Elephants in the Climatic Room
Silent elephants in the climatic room. . . . On a book tour earlier this week, I was surprised how people reacted to this metaphor, which came from a memorable experience by the banks of the Zambezi River in Central Africa many years ago, when I walked into the midst of a herd of elephants. What I remember is just how quiet they were, and that's how I find so very characteristic of discussions about future droughts. If computer projections are to be believed--and they are very sophisticated these days and becoming more so--the world is in for a dose of drought on a scale we have never witnessed before. And this is something that we simply don't talk about except in rather general terms. In many ways, however, drought is a shorter-term problem than rising sea levels and warming, for we are likely to be exposed to much more severe aridity, especially in currently semi-arid parts of the world by 2150 to 2100. I think drought very much is a problem for the moment and not one that one wrestles with in the abstract as an issue for our great-grandchildren. Yet public awareness of the need for water conservation and the dangers of drought is still very muted, why is why I wish the elephants would make a little more noise.
I've just been reading about ancient Australia, in a new and thought-provoking book by Peter Hiscock, The Archaeology of Ancient Australia, which treats extensively of the responses of Aboriginal groups to arid environments. He stresses that beliefs and ritual were of vital importance in helping people adjust to climatic events, a subject we often neglected, and very much another silent elephant in climatic debates. Obviously, it's hard to reconstruct intangible beliefs from material objects, but in Australian rock art and the so-called Dreamtime, we have a potential archive of great value.
Off to New York for the Daily Show on Sunday. I alternate between excitement and sheer terror.
Brian,
Have a great time at The Daily Show! What an excellent forum to reach so many people and make the elephant call out!
Go get 'em.
Matt C.
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Hi there,
I just discovered your blog via a link from the Daily Show. I did my degree in prehistoric archeology but never actually worked in the field. I am still an archaeology anorak however. Anyway, i just wanted to say how much i enjoyed reading your blog and will enjoy (i am sure) reading your book.
Cheers
A fellow parachutist!
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I viewed your appearance on the Daily Show tonight and am trying to purchase your book and include your URL in our site as a favorite. Couldn't us the "buy the book" link in your site. For some reason, it would not allow a purchase so I'll find another source. Your voice must be heard by people all over the globe and the message must be heard and understood by as many as can be reached. If John Stewart had more time and wasn't such a goof ball, your visit would have been much more effective. I hope you'll be able to get much more air time next time you're on the boob tube again. Thanks sincerely for the work you're doing. You should team up with Al Gore right away. Just my humble opinion. Best wishes, Mike and S.A.M.
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I agree with you about the elephant of drought in the room - and am also surprised that it isn't perceived to be important enough to be worthy of more attention in the popular discourse. One of my favorite moments of your interview on the Daily Show, therefore, was when you said, "This is a very serious issue, in fact" and Jon shot back with "That's why you're on this show"!
I enjoyed your appearance on the show, and have to say that you displayed none of the "sheer terror"! (I wonder if things would have been different had it been the Colbert Report instead!
I'm looking forward to getting your book now, as it promises some good material for my reconciliation ecology and human ecology classes for the next time I teach them.
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I watched with interest your appearance on the Daily Show today. I am in the process of compiling a roughly imagined 'future history' for the next 50 years or so, treating climate and environmental change as a driver for resource conflict and geopolitics.
Would you be able to link up, or at least point me towards, the drought computer projections you mention? I would very much appreciate it.
Thanks.
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You did great!
I would have been a wet spot on the floor, but you seemed quite at ease and stayed on the subject. What I like about Stewart is that he can often handle the knack of being funny, while sending a clear message that he thinks the topic i s serious and important - not just a gimmick.
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Dear Brian,
Congratulations on your Daily Show debut! Thought you pulled it off with equal parts humor and "on-message"ness.
best,
Eric
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