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Don’t Lose Your Cool Over Global Warming



I know global warming is supposed to be bad news, right? But what if we just decided that it’s not? I like the symbolic implications of this article on Discovery:

Arctic ice has shrunk to the lowest level on record, new satellite images show, raising the possibility that the Northwest Passage that eluded famous explorers will become an open shipping lane.

What if, instead of panicking about global warming, we started interpreting it symbolically? We could say something like “The Earth is finally warming up to us.” She is showing us that she is hearing our feeble attempts at communicating with her (expelling fossil fuel gases, etc), and she is trying simply to show us that she is listening. This is not something to freak out about: rather it is something to celebrate. The Garden of Eden in which we exist is so powerful and beautiful and finely tuned to the effects of our existence that she tries to bend herself to what she perceives to be our needs.

Now that we know this communication is a two-way street, what is it we really want to say to her? Now that we’re all “warmed up” and we can begin a real dialogue, how about we do that instead of panicking and “losing our cool”?







8 Reader Responses

  1. skip wiley Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

    This reminds me of the movie Stargate, when the Pharoah-alien bad guy praises the captured good guys and their civilization for having “harnessed the power of the atom” (as he lovingly strokes the atom bomb).

    Sure, I suppose it is easy to kick your heals in and lament the progression of things toward such achievements (or “horrors”), but looked at another way (like you said) it could just as well welcome and invite us to new realms of aspiration (instead of fear).

    Your new site changes are really good by the way, keep at it! You’ve rekindled the joy of discovery and exploration on behalf of your readers (”where does this lead? what is this?” etc).

  2. jp Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 2:16 pm

    As far as I’m concerned, I’m looking forward to cheap beachfront property on the Antarctic coast.

  3. Crystal Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 2:58 pm

    Mother Nature is not happy about her dying animals.

  4. jp Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 3:48 pm

    If I may, I don’t think “Mother Nature” gives a shit about her “dying animals.” Considering that five of the six Mass Extinction Events occured before humanity even came onto the scene, I think it’s a safe conclusion that “Mother Nature” is at best completely indifferent, at worst callous and murderous.

  5. Crystal Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 4:24 pm

    Touche!

  6. Tim Boucher Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 5:00 pm

    Life requires death. Attributing emotional states to complex systems is a judgement call. That doesn’t invalidate it, but it requires awareness of your own projections and those being associated for you subconsciously through media immersion.

  7. Julia Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 6:24 pm

    These guys are ready, willing and able to take our place.

    http://www.tnr.com/slide/jillgreenberg/

  8. Svenson Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 10:25 pm

    Well, I like your solution, in looking at it all as a two way conversation, a recognition of our own power in the grand scheme of things. That’s actually the problem with the anti-global warming myths (as opposed to the global warming myths, the reality is bigger than both) they fail to recognize our ability to deeply effect our environment through our actions. I think your solution is exactly right, we need to acknowledge our power, celebrate it, and use it to take charge of our reality.



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