Climate Change: A Timeless Concern

By Ooi Kee Beng, Editorial, Penang Monthly November 2024

CLIMATE CHANGE. The phrase rings with an alliterative charm, yet it evokes a notion that is far from simple. It invites us to consider our relationship with the elements and the forces that govern our world.

Before the advent of writing, it is difficult to pinpoint precisely what our ancestors understood about their environment. But we are awed by how ancient buildings and monuments, which have stood the test of time, often mapped and predicted cosmological and planetary movements. These early forms of knowledge, though less defined, reveal a deep human desire to comprehend the uncontrollable forces of nature.

With the emergence of writing, humans began systematically studying the ebbs and flows of natural elements. This knowledge became central to survival, offering insights into how to thrive in a world where so much remained beyond control. As understanding of the elements deepened, claiming such knowledge became a foundation for political and religious power. We identified elements—four or five depending on the tradition—and created mythologies and systems that explained the divine forces controlling these dynamics. Gods and demons were assigned roles over weather and climate, and humans developed rituals and practices to influence them.

Geomancy, astrology and religion were more formalised approaches for interpreting these forces, while less structured forms like clairvoyance, soothsaying and prophecy also played their roles. Yet, despite these efforts, humanity has never truly controlled the climate. Instead, we could only predict its patterns, adapting to its extremes through innovations like irrigation, shelters against storms and food preservation for bad harvests. When disasters struck, the blame often fell on gods or moral failings. In the end, all we could do was prepare, adapt and cultivate resilience.

Historically, we have always worried about the weather, but climate itself was less a focus—perhaps only becoming a proper concept in modern, scientific times. Seasonal changes were, in essence, climate changes that we could predict with relative accuracy, even if extreme weather often upset our expectations. Naming these changes as “seasons” probably gave us an exaggerated sense of being more knowledgeable than we were.

To be clear, the conversation today surrounding climate change is not about a loss of climate control.

Humans have never possessed such control. What we are witnessing is the breakdown of our millennia-old understanding of the patterns of nature. Our manipulation of Earth’s resources has rendered the elements more unpredictable—in time, space and force—than ever before.

In simpler times, early humans relied on mobility to adapt to the whims of nature. They moved where food, water and safety could be found. The elements behaved as they always had, and we responded by adapting to them. But civilisation changed everything. Once humans settled, particularly in areas rich with water and other resources, it became necessary to mitigate the unpredictability of nature in the places where mobility was sacrificed. Being settled, staying in one place, meant that predicting the elements was no longer enough—we now became targets for other humans. We now had to defend ourselves from others competing for resources, and for agricultural products

Fast forward to the 21st century, and our ability to manage nature’s ebbs and flows has weakened dramatically. We face a crisis; the inevitability of wars over resources—clean water, clean air and food—looms large. The question now is whether civilisation can transcend itself and accept its subordinate role to nature’s elements. Climate change is not about the loss of control, but the limits of our understanding. The patterns we once relied on no longer apply, and nature’s unpredict-ability is accelerating

Adapting becomes nearly impossible when changes are too frequent, too deep and too far-reaching.

So, where do we go from here? Globalisation, in its many forms over the last few centuries, has been about humanity discovering, competing and exploiting both the environment and each other. If we are to survive, we will have to transition from this model of conflict to one of cautious coexistence. Can global civilisation evolve to embrace a symbiotic relationship with our planet? Can we, standing at the edge of catastrophe, move beyond competition and embrace a future built on cooperation with each other and with the Earth?

Climate change is not about the loss of control, but the limits of our understanding. The patterns we once relied on no longer apply, and nature’s unpredictability is accelerating.