Moron Risks

Following up yesterday's comments on risk, there was another interesting section in the Time magazine article that got me thinking today. In it, the author mentioned that certain types of risks are willingly undertaken, no matter how dire the consequences, simply because they're perceived as being sufficiently far off in the future. The two examples given were smoking and Global Warming. In each case, the scenario is: common sense has by now convinced most people to believe that these are extremely serious risks - one personal and one, well, global - which are all-but-inevitable if nothing is done to change the path we're on, and yet people continue to smoke, by the millions, and likewise happily drive gas-guzzling automobiles that fill our atmosphere with carbon. If the effects of these poor decisions were seen sooner, the argument goes, then the risk-takers might not be so willing to put themselves (and others) in such peril. I tend to think it also says something about the innate selfishness of most humans. After all, sacrifice isn't a word you hear many people talking about much these days. So I'd say it's as much about being selfish as it is about being stupid, but neither one wins the Human Race any prizes, I suppose.

One aspect of using those two examples that struck me as somewhat ironic was that they're also often used together in another context. The current debate over Global Warming, experts say, is very similar to what was seen during the 1960s, 70s and 80s on the topic of smoking and associated health risks. Among the medical profession - also known as the health experts - there was no question that cigarette smoking was directly tied to heart disease, lung cancer and other health risks. The evidence in front of them, as they examined patients over decades, was as obvious as seeing that coal mining was leading to black lung. But because the tobacco companies were powerful enough, they could make it seem like there was a true debate underway on the topic, and keep it going for decades.

Now, it appears, the same thing is happening again, but substitute "man-made Climate Change" for "cancer and heart disease from smoking," and "gas consortiums" for "tobacco companies." Whoever coined the expression, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!" certainly knew what he or she was talking about. We're living that particular shame twenty-four seven!