One important thought from David Deutsch in his a TED talk was considering how to deal with crises - e.g. global warming: if we come to the understanding that it is too late to avoid a desaster by preventing it (e.g. controlling CO2 emissions), then most of the discussion should be done in the topics how to deal with the desaster (e.g. mirrors in space etc.).
But this is not the case - why is this so?
Link: http://www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_on_our_place_in_the_cosmos