Raya Deussen, Tash Hood and Liv Zellweger
Definition
Environmentalists are in general agreement in calling for the protection of the natural world both those whose ideals about the environment are anthropocentric and those whose thinking is bio centric. The origins of apocalypticism can be identified in various religious movements-with their notions of imminent destruction and calls for reform. Indeed, apocalypticism is based on the idea that the catastrophic end of the world is imminent. Apocalyptics believe that the environmental ‘crisis’ has already reached catastrophic or near-catastrophic proportions and that we risk the complete destruction of the habitat of both humankind and other species through our current actions. Many environmentalist positions differ by the degree of urgency that they bring to their proposals projected by their ideals or beliefs. Apocalyptics are on the extreme end of the spectrum believing that radical and far-reaching changes need to be made in the ways in which we live, how our institutions are formed and function and our fundamental views of the world.
Context
Historically, the term Apocalypticism has been used in religious contexts, and continues to be used in discussions of faith in western religions while also gaining use in environmental topics, concerning climate change. Christianity and Judaism especially have had long-standing interests and debates over the role of the apocalypse. In Christian belief, different denominations have continued beliefs that the end of the world will come, often referred to as the “book of Revelation” or “latter days” and has previously been approached with the cleansing of the world and the story of Nah’s Arc (Hulme). Even Mayans predicted the infamous year of 2012 as the year the world would end. Beyond religion, many scientists and unaffiliated intellectuals have considered the possible, or in some cases the approaching reality of destruction. Isaac Newton predicted the end of the world to be in 2060, largely based on biblical studies (“Daniel and the Apocalypse”). The doomsday argument (or Carter Catastrophe), proposed by Brandon Carter in 1983, has been another widespread and adapting prediction to when, but not necessarily how, the apocalypse will occur (wiki). It uses a specific formula largely based on probabilities of human population growth.
Apocalypticism can be associated with conspiracy theories and evokes an image of the crazed, obsessive individual. But today, Apocalypticism shows itself in many forms, especially in an environmental context and the guilt that humans carry for our affects (Lynch). Many movies have been made that threaten an apocalypse as a result of the changes in our environment, and the toll taken on the climate. Media continually hints the imminent doom and the fear that accompanies the concerns for our impacts on the environment invoked by the idea of the “end” has been used to spark reaction. The Environmental movement has an identifying “future-oriented pessimism” and apocalyptic imagery that distinguishes it from other movements (Cassegård). Currently, religion still influences these views. It has even been shown that in a survey conducted in 2014 (see Fig.1) by the Public Religion Research Institute, 49 percent of Americans believe that Climate Change and natural disasters prove that the end is coming, shown as partially due to religious affiliation (Green).
Critique
There are instances in which academics encourage the idea of Apocalypticism, as a way to get people thinking about the world ending, as if to scare them into taking action. Rachel Carson in her revolutionary environmental book, Silent Spring, detailed an impending doom that was yet to fall on the world due to pesticides. Silent Spring outlined the detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment as to almost rattle scared citizens until they stopped using pesticides. Although Silent Spring may not be viewed as the traditional apocalyptic story we all think about when thinking about the apocalypse, it is a well known example of Apocalypticism in environmental literature. Mike Hulme argues in his book, Why We Disagree About Climate Change, that “the myth of Apocalyptic climate change has become even more dominant, particularly in Western European and North American discourses of climate change.”, and to many, this discourse is problematic in the context of environmental studies.
The apocalyptic rhetoric used to try and “save the world” is problematic in several ways, as they are ultimately unhelpful and even counter-productive to the cause of environmentalism. Much of the landmark literature that is read by environmental studies students and concerned citizens concludes that human’s relationship with nature is destructive and will ultimately end up destroying the planet. No matter what the literature is based on, whether it be through over population, pollution, or overuse of pesticides, this literature is telling the public that we are doomed. This is problematic because while the goal of these authors is to increase the public’s activism and to change the status quo, it leads to skepticism and denial. According to a 2011 study done by Feinberg and Willer, subjects who were exposed to messages of apocalyptic environmental emergencies tended to react with climate change skepticism rather than panic and were less likely to make any lifestyle changes to reduce their carbon footprint. This study showsthe issue with the public’s perception of apocalypticism.
Jonathan Coward states in his essay How’s that for an ending?’ Apocalyptic narratives and environmental degradation: Foreclosing genuine solutions, or rhetorical necessity?, “it’s clear that even with the critical teleological function bringing to light the ultimate choice between the end of capitalism and the end of the world (ie apocalypse), capitalist realism denies the existence of the teleology, hence the oft repeated statement: It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.”, bringing up another problem with Apocalyptic rhetoric: capitalism. People tend to take the side of capitalism and the idea of capitalist realism (Fisher 2009), where “economy assumes the role of reality”. To many, the economic and political worlds take over the physical world.
Conclusion
Apocalypticism is just one string of environmental thought. Its origins lie primarily in religious context but has increasingly been embraced in environmental literature and discussion. Its current reach spreads further than the belief that the end of the world is imminent. Indeed, apocalyptics believe that almost any form of human interference with nature is to damage and soil the natural world’s purity. This belief creates this sense of emergency and therefore an urgent need to make rapid and sweeping changes to the way in which we live and interact with our environment. This sense of urgency that comes with the idea of impending doom has been adopted for media and scholarly use in an scaremongering attempt to change opinions and induce large-scale action, such as the likes of films like ‘The Day After Tomorrow.’
Apocalyptic rhetoric is dangerous to use in public discourse and should not be used. The public have been proven to not overreact to the situation of impending doom as it seemed they would have, but instead turn to denial. This denial leads to less interest and no effort to change their lifestyle. Apocalypticism almost promotes one’s thought to be: because the world is doomed,there is nothing I can do about it, so I will keep living the way I always have and not worry about my carbon footprint. The pervasiveness of capitalism is another negative side effect of the Apocalyptic argument, in that it assures the public that it can solve the problem. Like they say, It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. This rhetoric is not helpful and can be counter productive, and therefore should not be a strategy in which environmentalists encourage the public to care about climate change.
Bibliography
Cassegård, Carl. “Towards a Post-apocalyptic Environmentalism?” Mobilizing Ideas. May 4, 2015. Accessed March 23, 2017. https://mobilizingideas.wordpress.com/2015/05/04/towards-a-post-apocalyptic-environmentalism/.
“Doomsday argument.” Wikipedia. March 22, 2017. Accessed March 24, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_argument.
Green, Emma. “Half of Americans Think Climate Change Is a Sign of the Apocalypse.” The Atlantic. November 22, 2014. Accessed March 24, 2017. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/11/half-of-americans-think-climate-change-is-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/383029/.
Hulme, David. “Apocalypse Now, Later or Never?” Religion and Spirituality. Winter 2014. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/religion-and-spirituality-apocalypse/76911.aspx.
Hulme, Mike. 2009. Why We Disagree about Climate Change: Understanding Controversy, Inaction and Opportunity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lynch, Thomas. “Climate Change and Apocalypticism: A Hope Indistinguishable from Nihilism.” An und für sich. November 27, 2015. Accessed March 23, 2017. https://itself.blog/2015/11/27/climate-change-and-apocalypticism-a-hope-indistinguishable-from-nihilism/.
“Sir Isaac Newton’s Daniel and the Apocalypse (1733).” The Public Domain Review. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/sir-isaac-newtons-daniel-and-the-apocalypse-1733/.