Taking Off The Rose Colored Glasses

When reading the end of Climate Changed, I couldn’t help but think about a lecture on Aristotle that I had in philosophy class. You’re probably thinking, “What on Earth could Squarzoni and Aristotle ever have in common?” In Nichomachean (I hope I spelled that right) Ethics, Aristotle writes that one must know the ultimate end of his actions in order to take the proper course of action. Many environmentalists say with absolute certainty that using clean sources of energy will save the planet. This is the outcome that all of us want and hope for. But can we really say with absolute certainty that the survival of planet Earth is the ultimate end? There is no consensus in the scientific community over what the Earth’s future will look like. Some say that the Earth is at the point of no return and that nothing we can do will ever stop it. Others say that there is still time to avoid the major effects of climate change. Some say that the Earth will inevitably sustain some damage from climate change, but human intervention can reduce the severity of that damage. And these are only some of the theories that scientists have. So, we don’t know the ultimate end will be. We can certainly make efforts to modify our lifestyles and hope for the best, but we will never truly know what the results of our actions will be until the end happens.

To be honest I am glad that Squarzoni did not sugar-coat the ending. It may not be what everyone wants to hear, but it is the truth. We naturally want to believe that the future will be bright and that the sacrifices we may have to make will bring some kind of reward. No matter what actions we may decide to take, we have to keep in mind that the future is not set in stone and that sacrifice does not always lead to a happy ending.