Cognitive dismissal

We are hard-wired to push out of our mind a problem that is too distant, too hard, or too removed from personal influence. Me, worry?!

Stopping global warming will require collective action. You and I can do little to influence the final outcome.

The simplest response to such impotence is "cognitive dismissal."

That's a big word for a simple and disturbing conclusion: We can't wait for a popular uprising demanding strong climate policy. It'll be up to informed political and policy leadership to make a difference.

That's basically how Europe did it. Yes, Europeans conserve, recycle, and bike more than Americans. But few on the old continent know what emissions trading is, even though the European Union has the world's largest carbon market. It was up to a group of mandarins in Brussels to take the plunge.

Enlightened leadership may be an oxymoron, but it's still easier than working to overcome hardwired psychological phenomena and rousing the masses.