An observation worth noting … and pondering, courtesy of Dave Cohen:
Prophecy is not about foretelling the future; it is about warning those in the present that unless they change their ways, they are unlikely to have much of a future at all — Terry Eagleton
And thus the dilemma….
Those of us concerned about the state of our current and (more importantly) future energy supplies take no joy in sharing messages suggesting that unless we do change how we operate our industries and economies and societies, we will in time face challenges for which we will then be wholly unprepared for. That is not a happy thought….
I suppose it would be one thing if those of us urging greater awareness and preparation were not just certain of our facts but did not have to contend with misleading, disingenuous, and at times outright fabrications about those same subjects from the many who do know as well.
Perhaps then we might find some convenient rationalizations to keep our thoughts to ourselves. But sharing our concerns is all the more imperative because we are all fighting a fight where truth and facts aren’t always conveyed by those who know; most of us just don’t realize that we’re in that battle right now.
Blaming the public for its unwillingness or failure to step up and face the facts is both pointless and wrong. While the choice remains to learn more about the challenges ahead, the public must first have the facts at hand, and that’s not always easy to come by. The responsibility for sharing or withholding lies elsewhere.
Life as we know is not going to fall off the face of the Earth tomorrow or the next day. But that’s no reason to avoid taking the time and making the effort to understand not just that we’re currently enjoying a mini-resurgence of fossil fuel production, but that there are a number of factors which all point to the reality of being at best relatively short-term. One carefully-packaged side of a vital story is just one carefully-packaged side of a vital story.
Facts are annoying, but better plans and better preparation result from dealing with them now. Relying on a lot of context-free, cherry-picked talking points may sound wonderful today, but accepting only a small part of an important story is not a wise long-term strategy for any of us.
Adapted from a blog post of mine
Top Comments Submission Made Easy
|