Repeating History

    I just read the article below during the morning coffee.

http://theweek.com/article/index/259041/to-understand-our-climate-future-look-to-the-past

    What struck me is how hard it is for the human race to learn from past mistakes. The human race has a propensity to repeating the same actions and expecting different results.  The past is littered with examples of this, which leads to the common observation that history repeats itself. If you don't believe me, crack open a history book.

    I discussed this during seminars for the Climate Reality Project. I have dissected the topic with environmentalists in my circles. I have had spirited debate about this in class and one on one with my  college professor. Why does it seem that humankind fails to learn from the past and try not to repeat past mistakes? Why is it so hard for us to look at how much of an impact we have had on the world around us and make a concerted effort to change? In the case of the climate, why are so many reluctant to curb our CO2 emissions that are slowly changing the very atmosphere that supports all life as we know it?

    55 million years ago, carbon dioxide and temperatures levels were much higher. Research strongly suggests that the two are related.  Earth was a much different place then, one that would have been tough for us to live in like we do today. Higher temperatures meant higher sea levels, exponential increases in pollen and airborne particles. A hotter or colder Earth would make our survival pretty tough. Crop failure, floods, droughts, and more severe weather events would increase the need for the vital resources that a stressed population is already fighting over today.  Less viable farmland, less available fresh water and higher High Temps would 55 million years ago would not be fun for humans. However, even with evidence that points to a warming atmosphere caused by the burning fossil fuels for energy, many do not seem to care what things would be like in 100 years. There is no urgency. I kept asking myself, "Why is that?"

    The reason is actually quite simple. Humans are wired for immediate threats. As our ancestors evolved on the savannah, and climbed down from the trees to roam the plains in search of food and mates, they had their eyes and ears opened for that immediate threat. They weren't thinking about next Thursday's potluck at the American Legion or when the iPhone 6 was due to hit the stores. They were looking for that lion in the tall grass preparing to pounce and devour them. Asking humans now, just a few thousands years removed from being hunter/gathers with stone tools and rudimentary language, to prepare for something that may or may not happen in 100 years or 1000 years doesn't really create a sense of urgency. Many think that it won't happen, or that we will invent some technology that will prevent the coming Global Climate Disaster. The most common thought is "I won't be around then, so what do I care?"

    Watching the situation play out in Ukraine and Europe makes me think back to the 1980's when i was a kid. Didn't this happen before? Russia versus the West was supposed to be done forever when the Berlin Wall was torn asunder, right? Then i think back to when my father was child in the 1940's, and realize that similar events played out then that led to World War II. Then I thought back to when my grandmother was a child in the 1900's, when the events that played out in Europe led to the First World War.

     That saying about history keeps flashing through my mind. The after effects of World War I keep reverberating through our lives one hundred years later. What will it be like when my grandkids are dealing with the world we have left for them? It makes me wonder what events from today will still be reverberating one hundred years from now.