Ignoring climate crisis

There are many parallels between the sinking of the Titanic and the heating of the earth. We know what happened to the Titanic’s passengers. It is a disturbing lesson in human behavior.

The Titanic was notified multiple times about dangerous sea ice, but her captain forged ahead until it was too late to reverse course. Scientists are issuing increasingly dire warnings that we must reach net-zero carbon emissions within 30 years if we hope to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change, but we remain on course for disaster, with time running out to turn around.

The Titanic’s captain and crew were unprepared for what was coming, and the crisis was mismanaged from the start. Similarly, humanity is unprepared for a climate catastrophe that threatens civilization as we know it, and there is no coherent plan for addressing it.

Some passengers on the Titanic considered the crisis a hoax and ignored it. There was misinformation, lack of information and failure to understand information. There were deniers and doubters, and those who acknowledged the problem but thought they’d be saved by, what? Technology, their leaders, luck, prayer? This seems familiar.

Throughout the Titanic tragedy, first-class passengers got the most help; third-class passengers got the least. Fighting broke out among some, while others danced and the band kept playing.

In our ongoing tragedy, the privileged so far have suffered the least; the underprivileged, the most. There is global climate-related conflict while figuratively, in the United States, the dancing and music continue.

Many on the Titanic perished because they were afraid to jump. We may or may not have the courage to take the jump that can save us.

Assuming we stabilize the climate, the world of the future will be different from the world we know. We don’t jump because we fear the unknown, but we have nothing to lose. Isn’t survival, perhaps in a better place, worth the jump?