Does Fear Create Climate Change?

Climate Change.  Those two words create all sorts of thoughts, feelings and emotions in people.  Do our own emotions create climate change itself?  Specifically, does fear give rise to climate change?

Have a look at this model.


© Bruce Meder, 2013    We are all mortal.  Some psychological theories and spiritual understandings suggest that when we think of our mortality we are faced with fears.  One of those fears is the fear that we are ultimately alone, that we are “empty.”

In order to satisfy that emptiness we turn to various activities in an attempt to fill up that empty space.  One of the ways we do that is via consumerism.  Go out and buy something; the latest technological gadget, fast food or alcohol.  At a national level it may be the purchase of a multi-million dollar jet fighter or the building of a new palace or parliamentary building.

Consumerism feeds Economic Growth.  Economic Growth has come to be seen as the panacea for a all sorts of issues in the world.  “We need growth” the industrialists and political leaders will cry.  But do we?  Really?
As we know, economic growth leads to resource depletion and to more and more carbon emissions and other forms of waste.

And carbon emissions lead to …. Climate Change.

Then what?  If we seriously consider climate change and the possibilities that continuing climate change has upon the earth and us humans living on the earth then we end up facing (again) our mortality.  This time as a whole species, not just as individuals.

And so, the ever increasing spiral collapses back into the point at which we started.

Notice too that, although the spiral model above began with the individual, as we move around the spiral the “I” becomes “we.”  Climate change is not caused by any one of us, it is caused by our collective actions.

Does this model help us understand the connection between ourselves and our fears and how that helps to create climate change?  I would like to hear your thoughts?

P.S.  One of the other fears that we can have as a response to our mortality is the fear of the “other”, fear of the “unknown.”  Via a similar spiral of connections that can lead to the another of the major issues facing humanity – war and terrorism.  That’s for another posting.