On Prudence and Litigation

“Mom, where’s the apple pie? Hey, are those rats in the slow-cooker?”

In 2004, I published “The Galileo Syndrome.” It stated that in the year 2020, our species would finally face the realities of anthropogenic forcing of the radiative balance. The result would be legislation to ameliorate the physical problems from an energized climate while attempting to cope with the social tribulations. The book also declared our leadership would construct a response still fantasizing a society dealing with an economic predicament fixable by technological means, rather than a species-changing environmental setback. In the end, I employed deus ex machina to accentuate the tragedy of discounting our planet’s systems.

Perhaps you might think this a cleverly disguised post to promote the book. Nope.

We humans seem prepubescent in our environmental maturity. This is because efforts to cope with anthropogenic forcing of the radiative balance are derailed and it has been this way for some time. Let’s look at why.

1. Cartels will not support extensive changes if the cartels cannot retain control. (Gaia 0, Cartels 1)
2. Profits first, society later, the corporate mantra is survival of the economic entity. (Gaia 0, Cartels 2)
3. The US courts have declared it okay for news organizations to lie. (http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1310807.html) Gone are the days when a newsroom stood toe to toe with the population to redress the day’s news. In today’s newsroom, revenue matters more than facts to strengthen our nation. (Gaia 0, Cartels 3)
4. The systems by which the population gathers information, the response to that information by trusted (?) advisors, and the media mechanisms that deliver the information see no profit in lifting the veils of ignorance, greed, and deceit. (Gaia 0, Cartels 4)
5. The population ingests economic and personal messages that downplay climate science while trumpeting climate ignorance. (Gaia 0, Cartels 5)
6. Science, once considered the purveyor of truth, appears ignorant, a faction of fanatics seeking donation from any available cause. (Gaia 0, Cartels 6)
7. Political leadership cannot make changes without support from the population. (Gaia 0, Cartels 7)

This dreary list of declarations asserts increasing social disorder in less than a decade. The population will be surrounded by tragedy, wading into ruin on a continental scale. Due to our cavalier attitude towards GHG production, we will encounter devastation greater than our ancestors faced in the two world wars and we will witness more suffering. We’re going to get hammered. Propaganda will not change that. Those who sugarcoat our vulnerability are culpable. Those who defeat the spread of critical information on the climate crisis are guilty of treason. Our nation requires a calm climate to prosper.

Environmental mechanisms control the planet. We could have addressed anthropogenic forcing of the radiative balance years ago, except for a coordinated strategy to undermine mitigation. (Global warming–what the hell does that term mean? It’s an I-don’t-care by any measure.) If I were a smart young lawyer, I’d be building the case against those who are leading our species down the rat hole.

“Mom, is that conspiracy on the range? Yum, I smell money.”

Note to the smart attorneys: All the data for prosecution is available. It will not be so obtainable in five years. When the horrors of anthropogenic forcing of the radiative balance finally penetrate the disinformation, those that have multiplied society’s misunderstanding of the climate will claim that same perplexity bogging us down as their defense. The scramble to cover deceit will pour out like oil from a blowout well.

Hard copy matters.

Now the good news: The trials will help us focus on the forces that fueled our society’s disarray. Also, the next time those forces sharpen their horns on our future; we can greet them with the courtesy they deserve. Have I mentioned that I sometimes type with one finger?

Here is the punch line: Our species will inhabit the resulting pandemonium for generations. The planet will be fine; but by the time the tragedy of anthropogenic forcing of the radiative balance is in our face, it will be too late to retain the civilization we enjoy. Are you getting the feeling that we are being herded into an environmental slaughterhouse currently festooned as a “MAYBE” by certain economic interests?

What defenses do we have against that scenario?

Prudence would say, get some environmental insurance against the coming events. Not economic insurance, that’s the cause of our mess, forces seeking economic insulation from the energized climate. Environmental insurance means widespread, effective, on-task, sustainable systems tuned to the coming climate constraints. Of course, what does Prudence know? Prudence is an environmentalist.

And our pathos…We could have fixed this mess. Now we will live with an over-energized climate.