I used to think the main challenges facing Earth are ecosystem degradation, species extinction, and climate change, and that with enough science we could fix these things. But I was wrong. The three biggest challenges facing the earth are not these three, but rather greed, self centeredness, and delusion. And we scientists don’t know how to fix these things, we need your help [looking at the religious leaders]
This speaks to the importance of the culture war in fighting climate change. Imagine a world where everyone did just a bit more to help the environment. The sum force would be momentous.
What does Buddhism have to say about climate change? I found this from the 14th Dalai Lama:
We should lock [world leaders] all in a room and ‘pipe carbon dioxide into it until they realize what climate change really means’
Apparently climate change is important to at least one Buddhist.
More to come on this topic.
One response to “Buddhism and Climate Change”
The podcast quote is a parraphrase from Gus Speth:
“I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.”