sensing trouble late

Bill McKibben salutes the outpouring of artistic work around the subject of climate change. He writes:

Artists, in a sense, are the antibodies of the cultural bloodstream. They sense trouble early, and rally to isolate and expose and defeat it, to bring to bear the human power for love and beauty and meaning against the worst results of carelessness and greed and stupidity.

It would be nice is this were true. But it isn't. Very few artists sensed the problem early, or, even if they did sense it, very few did significant work on the subject until the last two or three years.

(Many of the exceptions - within the performing arts - are detailed on the Ashden Directory.)

The fascinating question is: why was that the case?

See also climate-change works for the stage, first climate change opera, finally, a good play about climate change, instinct for the times, and why theatres don't touch climate change.