If you shun the paper, you’re in the dark. You read it and still stumble. If YouTube, the online cacophony, and the social media hullabaloo are your sole ink, you’re in for a rough ride, a dance with misinformation. What’s the fallout of drowning in the deluge?
One truth emerges—everyone’s racing for the scoop, damn the verity. In our world, being first outguns being right, it’s a realm of ‘publish now, who cares who bleeds.’ In this haste, we’ve mastered the art of peddling balderdash.
So, what’s the enduring wreckage of this ceaseless barrage? It’s a fractured consensus, more sundered than ever, my friends. The flavor of the day shifts, and we must ask: Are we masters of our machines or their marionettes? Can we pry ourselves away when sanity beckons?
Once, scholars debated fervently. Now, Twitter rattles incessantly—an army of self-proclaimed pundits crafting their worldviews, branding it news. Believing every tweet is gospel? Think again. We’re ensnared, and the silence is deafening when you attempt to unplug.
Let’s use our tech wisely, tools, not overlords. Reflect on your usage; don’t drown in it. Even LinkedIn, once a bastion of sanity, succumbs to this whirlwind, bombarding career-driven souls. Often, advice from freshly minted gurus.
Dedicated hoteliers at all levels shoulder weighty duties. Not merely attending to guests and managing teams but also wrestling with finances, quality upkeep, staffing, marketing and training. Amidst these obligations, they bear the weight of critical initiatives—none more than the battle against climate change.
In misinformation, where echo chambers of climate advocates and media roar, the landscape often eludes the earnest hotelier. When pressed on how their establishment contributes to “Saving the Planet,” misinformation can shroud their responses. The quest for accurate knowledge becomes paramount. Yet, discerning the authentic from the fallacious proves to be a nebulous pursuit.
Now, I’m no scientist, but I am a seeker of truth. I delve into personal investigations, craving clarity in the fog of information. Few may be familiar with “The World Climate Declaration,” endorsed by 1609 established international scientists. Their bold statement: “There is no climate emergency.” Of course, the media is not writing about it. Of course, it is not shown on TV or even discussed on social media. It is just another opinion, not fitting into the worldwide and generational mindset. It will not serve to sell electric cars, sustainable clothing and the hundreds of products branded with the sustainability logo. From eggs and bananas to clothing, packaging and mass-produced, industrial vegan food, which has become fashionable in the western world.
I have been intertwined with climate change for a long time. It strikes a chord with me. I’ve followed this topic since my early days as a climate activist in the late 1960s; when the world’s youth rallied against the Vietnam War, and only a handful had read Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring.” Though smog was a frequent visitor, the stench and grime from factories and steel mills were my childhood companions; the sight of dead fish in polluted rivers and creeks was jolting but not profoundly unsettling.
On a winter day, the pristine and pure snow quickly marred and turned a somber gray as Russ and coal dust settled upon it, a mournful shroud within an hour. Likewise, laundry hanging to dry met the same fate, tarnished by the exhalations of mines and a tainted atmosphere. Climate change wasn’t even a whisper; I was mocked and jeered at in newspapers back then. I lived in a small town. Not marching against the Vietnam War but protesting for better air quality tarnished my image in that small town and even the school.
I’ve moved on from being an activist since and became a hotelier. Yet, I’ve maintained a keen interest in tracking the results of 5 decades. I initiated various climate-related initiatives in the hotels I managed, some still active and improved upon, like my “Keep Goa Clean” drive in the early 2000s in India. We did not just clean up the hotel. We introduced “Vermiculture.” We did not celebrate “Earth Day” once a year but but practiced it for an extended period on a daily basis by simply turning of AC and Power throughout the property for one hour a night without impacting guest experience. We planted trees long before it went mainstream and involved the community in our early attempts to introduce the concept of sustainability and work with them in terms of early recycling, discontinue plastic usage just to mention one. One of our surprises was that they understood the environment in many ways, sometimes better than we did. So there was learning and acceptance on both isde
Here lie predictions from those five decades, made by far wiser souls than I was or am. Even Harvard Dons and the U.S. Vice President, Al Gore, deliberated on climate change, propounding their purpose-driven prophecies. Today, young souls stake their claim on the streets and destroy work of art to forestall the impending demise of our world. From the late 1950s through the early 2000s, dire forecasts were rife, yet many failed to materialize.
In 1958, sages foresaw a 40% slash in the polar ice pack, envisioning ships navigating the North Pole within a generation. The Arctic ice sheet looms about seven feet thick today, rendering this forecast a relic.
In 1967, Paul Ehrlich painted a bleak picture—global famines, spurred by overpopulation, would ravage the world by 1975. Yet, 1975 slipped by sans the catastrophic famines he envisioned. In April 1970, concerns bubbled that air pollution might plunge the world into a new Ice Age by the 21st century. However, as we crossed the 21st century, the world did not slip into sudden glacial clutches.
Then, in 1971, murmurs of an impending Ice Age grew louder. In July 1971, the Washington Post quoted a NASA scientist who issued a dire warning—a catastrophic new Ice Age within 50 to 60 years. Yet, today, such an Ice Age remains elusive. December 1972 brought geologists from Brown University cautioning about global climate deterioration, potentially leading to glacial conditions within a century. But this chilling prediction did not come to pass. 1974 The Guardian reported space satellites hinting at an imminent Ice Age. Nevertheless, Earth did not succumb to this icy fate as the years passed.
Mid-1970s editions of Time magazine raised questions about another Ice Age, citing signs such as persistent pack ice and peculiar animal migrations. Still, the world did not plunge into a deep freeze. As the decades unfurled, so did the prophecies. In 1978, an international coterie of specialists warned of an unwavering climate trend in the northern hemisphere. However, despite these apprehensions, no catastrophic global cooling transpired.
February 1970 bore witness to The New York Times sounding the alarm on a potential environmental cataclysm. Thankfully, this grim outlook remained unfulfilled.
Fast forward to 1988, when a report suggested rising sea levels would inundate island nations within 30 years. Some islands thrive above the waves today, and significant developments occur in certain island atolls. Ask yourself why companies would invest millions in sinking islands. I live on an island on a stretch with 2 Miles of beach. My home is about 400 feet from the waves. Yes, there are section with erosions, but there are also new beaches were none was 30 years ago.
In June 1989, a United Nations official warned of entire nations, like the Maldives, vanishing due to rising sea levels by 2000. This dire prediction remained unfulfilled. By 2000, The Independent claimed snowfalls in the U.K. would become a relic of the past. Yet, snow continues to grace the U.K. every winter, especially in its central and northern regions. And then, in the early 2000s, the narrative shifted entirely from a looming Ice Age to concerns about global warming. In December 2001, the Albuquerque Journal hinted at climate changes jeopardizing maple syrup production. Nevertheless, New England continues to produce an abundance of maple syrup.
Fast forward to 2006, when The Associated Press warned that the world would face a climate catastrophe without drastic action on greenhouse gases within a decade. However, this dire scenario did not unfold as predicted. In 2007, The New York Times reported that failure to act before 2012 would render combating climate change ineffectual. Yet, discussions about climate change persist, extending beyond 2012. December 2007 introduced predictions of a nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean by the end of summer in 2012, 11 years ago. However, the Arctic remains icy.
In June 2008, National Geographic News projected the possible ice-free status of the North Pole for the first time. You can check for yourself on a scientific website: https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2023/07 endorsing the melting ice in the Arctic but failing to present proof of catastrophic change. National Geographic’s vision has yet to become reality. That same year, The Guardian and The Associated Press cited various sources, suggesting an ice-free Arctic summer within a few years. Yet, Arctic ice still endures.
In a USA TODAY article, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore predicted further climate changes, though they did not materialize as envisioned. In January 2021, an article featured a university professor claiming that no permanent ice would remain in the Arctic after 2022. Presently, substantial Arctic sea ice endures.
2018, self-appointed Climate Guru Greta Thunberg shared a Twitter story warning of human extinction if climate change wasn’t addressed by 2023. This prediction remains uncertain. December 2021 saw the L.A. Times cautioning about the possibility of no snow in California arriving sooner than expected. However, California experienced record snowfall shortly afterward. August 2022 brought an article warning of the end of snow, threatening millions of American lives. Yet, the Sierra Nevada mountains received record snowfall shortly after that.
The summer of 2023 saw wildfires, earthquakes, and, in some countries heatwaves. Where I live, the forecasted heatwave never materialized, yet news media in Germany continued to broadcast it as reality. We had a great summer in Germany and the ongoing manipulation of state media like ZDF or ARD do scare me. True, there have been wildfires and floods in some parts of the world. When living in Los Angeles in the 1990s there were wildfires every year and never connected to climate change, but times have changed my friends.
These predictions, spanning several decades, cast doubt on the accuracy of climate forecasts. While climate change remains a pressing concern for many, the failure of these predictions to align with reality has fostered skepticism in many. It is imperative to scrutinize these forecasts while acknowledging the broader issue of a changing climate with a more critical perspective.
To conclude my assessment, I make no affirmations here, far from it. I lack the scientific pedigree. Yet, I keenly witness the chilling grasp of governance and industry on our daily existences. From my vantage, numerous factions wield the art of fear in this world. Fear, a simple tool, prompting unnecessary actions in people. The recent pandemic showcased fear’s formidable might, when governments harnessed it. Consider the Spanish Flu from the early 1900s, measure it against the current pandemic—just apply some good old common sense.
1918, the flu hit hard but spared many regions of the globe and mostly the sturdy, aged 25 to 40. COVID-19, in stark contrast, reached every corner of the globe, showing no mercy to those over 65 with health woes. The Spanish Flu took 50 million lives globally, yet the coronavirus pandemic stands at 6.9 million deaths as per Worldometer.
The toll on the world was profound—the hotel industry crumbled, leaving countless jobless, while pharmaceutical giants thrived. Governments tasted the power of even more control. As a keen observer, I dread a looming recurrence—a grim future, likely inevitable. Maybe not, if we are better informed and stand tall. While this photo below shows how a New Dehli managed Covid, I wonder how the poor employee must have felt when doing his or her job.
For hoteliers, being well-informed is paramount. As a keen observer, I dread a looming recurrence—a grim future, likely inevitable. Yet, I persist in my observation, witnessing societies globally succumb to a communal fear, convinced the world teeters on the brink. Humanity has unfailingly discovered solutions throughout history, and hoteliers are no different. The shrewd among them grasp the extent of their capabilities, doing their jobs astutely.
A respected colleague shared his insights and comittment on this subject in an interview—an absorbing read detailing the efforts of Taj Hotels in India. I may add, that the environmental initiatives of the Taj Group started much earlier than 2008, however corporate coordination and joined effort of all stakeholders were all masterminded – to my knowledge- by my old colleague Gaurav. And I wish him personally lots of success in this corporate initiative. I just wish the global giants like Marriott, Hilton, Accor, Hyatt and IHG could forget their competition and create a unified strategy. Imagine the power they would wield.
Today, I strayed from my usual path because knowledge is a lodestar for any hotelier. Younger hoteliers lean too heavily on the internet and social media, like YouTube and LinkedIn, for their understanding. It’s a valid approach, but one must navigate this sea of information cautiously—separating truth from fiction is essential. Never underestimate the power of good book and old common sense.
Here’s to a fruitful journey ahead, focused on the challenges awaiting you in the world of hotel management.
Helmut H Meckelburg
Helmut