Then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. – John 8:32
The scientist’s computer chimed. This irritated him, because he wanted the sounds that his machine tried to make, to summon him to its obedience, turned off at all times. Except on those rare occasions when he wished to listen to music or other purposeful audio. Sometimes he then forgot to turn the sound back off. And sometimes, he was sure that the machine “forgot” for him.
The chime proved to have come from his email software, proclaiming the arrival of a new message. He opened it. It was from a representative of his workplace, Dawg University. “A climate group is visiting in a few weeks. There’s about a hundred of them. We would like you to speak about your work. We think it would be of great interest to them.”
The scientist sat back in his chair, considering his response. This was, after all, an opportunity to represent DU, which needed all the support it could get. Not to mention his laboratory within it. He conjured up a video call with his correspondent.
“So”, he opened, “you wish me to talk with this climate group, tell them the truth about climate change, how people have brought it about, and what we – with, of course, the [ahem] appropriate amount of authority and money bestowed on us, can do about it.”
“Yes, please”, she responded.
“I’m … not sure I’m the man for the job”, he mused.
“Oh? Why not? Your body of scientific work is perfectly aligned …”
“I’m not the man for the job”, the scientist insisted, “because the first question that I ask them is ‘why are you here?'”
“[…] whut?”
“Why are you here!” the scientist ground out. “Why are you coming out to this remote location – a popular tourist destination, of course – to enjoy the scenery and the quiet countryside and oh yeah grab a few self-gratifying factoids from local experts, burning fossil carbon the whole time?!? They wish to know the truth? Good luck to them, there ain’t no such thing. They wish to know authentic facts? The fact is that this kind of self-aggrandizing ‘limousine liberal’ hypocrisy is precisely what has gotten the whole climate movement tossed out of power – again – and this time likely for a good long time, until long after it’s too late.
“The facts are that we’ve been yelling about climate change and carbon dioxide’s role in it for nearly a century now, and every time there are moves to do something about it, they are quashed. There’s no one prepared to take the hit to their standard of living, no one prepared to spend tax or other money on the investments required for the tech that is somehow magically going to pull us out of our own shit. Especially when they see those who would be climate royalty spurning to accept the energy privations that they would gleefully inflict on normal people, gallivanting around in ‘climate-friendly’ gadgets that – of course – only they themselves can afford.
“The fact is that climate change can and will be controlled. By reducing the human population down to its planetary carrying capacity – a literal decimation of that population – and returning the survivors to energy usage patterns and styles that predate the Industrial Revolution, which such a small population would lack the critical mass to sustain anyway. Our only choice is to do this deliberately, when we might have a chance of maintaining some control over the result, possibly including preserving some vestiges of industrialization (like, for example, health care), or allowing, as usual, “acts of God” to take care of it. Which will likely favor nobody, unless you’re a cockroach. If you’re prepared to lead this charge by example, you might get listened to. If you’re not, away with you. Go feather your foul nest on some other sucker’s dime.”
The email inbox chimed again; the scientist had forgotten to turn off the sound. It was a ps to the university representative’s initial note. “Oh by the way”, she gushed, “I saw your performance in the local play. It was fantastic.”
This was, after all, an opportunity to represent DU …
The scientist clicked “Reply”. “Sure!”, he wrote. “Where, and when?”
… and all the men and women merely players. – Shakespeare, As You Like It