The Climate Debate

When I was 10 years old I received my first Barbie Doll. It was made of plastic. Did I know indeed for the first forty years of my life that plastic was going to wreak havoc on the planet? No. I did not. We walk in the light that we have. And we did not have that light. I’m writing this for two reasons: 1) Guilt serves nobody but self-flagellists and 2) Hope is important.

It does not matter who caused global climate change; if it is man-made or a natural occurrence. Most would suggest its man made and that it is undeniable. It does not matter. What matters is that in fact it is happening. What matters is that we do our bit in the light that we have now to change our own behaviour. What matters most of all is that we do not put this out there as the end of the world. We have children and grandchildren who see no future. And worse, feel responsible to fixing the whole world.

Of course it is important to teach, guide and model behaviour that respects and attempts to remediate the planet’s woes to our children. What we do not need to pass on is this self-loathing of a generation for having wrecked the planet and this sense of hopelessness that pervades our lives for the future. It also creates divisiveness because one person cares more than another person and so begins the judgment cycle. Who’s to blame! Who’s to shame! 

Let me tell you, it’s not individuals. It is big picture greed. And if I’ve learned something in this life, it is that you don’t fight evil directly. You increase the good. We do not encourage our children to hate our generation, themselves or those who do not respect the same values. We increase the good by showing them what it is indeed that is to be loved about nature, and the planet. We don’t chastise them for using plastic bags, we show them the way the fish flash sacred in the water. We don’t tell them you ride a bicycle instead of getting car rides because the air is fresh with the season and the sound of their heartbeat is universal connectedness. We don’t apologize for what we did not know and model this form of self-hatred for our children. We show them that when problems happen, you begin where you are and work from love instead of self-hatred. It’s pretty basic.

But we cannot teach our children that the tree they love is in danger. You create fear and panic and sadness. You teach them only to love the tree so that they grow with love and faith in a future they will participate in. Let's ensure they do not do so from a place of fear.

And when they say to you, “but the tree is going to die, and we are killing all the trees,” you show them the new trees growing from the seedlings of the tree they love and explain that yes the tree is going to die for all things will die a long long time from now but new trees will come and they will be the ones you must love and nurture. And you explain that one day when they are grown they may decide that that is what they will want to do with their life or they may do other things but there will always be someone who will love the trees. And when they say the planet is dying and we’re killing the whales and everything is bad, you say, “right now there is a tree to love and that right now is all we will ever have or have ever had.” All things pass away but the right to hope and the understanding of the cycle of life is what we must bequeath to our children and their children. Even in the face of what seems to be overwhelming odds, that hope and that endurance is what we can give, not sadness, guilt and despair.

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I guess I was thinking of the child that gets up in the morning and puts on his proper shoes that it has been explained to him are not the result of child labour in china and his jeans that are not produced by exploited non-unionized workers in pakistan and when he eats his breakfast it is not made with monsanto-engineered corn and when he walks to school it is not because fossil fuels are creating wars and when he's learning about wildlife it is not because they are all in danger and when he comes home it is not to a home full of horrible people who are guilty of destroying the planet. There are some things that children should not have to carry throughout their day. They have the right to joy and to love and to hope and to a certain innocence.

I guess what I'm saying is that a certain segment of our generation think they are teaching their children how to fight for the planet but in fact are teaching them mostly fear and anger and despair. One child will become a warrior and the other a worrier. When I was a child we worried about nuclear war. Now they are worried about every single thing the planet has to offer.