Climate Change and Western Hubris

I don't mean to sound fatalistic, but this planet is going straight to hell. Despite a few scattered non-believers, the fact is that global warming is happening. Worse yet, it seems that there is really not a whole lot any of us can do about it.

I know that some of us in the West desperately want to believe that there is something we can do to stem this ominous tide. The environmentalist movement in the U.S. is constantly imploring the rest of us to do more to stop the climate trend. What is implied, if not stated outright, is the necessary fact that the rest of the world must do their share as well.

Is anyone else seeing just a touch of good ol' fashioned Americo-centric arrogance here? While I appreciate those who spend enormous sums of money to maintain eco-friendly lifestyles, it's time to realize that for most of the world this is simply not an option, and that it is absurdly naive of us to make such requests.

While the U.S., Western Europe and Japan are becoming environmentally savvy, the rest of the world has been busy just trying to get by. While we've been saving the earth, the developing countries of the world have been trying to improve the lives of it's billions of citizens through economic development. Why would China, India or Brazil ever consider trading the betterment of their nations and their people for some environmental dividend to be paid at some point in the distant future? And how can we sit in our comparative luxury and realistically demand that they do so?

So it's time to face some harsh realities: global warming is happening, and there's probably nothing we can do to stop it. Perhaps it's time for paradigm shift. Rather than worrying about how to stop climate change, maybe we should start putting more thought into how we will deal with it when it does happen.

Of course, if you think I'm wrong, then you can always keep on driving your hybrid car down the environmentally friendly street of denial.