temperaturessoarpast 50 degreesCelcius,makingtheworldaway
fromair-conditionedoasesdangerousforalllife.If wedonothing,
wecommitourselvestothis‘newnormal’.
Butif wedecidetolistentowhattheworld’sscientistsaretelling
us—thesamewayyouwouldlistentoa doctoradvisingyouhow
tokeepyourmother,father,partner,childorbestfriendalive—
averting disasterjustmightbepossible.Ifwelisten, andreally
allowourheartsbemovedbythethreatsweface,wewilleffort-
lesslyshiftintoa placeofdeeplyhumanecompassionwherecom-
placencyis justnotanoption.Wouldyouabandonyourmother,
partnerorchildina hospitalwitha treatablemedicalcondition,
sayingit’salltoofutile,evenwhenthedoctorshavetoldyouthere
arestilloptions?Wouldyousay,‘We’reallgoingtodie any-
way,sowhat’sthepointofdoinganything?’
As someone who lives and breathes this
dilemmaeveryday,I wanttosaynowis not
thetimeto starteulogisingourplanetor
accepta forgoneconclusionofanapoca-
lypticfuture.Togiveupnowis togive
intothetoxicityandparalysisofcyni-
cismanddespair.It is notthetimeto
curl up in the foetal position and
declarethatit’salltoohardorwaitfor
someoneelsetofigurethisout.
Now,more thananypointinallof
human history,is thetimeto redouble
ourefforts—I’mheretosaytheapoca-
lypseis nota donedeal.Nowis thetimeto
realisethattheonusis nolongeronthescien-
tificcommunityto takealltheresponsibilityfor
caringaboutthefateofourplanet.It’stimeforourart-
ists,ourmusicians,poets,writers,ourteachers,ourfamilies—all
fellowhumans—to stepup andhelp reimaginea newfuture
wherebeautyandheartbreakstrikea tolerablebalance.
Atthiscriticalmomentinhistory,wemustdoeverythingwe
canto avoidthedominoeffectkickingin andunleashinga cascade
ofirreversiblechangesthatseesussailpastthepointofnoreturn.
Trust me,I’m not an idealist.I understand thescience deeply
enoughtorealisethatthingswillgeta lotworsebeforetheyget
better. Butjust likea lovedonewithcancerwhoneedsurgent
treatment,nowis notthetimetoturnawayfromourplanet.
WeneedtotreatourextraordinaryEarthwiththesamecarewe
wouldextendtothemostpreciouspeopleinourlives.Soinstead
of lettingourEarthdie,wemustletthisbethemomentinhuman
historythatinsteadmarksthedeathofcomplacency.
Inthepast,asAustralians,wecouldgetawaywithlivingina
bubbleof ignorantbliss,butnolonger.Therealityof ourwarming
worldhaswellandtrulyarrivedontheshoresof theluckycountry.
We arenow witnessing large-scaleecosystem collapse with the
recentdeathof 50 percentoftheGreat
BarrierReef;ourdrought-strickenland
is strewnwithdeadanddyinganimals
sufferingfromrelentlessheatandthirst.
Allthewhile,ourpoliticiansrefuseto
accept the science of climate change.
Theyrefuseto honourourglobalrespon-
sibility to avoidplanetary catastrophe.
If wecan’trelyonourleaderstolead,we
must take matters into our own hands.
Nowis notthetimetolookaway,thinkingthatwhatyoudoas
anindividualdoesn’tmakea difference.Becausethetruthis if 25
millionAustralians gotbehind this,wecouldchangethe entire
courseofourhistory.Aswetransitionfromthegoldenageofcare-
freeabundancetotheawarenessthatplanetarystabilityis at stake,
wemustignorethehardwiringof ourreptilianbrainto wantto run
andhide.Instead,wemustchooseto stayandfacethisonetogether.
InApril1967,a yearbeforeMartinLutherKingJr wasassassi-
nated, he delivered his famous anti-Vietnam War speech at
RiversideChurchinNewYork.Hespokeofthehor-
rors of the war, pleading, “This madness must
cease”.Hewenton:“Wearenowfacedwiththe
fact that tomorrow is today. We are con-
frontedwiththefierceurgencyofnow....
Inthisunfoldingconundrumoflifeand
historythereis sucha thingasbeingtoo
late....Wemaycryoutdesperatelyfor
timetopauseinherpassage,buttimeis
deaftoeveryplea,andrusheson.Over
thebleachedbonesandjumbledresidue
ofnumerouscivilisationsarewrittenthe
patheticwords:toolate.”
Thescienceis crystalclear:wearealready
committed to dangerous levels of climate
change, and Australia is the most vulnerable
nationin thedevelopedworld.Whatwedonowwill
determinehowmuchwillbelosttofuturegenerations.
Psychologytellsusthatblockingfeelingsofempathyandcon-
cern to avoidpsychologicalpain is a commonhuman defence
mechanism,designedtoprotectusfrombecomingtooemotion-
allyoverwhelmed.Endlesslydistractingourselveswithmundane
mattersis a wayof distancingourselvesfromfeelingconflictedand
distressedbytherealisationthatwe,individuallyandcollectively,
haveanethicaldilemmatofacearoundcaringabouteachother
andthefutureofalllifeonEarth.
Thetimehascometoconnectyourheadwithyourheartandbe
partoftheculturalrevolutionalreadysweepingtheworld.Thisis
notthetimetolookawayanddisengage,it is thetimetomakea
choiceaboutwhichsideofhistoryyouaregoingtobeon.There
is muchworktobedone,andwearefastrunningoutoftime.
Historyhastaughtusthatpoliticiansshouldneverunderestimate
thepowerof peoplestandingupforwhattheybelievein.Wearenow
at a pivotalmomentin humanhistorywheneverythingwedoreally
doesmakea difference.Beinga partofthemorethanfourmillion
people from 163 countrieswhotooktothestreetsinSeptember
fortheglobalSchoolStrikeforClimate
gavemechills—wehaveunleashedthe
forceofanunstoppablesocialmovement
thatwilleventuallytransformtheworld.
Aswecontinuethefightagainstdenial,
inertia,greedandapathy,rememberwe
areexperiencinghistory inthemaking.
All theimportantstruggles throughout
human history must pass through the
gatesofdespaironthewaytovictory.As
anthropologistMargaretMeadfamously
said:“Neverdoubtthata smallgroupof
thoughtful, committed citizens can
changethe world;indeed, it’s the only
thing that ever has.”“Theonusisno
longeronthescientific
communitytotakeall
theresponsibilityforcaring
aboutthefateofourplanet.
It’stimeforourartists, our
musicians, poets,writers,
ourteachers, ourfamilies
—allfellowhumans
— to step up.”VIEWpoint