Of Time and Bacterium

   A couple of days ago, the good folks at the Pew Research Center for People & the Press released a fascinating poll.  From September 30 through October 6,  Pew polled 1,500 U.S. adults, asking them "Do you see evidence of climate change?"  According to their findings, 57% of those surveyed answered "yes," 33% answered "no." 

    The poll's margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.

   Amazingly, less than eighteen months ago, when asked the same question, 71% of  
those polled answered in the affirmative -- that yes, they did see "evidence of global warming" -- and 21%  "no."  And about a year before that -- January 2007 -- 77% of those polled answered in the affirmative, a mere 16% in the negative. 

   In other words, in less than three years, the percentage of American adults who believe that the earth is warming up has decreased by 26%, while those who, for whatever reason, are of the opinion that global warming or climate change is not occurring has doubled.

   This is a real jaw-dropper.  I mean, how in the world can it be that fewer and fewer people see evidence of global warming, when virtually everyone I know understands it to be a self-evident, haunting and dire reality?  In attempting to explain this trend, Andrew Kohut, the Pew Center's director opined, "The priority that people give to pollution and environmental concerns . . . is down because of the economy and because of the focus on other things."   

   To me this comment may explain why global warming and other environmental issues have been taking more and more of a back seat in people's priorities.  It in no wise sheds light on why people are increasingly seeing climate change as both a myth and -- in some cases -- a conspiracy.  Oh sure, part of it has to do with all those knuckle-draggers who loudly proclaim "We've got proof that climate change is a myth:

1. It's only October, and already there's been snow in both Denver and Boston;
2. The other day the low temperature in Ft. Lauderdale was in the 50s;
3. Anything that both Michael Moore and Al Gore believe is true cannot be true. 

   OK, so at least part of the upsurge in climate change denial can be laid at the feet of the guys and gals with the big microphones and brassy voices.  But this isn't even close to being a satisfying explanation. The more I reflect on what the Pew findings tell us, the more I am coming to think that the answer lies in our changing conception of, toleration for, and patience with . . . time. 

   "How's that?" I can hear you asking. "What in the world does 'time' have to do with anything?"

   Well, when one thinks about all the changes we've undergone in the past generation or so, no one thing has been altered quite so much as time itself.  Remember when a 14.4k dial-up modem was super fast?  Or how about a 60mb hard drive? Once we 'traded up' to a 56k modem, or a 100 mb hard drive we wondered how we ever could have survived back in the tortoise-slow stone age?  With each passing half-year the speed of down- and uploading got quicker and quicker; our computers became more and more powerful.  And we became less and less tolerant of time.

   There once was a time when getting or making a long-distance telephone call -- traversing time and space -- was quite a big deal; only for special occasions.  Now, of course, its as ho-hum commonplace as swallowing or blinking.  Then too, remember when figuring out who said "Time flies on restless pinions . . . constant never" could take the better part of a day at the library?  And then, when you found out it was some German guy named Schiller, you actually had to go and find him in the Encyclopedia Britannica, which was on another floor?  Today, of course, all one has to do is a simple Google search -- "restless+pinions+constant" and voila!  Within .42 seconds you have the answer.  By comparison to Google, the public library seems positively Neanderthal.

    And on and on.

   The point is, that as technology has given us increased resource speed, our level of patience -- indeed, our feel for the true length of a day, week, month or year -- has decreased.  If something cannot be accomplished quickly, we lose interest.  If we are flush with cash today, it rarely dawns on us to put some of it away against a distant tomorrow.  Likewise, if we go through a couple of days of extremely frigid weather, then global warming is a myth.  But of course in the latter case, two days -- or five weeks or an entire season -- of grossly sub-par temperatures does not mean that humankind's carbon footprint is benign; merely that we aren't perceiving the big or long term picture.  Even the Ice Age had its hot spells . . .

   Let us say that there is a microscopic bacterium residing in Lake Tahoe that doubles in size every hour.  Let us further posit that it takes 50,000 years for it to become visible to the naked eye -- say a circle of roughly two inches.  Within 24 hours that little 2-inch circle of algae or whatever it is will have increased to a size of just over 132 miles -- more than enough to fill the entire lake.  To the casual passerby, it will appear that overnight the lake became contaminated; in reality, it took 50,000 years -- and one day.

   In a sense, this is the perspective many have on global warming, war, peace, the economy, getting things done in 2009.  If the problem isn't solved immediately -- regardless of how long it took for the problem to fester -- we point fingers and accuse the problem solvers of incompetence or malevolence. 

   Patience and perspective have been replaced by politics and perversity.

   And polling . . .

   ©2009 Kurt F. Stone  

   

Comments

[Jim Cohen]

Jewish and proud. Thats what I am. However, I am dismayed to read that an esteemed rabbi can be so off the mark of the real issues.. Truth is lacking in the global warming hysteria but nobody dares question the source or motivation for the data that non politically dependent climate scientists generate.

[Christiane]

As always you hit the nail on the head. As a (former?) teacher, I see the problem with lack of education. My frustration in my 36 years of teaching ages 6 to 66 is the lack of interest in what I call 'real' education. I wished someone would do a survey about what is EDUCATION.

In a way I don't blame US citizens not to believe it, because they can't really 'see it' themselves. With all the mis-information, half-truths, incomplete truths available, it is hard to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth! Finding melting glaciers and dying coral is not on US citizens travel agenda.

Again I don't blame people for not knowing, but the arrogance that they think they know enough to judge and close their minds to new information is what bothers me. And the world ends at the Canadian and Mexican borders...

Part of the facts is that global warming is the precursor of the next ice age, as I was told 40 years ago in a geology class, a very sloooow process! The weather patterns will have to change for that to happen. The arctic has to melt and allow the winter winds to pick up humidity to drop more snow on Northern America, and the climate has to cool to keep it from melting. I hope my students remember that lesson. Why have I not heard this lately?
Well, here I give the short version myself!

[S.M.]

Your reasoning with regard to the Pew poll is on target. But, my feelings go even deeper.

Our political system has deteriorated to the point where if it is perceived that Democrats are speaking out on a subject, it automatically draws a negative reaction from the Republican base. That includes lots of people. We are a terribly divided nation, the basis for which I hate to say, is the color of President Obama's skin.
Shabbat Shalom,

[Steve]

A problem is defined as something different from the norm. If the problem continues for a long time, it may become the norm. Is this what might be happening?

[Alan Weiss]

I always have time to read what you write!