关于气候变化的惊人数据和警告已经伴随我们二十年了。这个问题如今却像轻微的牙痛一样，被人们习以为常。公众对所有坏消息都麻木了，我们看到的不是明智的解决方案，而是政治极化的愚蠢。你不可能既相信气候变化，又做一个优秀的保守派。这种背离事实的现象只是问题的一部分。中国和美国排放了全球40%的有害气体，却出于纯粹的私利——两个富裕经济体只想维护现状——而阻挠扭转全球变暖趋势的措施。
面对这种情况，人们可以采取多种应对方式，从而可以选择不同的策略。
发起一场声势浩大的公众运动，发出更强烈的警示信号。
依靠未来科技来扭转对大气层造成的破坏。
为生态平衡发生巨大变化的未来做好准备。
**除了祈祷之外，什么都不要做。
**拖延时间，直到灾难无法忽视为止。
大多数人都会在这些选项中犹豫不决。如果你认定真正的问题不在于自然，而在于人性，那么可行的方案就寥寥无几了。人性是有历史依据的。例如，我们知道，过去发生的生态灾难，比如将撒哈拉沙漠变成沙漠、砍伐西班牙森林、烧毁复活节岛上所有可用燃料，原本是可以避免的，但却未能避免。当资源变得匮乏时，人类并不会突然合作保护剩余资源。他们会为了争夺日益减少的资源而争斗到最后一刻。我们也知道，人为造成的、伤害所有人的灾难，比如战争，即使和平对所有人都有益，也不会就此结束。
考虑到人性，末日预言者似乎占据了上风。在可预见的未来，世界将目睹全球变暖带来的破坏，并采取一系列措施，包括忧心忡忡、发出更响亮的警报、争相寻找某种神奇的技术以及祈祷。积极的合作短期内不会出现。我们当中的理性主义者——他们似乎总是生活在斯堪的纳维亚半岛——将冷静地适应生态环境不可避免的恶化。人们已经在讨论保护珊瑚礁建造生物，将其作为未来的种子，并接受现有珊瑚礁终将消亡的事实，而这些珊瑚礁本身已经遭受了巨大的破坏。
作为个体，我们谁也无法改变如此庞大而令人窒息的局面。破坏我们赖以生存的星球似乎毫无意义。但其中蕴含着意义。意义就藏在问题的根源——人性之中。人类将自身欲望置于集体利益之上。我们自认为比生态环境更重要，这源于一种根深蒂固的信念：我们凌驾于自然之上，是特权物种，无需向任何人负责，无论是自然，还是上帝（如果真有神明存在的话）。
末日的含义在于，所有这些假设都将无法继续存在，至少无法以目前的形式存在。届时将会盛行的策略是“拖延时间，直到灾难无法忽视”。无论何时，在末日来临之际，人性都将被迫审视自身。我们将不可避免地重新审视我们是谁（我假设人类不会选择集体自杀，尽管有些人目光长远，声称没有我们，地球或许会更好）。当然，解决全球变暖问题不必走到末日。下一代或许会在根本层面上实现进化。
战争领域似乎也出现了这种情况。目前，包括内战在内的武装冲突造成的死亡人数持续下降。核武器不扩散问题已发展到人人都认同最终目标应是全球裁军的地步。核浩劫已不再是现实的威胁。但应对气候变化或许更为根本。如果人性要进化，那么一套新的假设大概如下：
人类生命并非与地球上的生命截然不同。
我们必须与自然和谐共处。
消费主义并非无限制，也不会带来幸福。
**有毒污染危害生命，是不可容忍的。
**作为有意识的物种，人类必须成为生态环境的守护者。
这些观点并不令人意外，它们在环保运动中早已司空见惯。但要让这些理念大规模落地，必须扭转乾坤。人性中那些“我优先”、“我只想要我的，谁管你？”、“我只活在当下，忘记明天”、“自然是用来征服的”之类的观念必须重新审视。这种转变会发生吗？无人能知，但重要的是要明白，只有当“我们内心”发生真正的变革，外部世界才有改变的可能。
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all hands have to be on deck to achieve a good environment,stop hazards and killing in the world today, though there are people that understands ,some still doesn't. we have to prevent hazards at least from around us. we start from us(our surroundings). deforestation courses erosion and this is one of the deadly hazard which courses the lost of lives and properties, it kills more than war itself. environmental pollution contributes to the major problem of the globe.i appreciate those that have been working for the nurturing of our environment, but we should start from us, let the peace start from you today, its a chain.
i greatly appreciate the comments below and Deepak for his patience with his fellow man. My wish is to practice inner peace while promoting outer peace. I am thrilled that war is killing fewer people now and hope that environmental degradation can be reversed so that we stop killing sentient beings everywhere.
This isn't only about the collective good but about our own personal wellbeing. I want to breathe clean air and drink clean water. I want the food I eat to grow in clean and fertile soil so that I can stay healthy. I'm pretty sure most human beings want the same. I'm not an environmentalist but a humanist. Let's stop the careless destruction of our own habitat do whatever it takes to keep our species alive and thriving.
The conclusion says it all. What is going on "out there" is simply a reflection of what is going on "in here." The problem with fighting against any issue is that the "in here" remains in a fighting, combative mode. This doesn't lead to peace. And non-peaceful actions don't lead to a caring, supporting, nurturing of our earth.
I recently told a friend that I am no longer the activist I was in my youth, nor the contributor to society and the economy that I was in my middle years. I sometimes regret this decrease in the kinds of activities that I once thought would change the world. Instead, I buy little, recycle lots and try to live lightly on the earth. In addition, I meditate two hours a day. It may seem an odd and inactive way to "contribute," but it is a contribution of sorts. When meditating, I am not generating negativity. I am both training my mind to eliminate negativity and creating peace and harmony within that can later be shared with others in my life. What my friend said surprised me. "What you are doing is far more effective in the long run than running around doing good." I appreciated this perspective, but I think both are valuable. I also think that people who are actively in the world promoting the greater good do a better job if they begin with inner peace.