“DON’T PANIC!” “HOW DO WE COPE WITH THE END OF THE WORLD?” That was the bold print in the new Culture Section of last Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle. Editor Sarah Feldberg plans on “giving voice to common frustrations, identify shifting norms, and introduce us to characters on the leading edge of their communities.”
On Sunday October 6th, the culture page addressed climate change and the fear many have that this could be what distroys us. There are articles predicting what the Bay Area will look like by the end of this century, as sea levels rise. Therapist are not only treating people who have been affected by the wild fires they’re treating people who have Eco-Anxiety. Many are avoiding having children because they don’t want to subject them the the coming apocalypse, others are choosing not to save for retirement because they see no point.
Peter Hartlaub notes that climate change isn’t the first end of the world scare that we’ve had. Hartlaub tells the story of Clifford McCaslin of Oakland, who in 1950 built the first bomb shelter in the Bay Area. McCaslin is quoted in the newspaper, “I’m not worried but …” The shelter is still there. The article also talks about fear that San Francisco Mayor Elmer E. Robinson stirred up and the steps he wanted to take.
My friends, while climate change is scary, a healthy dose prospective is needed. We got through the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. In each of those times and other times throughout history, people thought life was never going to be the same. We got through these times by doing two things. First, by making peace with the fact that we’re never going to get everything we want policy-wise. Whether we’re Democrats or Republicans, Liberals or Conservatives, Enviromentalist or any other persuasion, the rest of society is not going to agree with us 100% of the time. Second, we should control what we can control. We all know things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint; driving less, when we do drive, driving energy efficient vehicles. What if we just started picking up our own trash and properly disposing of it. While the impact one person, taking responsibility for their own trash, won’t have the impact of a leader signing onto an international treaty, does it have to? It doesn’t matter if I’m walking in Alameda, Oakland, Walnut Creek, or Southern California, I see streets littered with plastic bottles and cans that the user could have easily deposited in a can that’s on the nearest corner. Doing simple things like picking up our liter gives ourselves a stake in the game and more credibility when we want to criticize the government for not talking the lead on this. Its our job to take the lead on this.
By making peace with the fact that we’re not going to get 100% of what we want and controling what we can control, we can develop the confidence to bring children into the world that people had during the Great Depression and World War II. Maybe we can have the healthy prospective, that gave America’s Greatest Generation the strength to survive the Great Depression, win World War II and put a man on the moon. They also weren’t afraid to save for what they called a rainy day. Those who have children could possibly bring into the world a new greatest generation. A generation who will provide the leadership and ideas that will remind us that we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
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