Atlas Shrugged... And Nothing Changed
Late last month former House Majority Leader Dick Armey announced at a Republican hearing on climate change legislation that there is nothing to worry about because, “the lord God almighty made the heavens and the Earth...and it is quite pretentious of we little weaklings here on earth to think that we are going to destroy God’s creation.”
Of course nobody was surprised to hear Armey deny the global climate crisis – he has spent his post Congressional career lobbying for big oil interests – but it did come as a bit of a shock to hear him invoke God’s omnipotence as proof, given the glaring weakness of his argument: extinction rates as a result of human activities are currently 1000 times the evolutionary average – three species per hour – with half of all species predicted to disappear by the end of the century. Whether we think we’re capable of destroying the planet or not, the reality is that we already are.
Despite the inherent flaws of his reasoning, I think that Armey touched on a sentiment many of us cling to when faced with an issue as overwhelming as the global climate crisis: the belief that a power greater and wiser than we are will save us from ourselves. Those who are less religious need only replace the word “God” with “government”, “economics” or “the scientific community” to convince ourselves that a so-called higher power will intervene before it’s too late.
The alternative – that we as individuals are the true key to change – is difficult for most people to accept. A recent report by the American Psychological Association concluded that “the public’s apparent apathy regarding climate change is actually paralysis at the size of the problem”. It would seem nobody wants the fate of the world on their shoulders.
Unfortunately, this abdication of personal responsibility simply doesn’t work: we still end up with the same amount of power we had in the first place, only now we are truly to blame because our power has been handed over to the same destructive forces we’re trying to distance ourselves from. In other words, ignoring the problem doesn’t make us any less a part of it. In the case of climate change, or any other global issue we all play a role in, the only effective way to reduce personal responsibility is to become more responsible.
Whether we like it or not, we humans do have the power “to destroy God’s creation” – but we also have the power to save it. All that’s required to turn things around is the courage to accept this reality and act accordingly.