More generally, climate change is, in fact, becoming more personal by the year. In the "extreme weather," which so regularly leads the TV news, its effects are coming closer to us all. Increasing numbers of us know, in our hearts, that it's the real deal.&bbsp; And no, it doesn't have to be the apocalypse either. The planet itself, of course, will survive and, given a few hundred thousand or even a few million years, will recover and once again be a thriving place of some unknown sort. As for humanity, we're a clever enough species. Sooner or later, we will undoubtedly figure out how to survive as well, but the questions are: How many of us? On what terms? In what kind of degraded state? And what can we do soon to mitigate climate change's worst future effects?
Perhaps a modern, post-religious version of seventeenth-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal's famous bet is what's needed. He argued that it was in the interest of those who remained in doubt about God to place a wager on His existence. As he pointed out, with such a bet, if you win, you win everything; if you lose, you lose nothing.
Something somewhat analogous might be said of climate change. Perhaps it's time to put your wager on the reality of climate change, on its paramount importance to us and our children and our children's children, and to bet as well that your efforts (and those of others) will in the end make enough of a difference. Then, if you win, humanity wins everything; if you lose, well, there will be hell to pay.
Tom Engelhardt, co-founder of the American Empire Project and author of The United States of Fear as well as a history of the Cold War, The End of Victory Culture, runs the Nation Institute's TomDispatch.com. His latest book, co-authored with Nick Turse, is Terminator Planet: The First History of Drone Warfare, 2001-2050.
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Copyright 2013 Tom Engelhardt
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