In the run up to Copenhagen there is an overwhelming global flood.

It is a flood of confusion and media misinformation – and ‘climate denial’ is back in fashion. The river of denial is running fast, wide and deep at the moment, helped along by some stolen emails. But like all floods, it will dry up. With plenty of warmth, daylight and fresh air.

After all, people once believed there was some doubt that smoking was harmful.

Accusations are flying. “Hoax, lies, cover up, suppression” claim the lobby which is guilty of all of those things, and worse.

The facts around carbon and climate are remarkably simple. The science really was settled decades ago. Settled, that is, were it not for a skilful army of deniers and obfuscators – professional, voluntary and some accidental – screaming that CO2 is innocent, good for us even. I don’t think so.

The same firms of lobbyists insisted smoking was not harmful... until they had to give up.

But actually, denial is natural. Denial is ok. It’s everywhere. It’s part of the human condition. Most of us, me included, employ it frequently, and sometimes it can serve and preserve us.

When our subconscious thinks we can’t handle the truth, it tries to protect us by inviting us to believe an alternative version of reality that is less painful, more palatable.

We can even consciously make ourselves believe things that we know to be untrue.

With the current emerging reality of the severity of climate crisis, and what it might mean to the whole of civilisation (as in ‘the end of’), denial is popping its head up like never before - all over the place. Some of it is real and natural, and some of it is manufactured by skilful lobbyists and manipulators.

The extent of the vested interest in prolonging the fossil burning economy – for a few dollars more – is unimaginably huge. Fossil fuel, one way or another, is upstream in the economy. It is its very lifeblood. Governments are not just in bed with big oil, they ARE big oil. All of us are caught up in this. Not just oil companies.

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" (Upton Sinclair)

But why would the general public want to deny that CO2 is a problem?

Maybe we fear: ...losing our current way of life?

...losing our lifestyle? (the only one we know)

...losing everything we have worked hard for?

...losing our jobs, livelihoods, income?

That’s a whole lot of loss and grief for sure!

Or we might fear taxes, and ‘prohibition’ from all the things that give us pleasure: exotic holidays, travelling, motor sport, hot baths, sunbeds, swimming pools.

We might fear having to reinvent an entire civilisation and infrastructure post carbon.

We might fear withdrawal symptoms, and the pain, indignity and sheer hard physical labour of coping without oil, whether gardening, walking, harvesting, pedalling harder.

Put any combo of these fears together (whether they are real or not) and you soon have a very powerful package, and many reasons to WANT to deny there is any problem burning fossil fuel, or at least to hold on tight to some doubt.

If someone then offers us a spliff of doubt, this can give us a welcome return to the ‘high’, a return to the fantasy that we can carry on partying as we have been doing for ever. It’s sooo tempting to take up the offer of a smidgeon of doubt. Then we can carry on in ignorance of what we are doing – in ‘innocence’.

This is why the whole subject of climate, carbon and peak oil, has been pretty much taboo. It is taboo to tell the truth.

Alternatively, if someone offers us some light relief, in the form of a popular common scapegoat - America, China, Canada, scientists, conspiracies and hoaxes of a corrupt political elite, communists, fascists, foreigners, banks and city traders, greedy corporations, people with lots of children, other people in general - it is again very tempting to reach out and grab this welcome relief.

But, truth is, there is no doubt. It is burning fossil that is the smoking gun. We need to stop it. Truth is no-one else is to blame, no terrorists, no ‘other’: just us. There is no common enemy apart from ourselves. We are problem and solution.

I do not wish to ‘use’ fear to scare you into action, but the place we are heading for is scary enough – if we dare go there. It is hardly a destination we will be proud of sending our kids to: a living hell on a dying earth.

But if we pinch ourselves, and recognise that everything our ancestors have worked for, fought for, died for, lived for, is all going to disappear, if we don’t change our minds and change our ways, then we can still avert the worst of what is otherwise upon us. Or we can take it easy, deny everything, and carry on smoking.

Tempting huh?)

Game over.

Or Game On.

We each get to decide. If a majority chooses life, and decides ‘game on’, we can fix this.

If we allow ourselves to believe burning fossil is innocent, then heaven help us all. The BBC has just released this excellent animated journey through the Earth's climate history:

800,000 years of change.

Everything you need to know condensed into 2 minutes:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2009/copenhagen/8386319.stm