ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a hefty challenge for society: to face climate change honestly, without illusions about its causes or the level of reorganization necessary to stave off catastrophe, but nevertheless to take action. Fraudulent hope is one of the greatest malefactors, even enervators, of the human race, concretely genuine hope its most dedicated benefactor. Climate change is a technical and scientific problem, but also a problem of values. Most people value a well-rounded, full life rather than one with just more stuff, but we need to do a better job of expressing those values and influencing policy to achieve them. Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up. Hopeful people are actively engaged in defying or changing the odds. Optimism leans back, puts its feet up, and wears a confident look knowing that the deck is stacked. Optimism in these circumstances is like whistling while walking past the graveyard at midnight.
