Let’s Not Talk Of The Future

The future.  It’s a tempting thought isn’t it?  The future entices and inspires us.  It entices us with possibilities, and inspires us to invent it. 

Yet, the future also hinders and blinds us.  It hinders our ability to be present and blinds us to current opportunities.

Could our western concept of time and our propensity to “look forward” to a “better future” be part of the very cause of our current predicaments?

Recently I watched the film 2040 and was struck, yet again, by how often we pin our hopes on a bright and glorious future.  A future in which electricity is all generated from renewable sources.  A future where transport is public, efficient, and clean.  A future where land previously devoted to roads and parking can be used for growing of food.  In short, a sustainable, efficient future.

Oh yes, what a world our children and grandchildren stand to inherit.

In the future!

And therein is the barrier that will prevent it from happening.  It is couched in the future.  Yet, we know that if we are offered the choice of something now or in the future, we will opt for “now” and ignore the future option, thinking that there is always the possibility of the second option out there – in the future.

This phenomenon has a name – procrastination.  The causes and psychology of procrastination are many and relate just as much to our individual choices as much as to our collective and cultural choices.  We will tend to ignore, or at least delay action on, something that is couched in the future tense.

Nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than when talking of environmental issues, and issues to do with climate change.

Think about it.  Kyoto, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Paris – all these summits and conferences projected targets for emissions reductions into the future.  We have emissions targets for 2025, 2030, 2050 – you name a date in the future and there’ll be a target to reach by then.

And, the environmental movement has bought into this time-based discussion.

Let’s opt out.  Let’s not talk about the future.

Let’s talk about now.  Let’s talk about here.  Let’s talk about me and you. 

Let’s talk about what we do (individually and collectively) on a day-to-day basis, right here in our own homes, towns, cities and rural countrysides.

Let’s talk about the energy we use now. 

Let’s talk about how we shop and our purchasing choices today. 

Let’s talk about how we transport ourselves and travel about today and this year.

These are what we should be talking about.  These are the choices we make now.

If we keep talking about the future, then the future will never come.