The Best Buddhist Writing 2010 - Melvin McLeod [111]
As a spiritual teaching, Buddhism rests on two complementary pillars, wisdom and compassion, both of which can help us diagnose and address the dangers of climate breakdown. Through wisdom, we investigate a danger: see it as a whole, identify its underlying causation, and determine what can be done to remedy it at the causal level. Through compassion, our hearts feel the danger vividly and personally, and thereby expand to embrace all those exposed to harm: all who, like ourselves, are subject to suffering, who seek peace, well-being, and happiness.
Reflection on the broad consequences of runaway global warming enables us to see that this is not merely a problem of rules and regulations that can be solved by a simple technological fix. It is at base a deeply moral problem that challenges our humanity and ethical integrity. The fact that billions of human beings on this planet, as well as countless forms of nonhuman life, have to bear the brunt of the misery caused by the irresponsible behavior of a small number of nations—those that contribute most to global climate change—presents us with an ethical crisis that sears our conscience. This is particularly the case because the populations most likely to be hit hardest by the effects of global warming are those already living in poverty: the people of sub-Saharan Africa, where droughts will get worse; the inhabitants of Central and South Asia, where crop yield could drop by 30 percent; the populations whose island-nations would be swallowed by the sea; and the residents of the Asian mega-deltas, where billions will be in danger of floods. Additionally, if temperatures rise between 1.5–2.5°C, a quarter of all plant and animal species are at risk of extinction.
If we let our minds embrace all our fellow beings with loving-kindness, “as a mother does her only child” (Metta Sutta), we will feel a compelling sense of urgency swell up from our depths, rooted in a clear recognition of the perils that hang over innumerable beings, human and nonhuman, whether in this country or in other lands. And if we let our hearts be stirred by compassion, we will see that we have no choice but to act, and to act in ways that will truly make a difference. But effective action must be rooted in insight, in wisdom. Here the heuristic approach of Buddhism becomes pertinent. To resolve any problem effectively, it is necessary to see it whole and in its wider context.
As we grope for a solution to global warming, it is worth exploring the question: “What prevents the world community from adopting measures to curb carbon emissions rapidly and on the required scale?” If a fire breaks out in my house, I would quickly take any action necessary to extinguish it, even calling the fire department if it gets out of hand. Yet oddly, when our planetary house is aflame, we spend more time squabbling over who should extinguish the fire than we do actually pursuing ways to put it out. Those most responsible for setting the fire in the first place scheme and bargain to avoid making a full commitment to firefighting. The international protocols and agreements proposed to control carbon emissions, including the Kyoto Protocol, have been weak, limited, and flawed. In the U.S., proposals to Congress to impose mandatory limitations on carbon emissions and other controls on energy consumption have repeatedly failed to receive widespread support. The White House has consistently opposed regulating carbon emissions, contending it would cost too much and hurt economic growth.
Why is there this procrastination and denial, this reluctance to take the sweeping steps needed to save human civilization from almost certain calamity? Why has the compelling consensus of the international scientific community been punctured by the doubts of politicians who rely on the opinions