The dangerous bliss of ignorance
Building knowledge and understanding, first and foremost of nature and ecology, has been a critical element in humanity’s development of farming, and of the villages, towns and cities — and ultimately civilisations — that subsequently evolved during the past 11,700 years of favourable, stable climate.
Another factor in the spread of civilisation has been mankind’s innate aggression, and desire to control and conquer. This factor, as personified by Donald Trump, is now threatening to destroy a lot of the knowledge that we hold, and are building, about the environmental health of our planetary home, and about what we must do to address its ailments.
Trump’s rejection of climate knowledge and understanding, and his drive to deny that knowledge to his people, is the leading light of a broader climate-denial movement fostered, and to a considerable extent financed, by the fossil fuel industry – the primary driver of those ailments.
Ignorance may be bliss, but it can also be dangerous. Climate science knows that we are on the cusp of an environmental crisis tipping beyond our control. We need humanity to understand the threats that we face, and accept the urgent steps we must take to counter those.
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