“Who Will Step Up?”
August 21, 2015
by Laughlin Artz
Editor, Context News
As I prepare to attend the next round of UNFCCC
climate change negotiations in Bonn, one question is there for me above the
rest: “Who Will Step Up?”
climate change negotiations in Bonn, one question is there for me above the
rest: “Who Will Step Up?”
Not “Who will step up to work on climate
change?” – the conference will be full of those individuals. Not “Who will step up to debate the best (or
at least most economically and politically expedient) strategies for climate
change adaptation and mitigation?” – there will be plenty of power-point
presentations about that. No, the specific
who in the “Who will step up?” I am
speaking of is the voice that has not been heard, the voice that has to date
been silent – that distinct and unmistakable voice that belongs to the who of
change?” – the conference will be full of those individuals. Not “Who will step up to debate the best (or
at least most economically and politically expedient) strategies for climate
change adaptation and mitigation?” – there will be plenty of power-point
presentations about that. No, the specific
who in the “Who will step up?” I am
speaking of is the voice that has not been heard, the voice that has to date
been silent – that distinct and unmistakable voice that belongs to the who of
“Who will step up to
take the lead to end global warming?”
take the lead to end global warming?”
Now, if you’re like most people who I’ve had this conversation with, and there have been many, and most
of them highly-leveraged individuals in the game of climate change mitigation,
you would say “Well, isn’t that what we’re already doing?” And the answer is a resounding “No”.
of them highly-leveraged individuals in the game of climate change mitigation,
you would say “Well, isn’t that what we’re already doing?” And the answer is a resounding “No”.
We are not ending global warming. We are at work on doing what we can to end
global warming. We are weighing the pros
and cons of potential strategies and selecting those that seem most potent and achievable. We are debating just how dire the situation
really is, and conducting lots of studies as to its effects, both short and
long term. And as for the folks coming
together in Bonn, we are negotiating an agreement that will demonstrate to the
world that some kind of consensus has been reached in addressing the crisis; an
agreement that everyone, including the co-chairs of COP21 agrees will call for action
that falls far short of what is required to avert catastrophic and irreversible
damage to our planet.
global warming. We are weighing the pros
and cons of potential strategies and selecting those that seem most potent and achievable. We are debating just how dire the situation
really is, and conducting lots of studies as to its effects, both short and
long term. And as for the folks coming
together in Bonn, we are negotiating an agreement that will demonstrate to the
world that some kind of consensus has been reached in addressing the crisis; an
agreement that everyone, including the co-chairs of COP21 agrees will call for action
that falls far short of what is required to avert catastrophic and irreversible
damage to our planet.
So yes, we are doing all that, and more, and no,
WE ARE NOT ENDING GLOBAL WARMING.
WE ARE NOT ENDING GLOBAL WARMING.
It is completely understandable that no one has
taken up that calling; that no one has picked up that gauntlet, stood fast and
said “We are ending global warming.” It takes something to promise
something, it takes something truly extraordinary to take a stand for something,
to fully commit to something that is real and exact and tangible, especially in
a situation as complex as the crisis of global warming.
That kind of action, that order of commitment, is very distinct from
what it takes to work on something, to be interested in something, to get
behind something, to join something, to do one’s part in something, to be for
something, to follow something, to agree with something, etc.
taken up that calling; that no one has picked up that gauntlet, stood fast and
said “We are ending global warming.” It takes something to promise
something, it takes something truly extraordinary to take a stand for something,
to fully commit to something that is real and exact and tangible, especially in
a situation as complex as the crisis of global warming.
That kind of action, that order of commitment, is very distinct from
what it takes to work on something, to be interested in something, to get
behind something, to join something, to do one’s part in something, to be for
something, to follow something, to agree with something, etc.
To promise something, anything that is unpredictable
in its realization takes courage and a both-eyes-open willingness to confront
and deal with the unpredictable and the uncertain. Working in the realm of an unreasonable
promise is a highly-specialized way of thinking and acting that isn’t easy,
comfortable, or popular.
in its realization takes courage and a both-eyes-open willingness to confront
and deal with the unpredictable and the uncertain. Working in the realm of an unreasonable
promise is a highly-specialized way of thinking and acting that isn’t easy,
comfortable, or popular.
Just look at
our own everyday aversion to making a concrete promise about something that we
don’t have certainty about, that the current circumstances argue against. To avoid that discomfort zone that a real
promise throws us into, we stay in the safety zone of “trying”, “doing our best”,
“giving it everything we have”, “doing everything we know to do”, etc. The upside of this safe and predictable way
of working is that it eliminates the possibility of failing. After all, if you promise to do your best,
who can come back and say, “Hey, you didn’t!”?
The down side, and in the situation of climate change, the down side has
real and catastrophic consequences, is that the actions and corresponding results
required to end the crisis, don’t happen.
And they don’t because the actions required live beyond the world of the
predictable, beyond the world of reason.
our own everyday aversion to making a concrete promise about something that we
don’t have certainty about, that the current circumstances argue against. To avoid that discomfort zone that a real
promise throws us into, we stay in the safety zone of “trying”, “doing our best”,
“giving it everything we have”, “doing everything we know to do”, etc. The upside of this safe and predictable way
of working is that it eliminates the possibility of failing. After all, if you promise to do your best,
who can come back and say, “Hey, you didn’t!”?
The down side, and in the situation of climate change, the down side has
real and catastrophic consequences, is that the actions and corresponding results
required to end the crisis, don’t happen.
And they don’t because the actions required live beyond the world of the
predictable, beyond the world of reason.
“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.
I
don’t believe in circumstances. The
people who get on in this world
are the people who get up and look for the circumstances
they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”
I
don’t believe in circumstances. The
people who get on in this world
are the people who get up and look for the circumstances
they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”
– George Bernard Shaw
This is in no way meant to pass judgement on which
way of working is better than the other.
Only to illustrate that they are fundamentally distinct, and that absent
the authentic promise to end global warming, the world that that promise calls
forth will remain unavailable. And that
world is the world in which global warming can be ended.
way of working is better than the other.
Only to illustrate that they are fundamentally distinct, and that absent
the authentic promise to end global warming, the world that that promise calls
forth will remain unavailable. And that
world is the world in which global warming can be ended.
That’s the whole power of a promise. It calls forth a new reality of thought and
action, a new environment for a whole new order of planning, strategies and
results. It catapults one into a new and
unknown dimension of thinking, planning and action. And you can’t work hard enough in the
existing reality of reason and logic to get into the reality of the unreasonable.
action, a new environment for a whole new order of planning, strategies and
results. It catapults one into a new and
unknown dimension of thinking, planning and action. And you can’t work hard enough in the
existing reality of reason and logic to get into the reality of the unreasonable.
We have taken and are continuing to take the actions that are there for us to
take in the current reality, a reality based in what we know, where we’ve been
and what we can see for the future. There is nothing wrong with that reality; it is simply that that
reality is insufficient in addressing and solving the crisis. What is being called for is a new reality.
take in the current reality, a reality based in what we know, where we’ve been
and what we can see for the future. There is nothing wrong with that reality; it is simply that that
reality is insufficient in addressing and solving the crisis. What is being called for is a new reality.
And make no mistake about it, it takes courage, real
courage to take that kind of stand, to make that kind of promise. The promise puts the promiser into a whole new world, a world that is not recognizable from the existing reality, and it puts her or him at risk in that world – the world in which the gap between what can currently be seen and
what is necessary to be seen for the fulfillment of the promise can start to
emerge. With the promiser at risk as the one who is stepping in to open up and begin to explore that
uncharted territory.
courage to take that kind of stand, to make that kind of promise. The promise puts the promiser into a whole new world, a world that is not recognizable from the existing reality, and it puts her or him at risk in that world – the world in which the gap between what can currently be seen and
what is necessary to be seen for the fulfillment of the promise can start to
emerge. With the promiser at risk as the one who is stepping in to open up and begin to explore that
uncharted territory.
Be clear that this is not intended in any way to
diminish the amazing work that has been done and is being done to address
climate change. That work is vital and
necessary, and much of it quite innovative.
In fact, without all of that work and the progress that has resulted from
that work, there would not be the necessary grounding in reality to give the
promise to end global warming any real credibility. Otherwise the promise would be some kind of
fantasy, a pipe dream. That is no longer
the case. There now exists enough scientific
evidence and we have witnessed enough technological advances in the area to back up the
stand to end global warming. And the
stand won’t come from the evidence. It
will come from the stand itself.
diminish the amazing work that has been done and is being done to address
climate change. That work is vital and
necessary, and much of it quite innovative.
In fact, without all of that work and the progress that has resulted from
that work, there would not be the necessary grounding in reality to give the
promise to end global warming any real credibility. Otherwise the promise would be some kind of
fantasy, a pipe dream. That is no longer
the case. There now exists enough scientific
evidence and we have witnessed enough technological advances in the area to back up the
stand to end global warming. And the
stand won’t come from the evidence. It
will come from the stand itself.
The ending of the global warming crisis will not
come from the experts or scientists or politicians, at least not from those
that stay within the confines of the frameworks of thought in which they have
been raised and trained. It will come
from thoughtful radicals. Not thoughtful
as in the thoughts that already exist, but thoughtful as a new dimension of
thought that comes from putting oneself in the intense discomfort of
confronting the limitations of one’s own thinking, and staying there until a
new kind of thinking emerges. The kind
of thinking only available to those willing to put all that they are and all
that they know up for question in service of having the promise they have made
reinvent them into what the promise needs for its realization.
come from the experts or scientists or politicians, at least not from those
that stay within the confines of the frameworks of thought in which they have
been raised and trained. It will come
from thoughtful radicals. Not thoughtful
as in the thoughts that already exist, but thoughtful as a new dimension of
thought that comes from putting oneself in the intense discomfort of
confronting the limitations of one’s own thinking, and staying there until a
new kind of thinking emerges. The kind
of thinking only available to those willing to put all that they are and all
that they know up for question in service of having the promise they have made
reinvent them into what the promise needs for its realization.
Few people in history have actually done
this, and it is only as a function of those people and the stands they have
taken that history has been made.
this, and it is only as a function of those people and the stands they have
taken that history has been made.
It takes a kind of presence in the world to be the
one to take the lead, to step out and say “This shall be”. For example, not everyone could have taken the lead to put a
man on the moon. But President Kennedy could, and
he did. He did this by making this
promise, by taking this stand:
one to take the lead, to step out and say “This shall be”. For example, not everyone could have taken the lead to put a
man on the moon. But President Kennedy could, and
he did. He did this by making this
promise, by taking this stand:
“First, I believe that this nation should commit
itself to achieving
the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely
to the Earth.”
Take note of the specificity – a specific outcome within a specific time-frame, that calls for specific action. Zero wiggle-room. That’s a real promise.
itself to achieving
the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely
to the Earth.”
Take note of the specificity – a specific outcome within a specific time-frame, that calls for specific action. Zero wiggle-room. That’s a real promise.
Kennedy had the kind of global presence, the kind
of stature and audience that when he spoke, the world listened. And he had the ability to assemble the kinds
of forces to move his promise from what he was standing for to what he could be
accountable for accomplishing. Not that
he would personally accomplish it, but that he would marshal the necessary resources
to make it happen.
of stature and audience that when he spoke, the world listened. And he had the ability to assemble the kinds
of forces to move his promise from what he was standing for to what he could be
accountable for accomplishing. Not that
he would personally accomplish it, but that he would marshal the necessary resources
to make it happen.
This promise, the promise to end global warming, needs a person of that stature, an
organization of that magnitude in the world, to be the one to give it voice.
organization of that magnitude in the world, to be the one to give it voice.
Who, then? Who
will be the one to take the lead in promising the end of global warming? Who will step up and be that game-changer? Who will start that ball
rolling in a way that calls for others to partner in that boldness of vision
and action? Who will be the one to take
that stand – a stand so clear, so powerful, and so loud as to pierce
the noise and take root in the global consciousness?
will be the one to take the lead in promising the end of global warming? Who will step up and be that game-changer? Who will start that ball
rolling in a way that calls for others to partner in that boldness of vision
and action? Who will be the one to take
that stand – a stand so clear, so powerful, and so loud as to pierce
the noise and take root in the global consciousness?
A stand that plants that initial and critical
stake that begins to shift the context in which we think and act in the matter
of the greatest crisis of our time from one of being studied, worked on and debated to one of being ended. Who has
the courage, the vision and the firepower to get that ball rolling?
stake that begins to shift the context in which we think and act in the matter
of the greatest crisis of our time from one of being studied, worked on and debated to one of being ended. Who has
the courage, the vision and the firepower to get that ball rolling?
The response to that question is the response on
which our future depends.
which our future depends.