Swanson and many other long-time climate and environmental observers like Dar Jamail are reluctantly facing the end of humans (and many other species), entering a stage of grieving, and desperately trying to find some meaning in this event. The end of our species is far and away beyond merely facing one's own demise. Thus, we can forgive them (and ourselves) if they exhibit some waffling and romantic attitudes about this beyond-epochal event. In this post Swanson borrows heavily from a new book by Jamail entitled The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption.
Swanson concludes with recommendations on how we should face our extinction:
... we have to rededicate ourselves to redoubling our efforts, again and again, with ever greater effort as we continue. The alternative of giving up is guaranteed not to be more enjoyable than working well together on a crisis that could bring out the best in us. The alternative of pretending everything is normal, scorning radical activism, and contenting ourselves with voting in yet another “most important election of our lifetime” every two years is guaranteed to create a crisis of faith and a crisis of guilt. Let’s not go there. Or rather, let’s not stay there.Meanwhile, most ordinary people are too busy surviving and misinformed to worry about such things.