We've been watching some episodes of Family Ties on TV lately, and I was particularly struck by one episode dedicated to climate change. Jennifer Keaton, the family nerd, is besides herself of grief, and cannot enjoy life. The science is settled. We're destroying the Earth, and if we don't do something radical, we're all going to die.
The rhetoric is exactly the same as it is today. Yet, the episode was filmed some 35 years ago. Everyone in that episode is now either middle aged or old, and nothing disastrous has happened. If there really was something bad on the horizon, we should have seen it by now, so we can safely conclude that all of Jennifer Keaton's worries have be in vane. However, the possibility that the science might have been wrong never entered anyone's head. Not even Alex Keaton, the family cynic, raises that question.
The episode deals with climate change as an undeniable fact, and it has to work its way around this in some constructive way. Jennifer is encouraged to live life as normally as possible, despite the certainty of doom on the horizon. She's also encouraged to dedicate her life towards the noble goal of saving the planet. But this is terrible advice. It's impossible to live happily in an atmosphere of constant fear, and a life dedicated to saving the planet is a waste of time, because our planet is perfectly capable of taking care of itself. Jennifer would for sure end up as somebody's useful idiot, spending her days in the service of corporate cynics who see the climate scare as an opportunity to tax everybody extra hard, and have that money funneled into their pockets.
Back in its day, the episode must have worked as excellent propaganda. Greta Thunberg's parents were probably influenced by it. If not directly, then indirectly through similar sounding propaganda that has permeated western culture since the 80's. Greta's rise to stardom is no doubt a result of the ever-present climate scare. However, what was great propaganda some 35 years ago is now starting to look decidedly dated. How is it that all this doom and gloom has come to nothing? Young people seeing this episode must be wondering why there's been no change to anything climate related since forever.
The lesson that can be drawn form the episode today is that climate change is nothing to worry about. It's a scare that has come to nothing, and only old people still believe in it.
Fads and popular delusions can typically last about a lifetime, and we're now approaching a mid-life crisis for climate hysteria. The notion started off with the energy and passion of the young, as all fads do. However, after a few decades, it has become the normal operation of society, as always happens with ideas that hang around for a long time. The passion is gone. In its place, there's business and routines of various kinds, spun off of the original idea. After another few decades, the fad will no longer be in vogue. It will be something the old folks cling to, and something new will come in its place.
Wind turbines and solar panels are big business, and recycling is something we do because it's the way we do things. There's little passion in this. It's not modern. On the contrary, it's starting to look decidedly dated, and those growing up today will at some point demand an end to it. They will want something new, and that will hopefully be something less wasteful than what we're currently doing.
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| Greta Thunberg |
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