongly enough. We delay and hesi a e whilecrucial decades go by. Such recalci rance would have been impossible in

he nuclear era: nobody seriously atemp ed o deny ha he bombingo Hiroshima had aken place or ha he Sovie Union exis ed. oday,however, in he Uni ed S a es, nega ing reali y has become he pro essiono many and he hobby o millions, and a general indifference or passivi ycharac erizes many more.

In consequence, or Americans reali y is spli once again: he physi-cal ac o clima e change has no ye achieved he s a us o a social poli ical ac . A he momen , we Americans live in a socie y ha ailsacknowledge he crisis o he biosphere. Te clima e ells us one hing,our poli ics ano her. In consequence, we endure a s a e o radical disso-cia ion. For us in he Uni ed S a es, hings are ruly con using: no onlyis he world ending as i goes on, we also hear ha i is no ending a all.Because we canno de ea ha alse message, we sense ha our everydaylives devas a e our own u ure and presen while also being asked

o pre end hey are doing no hing o he sor . Te con ras be ween ourknowledge o he consequences o our ac ions and a collec ive, deaden-ing indifference con inues o grow, making he incoherence o our expe-rience even worse.

Here again, in re rospec he nuclear doesn' look so bad. Te nuclearhrea almos seemed o ake care o i sel : he doc rine o mu ual


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assured des ruc ion cap ured he si ua ion well, making i plausible no one would ever push he buton. Fur hermore, once echniciansins alled various ail-sa e devices o ores all acciden al nuclear war

could assume ha massive annihila ion would ake place only i a peson ac uallychose o au horize i or some purpose. Ta no ion o humancon rol gave us hope ha he momen o des ruc ion would never arr We could believe ha his choice came wi h a cer ain moral clari ydelibera e decision o des roy or preserve he world.

Wi h clima e change, however, we can have no such illusion. I anyone is in con rol o his hrea , all o us are. Bu i would be oolish

imagine we ac uallyare in con rol. Te physical complexi y o clima echange drama ically undermines he moral clari y we migh bring o beon preven ing i . Te limi s o our knowledge, he immense difficulo communica ing wha wedo know o all he world's ci izens, and hehuge challenge o al ering our ma erial prac ices in mids ream make very likely ha many o he world's people, including ourselves, mighelp bring abou severe clima e change wi hou knowing i and wi hoin ending o do so. Te physical processes a s ake will work hemselveou even i we do no ully grasp hem or i we deny ha hey exis

Ta possibili y poin s o ano her ins ruc ive con ras o he nuchrea . In he heigh o he nuclear era, observers some imes ra ed

degree o danger by es ima ing how many minu es remained be ormidnigh be ore he dread hour o nuclear conagra ion. oday, hesame me aphor would work well up o a poin . Bu his ime aroundi 's qui e conceivable we could live pas midnigh and no no ice a hing. As I sugges ed earlier, he dread hour o riggering a series o posi

eedback loops could arrive while no one li ed a nger. Wha hen? Wehave no common language or describing wha he world looks like wheni survives such a momen . Our nuclear c ions, o course, cons animagined no he nuclear even i sel bu a pos -nuclear landscape ai i were even remo ely possible ha some hing like human li e cogo on or very long a er ha even . Tose airy ales have litle relevanc

o our si ua ion oday. Now we mus con ron he possibili y haus will live in a world ha seems unchanged a er i has been undamen

ally harmed.


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How do we describe ha world? We could use he me aphor o heship already s ruck by he iceberg and abou o sink, as I did in he previ-ous chap er. Bu even ha no ion only goes so ar. Ta ship migh keep

going or a ew moredecades , sinking very slowly in o he dep hs whilehe years pass. We simply do no know how o unders and a world halives a er he disas rous momen has passed and nally becomes aware oi s si ua ion buoo la e.

One ype o s ory provides an inven ive response o his si ua ion.Te back- o- he- u ure scenario, especially in heermina or movies,imagines ha in a disas rous u ure we migh come back o his presen

and avoid doing any hing o cause ha u ure. Tis scenario does a leasimagine a li ea er he disas rous even . Bu i does so in order o conveyhe urgency o ac ingnow as i all o us in he presen have been sen

back rom ha u ure o make sure i doesn' happen. Tis ype o s oryis per ec or he era o clima e change: indeed, nearly all o he warnings

ha scien is s give us abou he effec s o our ossil- uel economy cou be old in ha way. Bu wha happens i we discover ha he even halready aken place and we have no machine o help us go back in imeand make hings righ ?

Our inabili y o know when ha momen will ake place or i i hasalready happened, as well as our rela ive lack o con rol over whe her i will happen, s ems in par rom he radical limi s in our knowledge o cli-ma e change. In he nuclear era, everyone knew well enough wha push-ing he buton would lead o. Bu wi h clima e change, hings are uterlydifferen . I scien is s had no begun o calibra e he levels o carbon dioxide in he a mosphere in he mid- wen ie h cen ury, and i hey had no become aten ive a couple decades la er o he possible consequences oin roducing greenhouse gases in novel quan i ies in o he a mosphere,none o us would have had more han a vague sense o wha was ak-ing place. Wi hou he ongoing work o hundreds o scien is s around

he world, we wouldn' have a ballpark es ima e o our si ua ion evenoday. Ye despi e ha effor , nobody knows how clima e change works

in all i s permu a ions. One reason or his con ras may be ha human beings crea ed nuclear bombs, could es hem, wi ness heir resul s,and con empla e heir possible use. Nobody planned and implemen edclima e change.


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Bu we could plan and implemen a plane aryresponse o clima echange. Some observers are ond o saying ha i America once embarkon he Manhatan Projec o crea e he nuclear bomb, why couldn' i d

he same o crea e a new energy economy? One problem wi h his comparison is ha oday he Uni ed S a es, or more likely he in ernacommuni y, would need o crea eseveral equivalen s o ha projec ,inven a range o new echnologies, and implemen hem on a wide scal We need a Manhatan, a Brooklyn, a Queens, a Bronx,and a S a en IslandProjec , jus o ge s ar ed. Bu he ur her irony is ha he goalearlier projec was o crea e a devas a ing weapon; he goal his im

and a ar more difficul one is o preven des ruc ion. O course, in haera American governmen officials argued ha hey needed a weapon preven he Nazis, and hen he Sovie s, rom des roying he na ion. Thoped o use des ruc ion o ward off des ruc ion. Tis ime around, whave no convenien weapon we could use o blow up clima e change.

Tis demand or a differen kind o na ional or more likely, in erna-ional projec will require us o al er our rela ion o he echnologic

break hroughs o he modern era. In he Manhatan Projec and hereaer, he Uni ed S a es hoped o secure i s dominance by aking he l

o des ruc ion o i s limi and becoming he supreme mas er o anniion. Al hough he developmen o a nuclear weapon was cer ainly ne

i never heless opera ed wi hin he general ow o his ory, oward ever-grea er capaci y o des roy. I arose as well rom wi hin ha brohis orical dynamic, he crea ion o many echnological innova ions hproduc ion o he au omobile and he airplane, radio and elevision, dii al sys ems and he In erne which ook or gran ed ano her versio he power o des roy, o use he Ear h's resources wi hou reservehuman bene . Clima e change will no allow us o go wi h his ow, i demands ha we make echnological break hroughs ha will rollback

he patern o des ruc ion. I demands ha wecon es he en ire momen-um o he modern era, indeed he celebra ion o he modern i sel .

On many differen coun s, hen, clima e change represen s a majoshi rom a danger ha has become qui e amiliar o us. In re rospe

he nuclear era seems posi ively sa ura ed wi h moral clari y wi hclear and presen hrea , he prospec o an ins an aneous and absolend, a public ha readily agreed ha such a hrea exis ed, a spec


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echnological projec ha could be comple ed o respond o ha hreaand a presumably sane and ra ional gure who could be relied upon no ochoose annihila ion. Clima e change undercu s hese cer ain ies a every

urn. I gives us a scenario loaded wi h paradoxes and con radic ions, oneha seems o complica e he necessary urgency several imes over.I his quick, cursory look a our place wi hin he his ory o he mod-

ern world eaches us much, i ells us a leas ha he errors o he paew cen uries, along wi h heir apparen moral cer i udes, have no pre-

pared us or he presen momen . Clima e change ushers us in o a rulynew era. Living wi h clima e

Stolen Future, Broken Present: The Human Significance of Climate Change - David A. Collings

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Transcript of Stolen Future, Broken Present: The Human Significance of Climate Change - David A. Collings