Pessimism v Optimism

Optimism v Pessimism

I fluctuate between alarming pessimism to grasping optimism: perhaps everyone does to some degree, and that this swinging state is the pendulum of life. Online I eagerly share positive developments, intermixed with alarming trends both politically and environmentally. It’s becoming known as eco-grief when dangers are exposed and the death toll of flora and fauna is brought to light. Ditto the rise of oceans and rise of summer heat, fires, and other calamities.

The question is can we reverse this decline and downward slide of climate change and its dangerous consequences or are the forces of denial unconquerable?

Let’s call this the transition blues.

The speed of technical change gives one hope, from digital photography, music and smart phones to the departure of phone booths and the ongoing arrival of smart electric cars.  Chips in and chips out with never ending upgrades the new norm, and more features in the latest model.

I remember remarks about film cameras giving many more years of service, yet but for some purists digital photography has become the norm and mobile phones are often sufficient for our photographic needs, apart from professional use and photographic enthusiasts. The technology has developed in a slash of memory card size and other technical smarts. Paul Simon’s song Kodachrome sings of the nostalgia of film as it once existed. The younger generation are unfamiliar with film photography and its high costs. The issue these days is how to file the thousands of photos we take every year and choosing the best of them to “develop” and keep.

Ubiquitous mobile phones have swept into daily existence and are now essential. They require mobile towers that have sprung up at a rapid rate driving this communication revolution. Can smart cars take over transport? Are the days of the internal combustion engine coming to an end?  Will petrol stations go out the way phone booths and video shops have? Probably they will no longer have pumps but chargers for cars. Hopefully charging stations for electric vehicles will likewise spring up and drive clean energy motoring. If there is money to be made and jobs this should drive all before it and get petrol cars off the road ASAP.

Changes to agriculture and land use are essential if we are to survive the impacts of climate change. Remember that a little humour, like a fertile field, goes a long way.