I expect you are curious about the root canal job last week. Let's back up a bit. A year ago, the dentist asked if I had any pain. I said I was OK except for the odd twitchy twinge in my lower jaw now and again, but I wasn't worried. Besides, I couldn't pin it down to a particular tooth, and he couldn't find a problem.
Problem there was. Two weeks ago it turned into a persistent ache. Before I got back to the dentist, I spent a few days on pain drugs and a couple of nights walking the floor holding my jaw. The dentist referred me to an endodontist. During the week waiting for that appointment, the rogue nerve passed away, became deceased, I mean died, thank goodness. Ding-dong, the wicked twitch is dead!
The endodontist performed the autopsy, during which each root of the molar was drilled, scraped, flushed, sucked clean, sterilized and packed.
Ahead of time I imagined, "OK, remove the nerve. Should take ten minutes. Easy PZ." It took an hour and a half. It was completely painless but shredded my imagination. My third nature is denatured. I will never imagine as optimistically again.
After it was done I asked the doctor why we had evolved with nerves in teeth when they were such a pain. He replied that after the nerve is dead, I would have nothing to stop me biting too hard, so the tooth would be more brittle. Be careful or break a tooth. Good thing evolution produced endodontists to warn us.
If I had paid more attention to dental warnings over the previous seven decades, I would have cut out candy and flossed and brushed more often... I'm feeling a bit anxious. There's a bunch more nerves in there, and I didn't brush after lunch. Excuse me a moment...
There. That's better. I dislike toothpaste less than pain and necrosis.
You're waiting for the punch line, aren't you. Same as last time and the time before: climate change. We got our first dire warnings about the consequences of fossil fuel combustion decades ago. The oil companies muzzled their scientists and paid some pseudoscientists to discount the evidence because oil was making them rich. So ordinary people weren't sure there was a problem. Business as usual.
Just so you appreciate the analogy, the equivalent of the dentist's advice is scientists telling us we are changing the climate. Giving up candy is like giving up fossil fuels. The analogue of nerve pain is heat domes, monster storms, droughts, floods. Paying for semiannual checkups and scolding from the dentist is like a price on carbon. The equivalent of brushing and flossing is doing business a different way: solar, wind, geothermal energy, reforestation.
"Axe the tax" politicians and "axe the facts" corporations have been telling us we're good, no worries, promising an endless supply of cheap fuel so they can stay in control and keep their yachts until they retire. After that, who cares?
The kids and the grandkids will care. Their pain will be the consequence of our ignorance and indulgence.
Sorry about that. More bad climate news. The scientists admit that they have been optimistic. The biosphere is rushing towards collapse faster than they thought. I cannot, in good conscience, avoid telling you about this. But if you watch this TED talk (below) to the end, you will see that the news is not all bad. Just stop the candy, get your cleaning and checkup, floss and brush.
Or else.
The Tipping Points of Climate Change and Where We Stand: Johan Rockström, TED, Aug 2024
The Issue Isn't the Carbon Tax: Arron Wherry, CBC News, September 21, 2024.
