Paul Krugman’s Monday column claimed that climate change denial struck him as a form of treason against the planet. I mostly agree with what he has to say in the column, but something about that strikes me as not quite right. <\/p>\n
The planet is a giant chunk of rock which developed the atmosphere and oceans that spawned life as we know it. This life has gone through an evolutionary process which has produced our species among many others. Our species through arguably comparable processes produced civilization. All on this one speck in the universe which is so hospitable to life, and human life in particular, in comparison to every other planet we know anything about. <\/p>\n
But it’s not the giant chunk of rock we’re betraying. We’re betraying one another, ourselves and our children. We’re betraying our fellow life forms. Whether it’s our fellow species we’re eradicating, our fellow civilization’s farm lands we’re desertifying, our own coastal cities we’re submerging, or our own water supply that we’re all but eliminating, we’re committing treason against [ETA: the future of] life, humanity, civilization and ourselves. But the planet simply is. It’ll be here whether we destroy ourselves or not. <\/p>\n