This seemed to mollify them and they trooped off to school with their spirits restored. But it didn't mollify us - their tears continued to burn. Gen and I sat down and talked over the issue: what if the polar bears did die off? What if the kids never got to see one in the wild - ever? And what if it were our fault, as the experts say?
We lapsed into silence.
Emotions about polar bears aside, this incident raised an important question in my mind: how do you explain to your children what's happened to the planet - to their planet - over the past sixty years or so as a consequence of our hard partying? How do you explain to them not only our actions but our inaction as well? It's not enough simply to say, as we have, that adults behave in complex, confusing, and often contradictory ways. That's not sufficient anymore because children today can see the warning lights in Civilization's dashboard for themselves. When they point, what do we say?
Then in early 2008, as I turned over these thoughts, another warning light appeared in the speeding dashboard.
The price of oil had been climbing steadily on international markets and by early March it surpassed the previous all-time record of $102-per-barrel. It kept going too, with the consequence of rising gasoline prices at the pump. By April, the nationwide price for unleaded regular surged past $3.00 a gallon, prompting much hand wringing and finger-pointing by consumers, energy experts, and political leaders alike.
The discontent spread quickly. Airlines, for example, began
It wasn't just oil - all through the spring prices for various essential commodities, including wheat, corn, soybeans, and rice, steadily rose. It wasn't because these commodities were becoming scarce - they weren't as far as I could tell. They were just becoming much more expensive. While a variety of reasons were given for this 'spike' in commodity prices, much of it related to the rise in oil prices, none of the explanations eased the hunger of the millions of the planet's poorest people who found themselves unable to purchase enough food for their survival.
And just like that, in early April a "global food crisis" exploded across the media. There were food riots around the planet, millions of people were starving, governments were in peril, and no relief was in sight.
Just as suddenly, a fifth warning light appeared on Civilization's dashboard. It took the form of a bushel of wheat surrounded by a red circle with a slash through it. And it too began to buzz annoyingly.
Thinking about all five lights - rising temperatures, low oil pressure, declining human well-being, limits to economic growth, and the expanding inaccessibility to basic commodities - I began to understand that our main preoccupation during the Age of Consequences is crisis management. Possibilities of cultural and economic improvement - what we've been calling Progress
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