CLIMATE CHANGE’S ‘FRONTLINE’

Never in humanity’s history have we dealt with a situation quite like the one in which we are struggling right now.

At a time in which data from countless sources suggest, and often urge the world-wide acknowledgment of, a disaster unprecedented in human times, it makes our past depictions of global cataclysm seem so much more… theatrical: dire detonations, charring hellfire, even the occasional engulfment by an unending sea. 

It is easy to panic our minds into madness when we feel the earth directly split beneath our feet. But how does our cognitive perception cope when the apocalypse, in reality, appears to be marching rather quietly – at least, relatively so?

More specifically, how could this dread be impacting those directly involved in the cultivation and participation of a very personal kind of future?

In terms of climate researchers themselves, the “frontline,” as journalist David Corn states in a recent Mother Jones magazine article detailing these researcher’s mental struggles, the answer is not the best, unfortunately.

Corn writes that, frequently, “…climate scientists often resemble Sarah Connor of the ‘Terminator’ franchise, who knows of a looming catastrophe but must struggle to function in a world that does not comprehend what is coming and, worse, largely ignores the warnings of those who do.”

With this comparison to the pop culture icon, he brings out that very same brutal battle these researchers find themselves in all the time: A war between what might be best for them singularly, and what might be best for the rest of humanity, entirely.

There is a certain kind of commitment one has when dedicating themself to a field of study. It could easily be interpreted as an expression of a student’s particular desire for an ultimate purpose all their own, in terms of their schooling life.

This, of course, is jeopardized then by a context that threatens that very future in which such a goal is embedded. Raised in Gresham, UCLA freshman Dylan Riley does not have the luxury of being able to simply ignore such a threat, explaining, “Climate change has been something I’ve thought about increasingly since coming to LA, especially since the air quality is notoriously poor.”

He expresses a fair amount of anxiety about our global situation, but can remain somewhat optimistic knowing that “…on the other hand, I feel like [my] school does a good job contributing toward fighting climate change (for example, its initiative to be waste-free by 2023),” he said.

And what of the very people who have devoted their lives to instructing these students and ensuring their scholarly potential is realized?

MHCC mathematics instructor Rob Hauss expressed his personal state-of-mind regarding the climate conundrum, explaining, “When I really have to think about it, I get depressed. And that’s something I have to struggle against, because just throwing your hands up in the air and saying ‘everything is screwed’ doesn’t help.”

Hauss added that he is hesitant to come across as pushing an agenda onto his students, but he is also sure not to hide the proof (of climate change) that may show up in his curriculum.

Regarding the large scope of climate study, and with the same testimony by so many climate scientists haven been given so many times, it can be difficult to say whether or not the worst-case scenario truly is approaching.

At the very least, thanks to booming advocates such as Swedish teen Greta Thunburg taking the initiative to represent an entire generation’s alarm, it cannot be said that we have all succumbed to a great cynicism, just yet.

But it all brings about a very particular set of questions that, though asked frequently, are done so for good reason: At what point will we decide for ourselves what our duty is regarding this crisis? At what point will this fright become a propellant for us, instead of a pair of shackles? Should it even be our responsibility to fix a mess we didn’t even ourselves design? If not us, then who?

Who we are in relation to these inquiries is something we must all determine, and if recent climate science is to be believed, it is something we must do very, very quickly.