First Reason: Our alarm buttons aren’t pushed

Normally when there is sudden danger we react instantly. A car runs a red light and we slam on the breaks, inches from impact; we hear gun shots from across the street and dash inside to safety; we watch TV transfixed, our hearts beating rapidly, while the twin towers collapse during 9/11; a powerful earthquake shakes us awake and we run outdoors so our home won’t collapse on us.

When there are immediate dangers like these, the lizard part of our brain wakes us to instant action, pumping adrenalin through our bodies, preparing us for fight or flight. We take instant action, do something or run away. And we continue to stay in this state of heightened alertness until the danger is past.

But with the climate crisis there are no internal alarm bells, nothing to trigger our lizard brain into instant action. There’s nothing in the present moment to give us alarm.

Just yesterday I was sitting on a park bench on a cliff overlooking the sea. The sun was shining, the grass was a lush green from the spring rains, and a large flock of pigeons were swooping over a small bridge below. Meanwhile, smaller birds were chirping merrily in the tree next to me. Life was perfect. “Global warming? Impossible!” said my body. “Just relax and enjoy the day. There’s no danger here.”

But while I was sitting there in blissful ignorance, the engine of commerce was spewing out another gazillion tons of carbon dioxide, taking us a further step closer to potential crisis.

9/11 set off enough personal alarm bells that we were able, as a nation, to create institutional changes that may have helped stave off further terrorism. I’m not saying I agree with all those changes – far from it – but those internal alarm bells did call enough of us to action that expensive changes were made.

That’s one of the key problems with climate change. Except for a storm here, a flood there, this is not a threat that we have been able to touch or feel or see. Only our intellect understands the problem and that hasn’t yet been sufficient. Despite this, I’m convinced that we need to find ways to act collectively and in sufficient numbers to fend off the dangers of climate change. Part of my reason for writing this blog is to try to find those answers. So I welcome your comments and suggestions.