Forty years ago, the basics of atmospheric CO2, global warming and climate change were pretty much settled, even if the details were still to be refined. Since then, thousands of suggestions, ideas, plans, research papers and petitions have been created presenting methods for addressing the eventual climate chaos. These smart, reasonable and scientifically-verified ideas have been praised, circulated, approved, accepted and endorsed by cities, counties, states, governments and world bodies, and yet – and yet – very little has actually changed. CO2 emissions continue to rise, and we are still hurtling ever-faster towards catastrophic climate change.

At a rational level, this seems unbelievable. The science has been clear, and the destructive impact on our planet accurately predicted. The only factor that’s been in doubt is exactly when the predicted changes would happen.

You’d think that a rational humanity would have immediately started the process of shifting away from the burning of fossil fuels and towards the development of forms of energy that don’t warm the planet. After all, we buy insurance in the extremely unlikely event that our house might burn down. But with climate change, we knew for certain that the planet would burn down if we didn’t change course. And we did virtually nothing for decades after the alarm was sounded.

I think that the major reason this has happened is because humanity is still very much in the grip of the animal soul. Our animal soul, like all animals, has evolved to respond to immediate threats, and for a very long time the threat of a destructive climate was largely theoretical. None of us were actually experiencing bomb cyclones, or apocalyptic deluges, or droughts that killed all our crops, or monstrous weather-creating wildfires. Even now, with reports of such disasters appearing daily in the news, most of us are still inhabiting a livable climate, and these disasters are not immediate experiences for us.

A further reason is the animal’s desire to fiercely guard its survival supplies. After the kill, the lions chase away all other carnivores until they have gorged themselves on the carcass. Only when fully sated do they slink away.

The profits made from the sale of fossil fuel products are simply enormous, and many people feast on that carcass, not only owners and employees, but also the politicians, lobbyists and the media influencers who are on the fossil fuel payroll in one way or another. For the human animal, a carcass that keeps the larder full indefinitely is so enticing that it will vigorously fend off all comers. A full belly now and for the immediate future has way more weight than the threat of an empty belly in the longer term.

And perhaps most important of all, the animal in us is very, very attached to its creature comforts, comforts that are actually far in excess of basic survival needs. We love our big comfortable cars, our temperature-controlled homes, our supermarkets stocked with out-of-season food shipped in from all over the world, our streamed movies, our power tools and cell phones and many electric gadgets, and we don’t want to give them up. Just the other day I watched an interview with a recent conservative ex-Prime Minister of Australia. When asked about his record of addressing climate change while in office, he said that he was in favor of alternative energy projects, thought they were a good idea in fact, but ONLY if they did not impact jobs or the standard of living. He knew this was a certain election-loser. Consequently, Australia’s highest-in-the-world per-person fossil fuel footprint continued to increase during his term.

By its nature, the animal in us is focused on the survival, satisfactions and comforts of today and is actually unable to plan for the future. This kind of planning can only be done by other parts of us, the parts that are objective and heart-centered. These  aspects of us know the preciousness of all life, see that events in the future could threaten this preciousness, and want  to assure a good life for all sentient beings on this beautiful planet, including our children and grandchildren

We have to conclude that when it comes to climate change, the animal in us has been mostly in charge. Objectivity and love have been distant seconds.  And we need to see this about ourselves, for only awareness can support our evolution to a place where the heart, not the animal, leads our lives.