Here’s a shot from a climate signing conference I produced visuals for at the United Nations headquarters in New York a few years back. The Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, Germany’s Angela Merkel and several hundred dignitaries attended. Even the queen of Sweden was there, albeit for a reason unbeknownst to me. She looked supportive and smiley, which I suppose are qualifying enough virtues.

As interesting as that gig was, I wonder how much positive impact the climate agreement actually has had on the planet. I mean, there’s been a ton of scientific evidence and alarming reports since, most of which point to a substantial escalation in “natural” catastrophes and what might turn out to be irreversible global warming.

Of course, there are many that don’t believe or choose not to believe the Earth is actually in dire straits. So to them, this is all part of a huge conspiratorial hoax. A witch hunt. It’s fake news.

Have I mentioned that I’m in the doghouse? Well, I am. It’s not Charlotte or even Elle that have put me there (this time). It’s a different family member. Someone I feel is a bit lost in our tumultuous cultural landscape. A landscape increasingly dominated by political polarization and fueled by more or less discernible agendas. And when counter-arguments that unapologetically prompt us to continue with our degenerative lifestyles are broadcasted prolifically and unilaterally, it’s easy to see how such narratives become adopted wholeheartedly. Very convenient, indeed. Why challenge convention when it’s so much easier to choose that which reinforces our sedimented opinions?

Speaking of global warming. That fact that such a huge swath of people in the US and around the world seem to just ignore the reports, warnings and prognosis, acting as if there’s absolutley nothing to worry about, well, that kinda reminds me of when Leslie Nielsen in the Naked Gun yelled “nothing to see here, please disperse” at a curious crowd that had gathered to watch the calamity from a fireworks warehouse – after it had been rammed by a ballistic missile. What could possibly go wrong?

The biggest challenge in our current climate conundrum is that we all seem to feel as if we’re somehow genetically entitled to continue enjoying the life we’re currently living. And for some, the very thought of anyone questioning anything about their choices, let alone analyze or make suggestions that would demand change, is seen as, well, preposterous and judgemental. Which is quintessentially why I’m in the doghouse. I did just that, I had the audacity to question a lifestyle choice and then ridicule a cockamamie theory that was used as an argument to back it up.

I suppose we’re all in the doghouse. We just don’t see it. The view from inside the doghouse is still pretty good. But seriously, I think we’re all in a state of intellectual coma. We’ve become so comfortably numb and caught in our intricate web of entitlements where we take everything for granted and expect a perpetual continuum, we’re incapable of even theorizing upon what needs to be done. Let alone take necessary practical action to slow down and possibly (hopefully) reverse the path on which we’ve put our planet on.