Climate change and cognitive bias

To the Editor:

As a species, we Homo sapiens have a cognitive bias that frequently and pervasively affects our lives. It is the uniquely human tendency to discount remote and uncertain future events in favor of our present circumstances. In the early days of mankind, this was advantageous to survival; today, it is often just the opposite. Those of us who smoke too much, drink too much, or eat too much are acting to receive an immediate reward, while being in denial about future consequences to our health and well-being. The planet Earth is facing an existential threat from climate change, which the experts say is likely to affect every person on the planet. For some people, where they presently live will become uninhabitable. Nonetheless, many remain blithely unconcerned.

While the signs of climate change are now emerging, too many people still see it as a vague, remote event that may or may not occur, not as a process that is currently underway. These people view the immense expense needed to combat the crisis only as an unnecessary cost, not as an investment to assure our future well-being. If we Homo sapiens were purely rational beings, not subject to the capriciousness of our emotions and our biases, addressing climate change would be priority one. Scientists say that Earth is approaching a tipping point which, if reached, will provoke an inevitable crisis.

We must face and overcome our cognitive bias. The future health and well-being of our planet, and of us, its inhabitants, demands it.

Ken Derow
Swarthmore