Even the Wealthy Cannot Buy Their Way Out of Climate Chaos
Perhaps if they shifted gears to focus on helping all of us, they too would stand a better chance
I hear stories from time to time, beyond the headlines which have already alerted us to the fact that Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are hoping to possibly build second, third, fourth homes —bubbles? colonies? mining operations? biospheres? — on Mars*. I hear stories about other, very wealthy people buying up vast tracts of land in Montana and Wyoming, or buying second homes on acerage in Canada, or building impenetrable bunkers in New Zealand.
What’s the earthly use of putting a man on the moon when we cannot live together on Earth? — Anthony De Mello
I understand the impulse. When Donald Trump was still the US President, and we were not sure which way the 2020 election would tilt, or if Trump would stage a coup, or — finally — whether or not that coup would be successful (F***s sake!), I wanted to move my whole family to Canada. We were even looking at properties there. This, for me, was more about not wanting to live under an openly white supremacist, neo-fascist or authoritarian regime. But the climate crisis factored into this impulse too. Being further north, I figured, Canada might be cooler. The government and population seemed more “together” compared to us at the time, and perhaps better prepared to share and distribute resources in a sane, logical and compassionate way — resources that would dwindle dramatically as we began to see social collapse.
I have considered moving to Hawai’i and even Montana. In Canada, we like British Columbia. I used to live there, as a young teenager, on a quiet and green Gulf Island. I loved it. But as a former investigative journalist, I have done a fair bit of research now on climate change. And I am here to tell you that, actually, there is nowhere to run to, Baby. Nowhere to hide.
… I am here to tell you that, actually, there is nowhere to run to, Baby. Nowhere to hide.
In fact, the small town of Lytton in British Columbia saw the hottest Canadian temperatures on record (121 degrees F) just before it burst into flames. Even the “Big Island” of Hawai’i is now grappling with wildfires and drought. Some climate modeling predicts trade winds may cease there. When Siberia is on fire — which it now is — we clearly have a problem, and it is a problem for us all.
I have gotten a lot of mileage out of the Titanic-as-climate-crisis metaphor, yet it always seems so apt. Because we are, all of us, on this Titanic. We will all go down together. It is possible, maybe probable, that the very wealthy among us (those in luxury cabins on upper decks) will have a better chance of surviving the climate crisis, or surviving a tiny bit longer. But likely not in the way they think — still sitting in the lap of luxury somehow. Overall, when a ship goes down, it goes down. Every part of the Titanic sank to the bottom of the sea. Who knows if one will make it into a lifeboat or not? Plenty of First Class passengers drowned, too.
In the case of global heating and climate chaos, wildfires — we have learned — can burn anywhere. Rivers and lakes can flood everywhere. Demon winds, like those that tore through Iowa in 2020, can flatten acres of food crops no matter where you set up your farm compound. There is even reason to think the poorest among us — those who live close to Earth, who hunt, grow their own food and engage in subsistence farming — may be most likely to survive the climate crisis.
The insanity of trying to “buy” one’s way to safety when Mother Earth herself has rebelled against you was illustrated very well for me when I tracked down the Medium essay of author Douglas Rushkoff, being quoted by the global, climate activist group Extinction Rebellion at the start of their movement. Rushkoff was approached at a plush conference by wealthy hedge fund managers who wanted to know how they could keep their armed guards “motivated” when the monetary system had collapsed.
For them [the very wealthy], the future of technology is really about just one thing: escape. — Douglas Rushkoff
I thought to myself, “Well, the guards would have the guns, wouldn’t they?” Who is to say the tables would not begin to turn? And as fabulous as some of the underground bunkers the wealthy are building in rural outposts the world over — with pool tables, swimming pools and vast amounts of storage for freeze dried foods — they still all look like highly decorated, sunless and very sad tombs to me.
I am not a hater of the rich. Also, I believe all wealthy people are quite different, as people are, in general. Some are trying to help. Elon Musk is is certainly thinking about climate, as is Bezos and clearly, Bill Gates. I am not sure I agree with their methodologies. They seem allergic to restoring crucial natural systems and building back biodiversity, to plants and to trees. And, of course, it is the same distorted, “endless-growth” capitalist system that built their fortunes, now, also, costing us everything.
But helping at least seems the right thing to do.
As for those for whom pursuit of wealth at the cost of all else is still paramount, I believe these folks have their reasons, their motives and conditioning, their thinking about wealth as an “ultimate” end goal. Like all the false idols we pursue, wealth seems a way toward fulfillment and peace. But like with all “ego” desires, and as A Course in Miracles states: The ego’s mandate is “seek but do not find.”
In my recent interview at KSQD with the author Michael Mechanic (Jackpot: How the Super-Rich Really Live — and How Their Wealth Harms Us All), our discussion turned toward the stresses, insecurities and even massive problems the wealthy actually face.
If we could, as a global society, begin to dissolve the myth that “wealth = happiness,” this would go a long way toward solving so many of our now existential crises. (We might do the same with “power” and “fame.”)
Now, I don’t mean “wealth” as “money we need to survive” or even to “thrive,” but rather as the kind of money that goes well beyond survival and toward gross excess. It is thinking that this kind of money can somehow flatter us, uplift or or prop up our self images and “save us” that allows so many to ignore the needs of others, and the health and well-being of Mother Earth.
Having a lot of money has nothing to do with being a success in life. You’re a success in life when you wake up!
— Anthony De Mello
I know thinking can change. In our case, on Earth, as she spins now, it must change for us to survive. Any of us. The calculations by most scientists for Earth’s human livability at our current trajectory range from dire to none. This means even underground bunkers on massive farms will not save us. A hot house Earth will be unlivable for all. And, so, the deepest lesson of the climate crisis, as well as the mass extinction crisis, is that we are in this together. We share Earth together, and we rely, actually, totally upon one another — and upon all species — for those things actually far more valuable than money: food, shelter, clean water and air, health, healing, companionship, inspiration and love.
The Coronavirus has shown us our interdependence at one level. As supply chains broke down, so to did our access to basic supplies. We realized the essential nature of farm workers, shipping crews, truck drivers, health care workers, store clerks. What the twin climate and extinction crises do is reveal the deeper layers of our interconnectedness: Indigenous protests against pipelines and for sovereignty are related to clean water and uncontaminated Earth. Living, thriving bees are related to the food we eat. Social justice is related to greenhouse gas emissions. Regenerative agriculture means biodiversity and a chance for our survival. Sea stars are related to kelp beds. Insects are related to birds, and birds to mammals, like us. All of these species are needed for our own survival, for our happiness.
Only by working together, now, putting aside self interest, can we mitigate the worst impacts of global heating, and protect and even regenerate ecosystems we need to survive.
What some of the wealthy may be missing is an understanding of the joy that comes with cooperation, “sacrifice,” and giving. The satisfaction and ease that arise from letting go of tightly held “goals,” from relinquishment and breaking free of isolation and individualism. There is great joy that comes from working with others toward a common cause — in this case, perhaps the ultimate cause: Saving Mother Earth. And joy in all of this exists because, in the end, we are actually connected. We know this in our hearts and bones. From this connection, there is no escape.
There was a remarkable woman on the Titanic named Margaret Brown. She would later earn the nickname “the Unsinkable Molly Brown.” Although she was a First Class passenger, Brown refused to get into the lifeboats, and spent much of the frigid, terrifying night helping others onto lifeboats until she was picked up and dumped onto one. At the rescue ship, Brown spent her time helping those survivors who had lost everying — their entire families — and rallying other “First Class” survivors to donate money to a survivors’ fund for the less fortunate.
While many other First Class passengers survived the sinking of the Titanic, many of these would later commit suicide and suffered other, various, unhappy fates, including PTSD, capture by Nazis and worse. Molly Brown — on the other hand — died at peace, at home, in her bed, having lived a long, active and fulfilling life in service to others.
I do not know which form of “Molly-Brownism” each person should pursue. (If you are looking for ideas, try here.) For myself, building community, growing food, climate activism, supporting social justice and indigenous stewardship and sovereignty, teaching and sharing the spiritual truth about our connection to one another— these are my “things.”
We must move from win-lose thinking to win-win thinking. Truly, our only hope, as a species, as a planet, is that each person— and particularly those with wealth and resources — begins to relinquish pursuits destroying life, and finds their way toward joyful and fulfilling acts in service to life.
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*Elon Musk, I have read, is now a minimalist! Except perhaps as minimalism might relate to his capitalist pursuits, space explorations and massive production of automobiles. He may be a good guy or a bad guy. I have no idea. If he is “bad,” I hope he becomes “good.” If he is “good,” I hope he becomes even better. We need all of us, and all of us at our best.
Resources:
Jackpot: How the Super Wealthy Really Live and How Their Wealth Harms Us All, by Michael Mechanic
My interview with Michael Mechanic on KSQD
The Golden Ghetto: The Pyschology of Affluence, by Jessie O’Neill
Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality, by Anthony De Mello
The Missing Link: Reflections on Philosophy and Spirit, by Sydney Banks
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