I DIDN’TTHINKI KNEWanyonewhothoughtclimatechange
wasn’treal.Thatit’sthemostpressingglobalissueofourtime
isuniversallyacceptedinmyworld.Admittedly,thatworldis
comprisedmainlyofwomen,andweallgetournewsfromthe
sameplaces,listentothesamepodcasts,followthesamepeople
onsocialmedia,drinkcoffeefromthesamebrandofeco-cup
and,onnot-rareoccasions,turnupinversionsofthesameoutfit.
Butata familypartyrecently— a lunchservedonplasticplates,
eatenwithplasticcutlery,washeddownwithwineinplasticcups
— I discoveredthatoneofmyclosestrelatives,a belovedunclein
hisearlyseventies,stillbelievesglobalwarmingisamyth.I’d
happenedtoendupnexttohimatthetable,andasalltheplates
werebeingcollectedanddumpedintoplasticrubbishbags,
Iblithelymentionedwhata shameit wastocommitsuch a gross
act of environmental terrorism to avoid washing up.WhateverresponseI wasexpecting,itwasn’thissimilarly
breezyremarkaboutmyleftygenerationgettingallworkedup
about“theplanet”—air-quotes,his—basedonbogusscience.
Suddenlytense,I saidsomethingflatlyunkindaboutthefactthat
babyboomerswouldjustlikeclimatechangetonotberealsince
they’reresponsibleforit inthefirstplace.I mayormaynothave
addedthatif hehadtochokeadolphinwithadisposablefork
himself,perhapshe’dbemoreamenabletoa bambooalternative.
Thingsdevolvedswiftlyfromthereandthecontentionspread
inbothdirectionsalongthetable.Safetosay,nomindshad
beenchangedbythetimedessertwasserved(insingle-use
bowls).I leftearly,equalpartsfuriousandashamedaboutthe
impact mybehaviour hadhadon 30 people,includingmy
daughters, who’d watched their mother try to take down
aseptuagenarianfornotagreeingwithher,andthehostess,
alsoinherseventies,whohadbeenpubliclyplate-shamed.
Forallthewaysourargumentmanifestedatthetable,my
singular crime was acting without empathy. Although it’s no>85
ZEITGEIST
IT’S EASY TO THINK THE
WORLD’S A TR ASH FIRE.
BUT THERE’S A NE W WAVE
OF EMPATHY SWEEPING
SOCIET Y – AND YOU CAN
GET ON BOARD