Sticking to the Status Quo
Everybody knows how it’s gonna go, just Am D7 Am D7
Sticking to the status quo G Am G/B A#dim
Happens by degree, then exponentially, Am D7 Am D7
Sticking to the status quo G Am A#dim G/B B7
Playing with fire for a million years E7
What makes you think we’re stopping now? A7
We really like messing with the atmosphere. D7
Anyone can show you how. G B7
Maybe you noticed, all around the world C Cm
Everything start to burn? G B7 E7
Exactly like scientists said it would. A7
Be patient and you’ll get your turn. D7
No mystery why, it’s easy as pie,
To calculate what’s in store.
We knew it would get hot, believe it or not,
Back before the Civil War.
Take a look at how life abounds,
All over this great green earth
It’s a miracle all around.
Try counting up what it’s worth!
There’s just no case for living in space,
Neighborhoods on the moon!
Can’t say it with a straight face.
Cheaper just to clean your room!
INSTRUMENTAL
A little advice, better think twice
About sticking to the status quo.
Better think twice about the sticker price
Of sticking to the status quo.
You want a neighborhood on the moon. E7
A lot cheaper just to clean your room. A7
‘Cause everybody knows how it’s gonna go D7 G G/F# E7
Sticking to the status quo. A7 D7 G
Business as usual, it’s your funeral, C Cm
Don’t you know? G F# F E7
Just sticking to the status quo. A7 D7 G F# F E7
©2026 Doug Hendren
What’s it about? It’s no secret that in 2026 we have gone far beyond “global warming” and are now knee-deep in climate disruption, with global records in temperature, population, fossil energy consumption, and species loss, with climate-fueled wildfires and floods worldwide. Climate scientists have been sounding the alarm for decades, and biologists and environmentalists chronicle the tragic toll, while others discount and mock these efforts as “alarmism.” More recently, however, economists are joining the chorus as well, counting up the staggering financial cost of continuing to burn fossil fuels.
The causes of climate disruption are well understood. Here is a good summary from NASA.
As this Stanford University study shows, we are perfectly capable of powering the United States and the world with 100% renewable energy. So what’s stopping us? The fossil fuel industry, led by Exxon, has intentionally deceived us and our leaders for half a century, blocking effective climate policy and action. Fifty years ago, Exxon had the world’s best climate scientists, and their predictions were uncannily accurate, as chronicled by the Harvard Gazette .
The basic science of CO2 acting as an insulator able to affect earth’s climate was discovered in the 1850s by Eunice Newton Foote, a descendant of Sir Isaac Newton. There is nothing new about this science. While our climate models get more and more complex, the basic science has been known for a very long time.
Continuing to power our economy from fossil sources, so-called “business as usual,” will spell the end of
our civilization as we know it. Parts of our planet are rapidly becoming uninhabitable already. Progressive disruptions of growing seasons leading to food shortages, recurrent inundation of coastal regions and refugee crises leading to breakdown of law and order are events we are already seeing around the world. Even in North America, uninsurable wildfire risks are driving some insurers to abandon at-risk areas. No home insurance means no mortgage. Financial risks as well as ecological risks gradually grow and ripple through the fabric of our lives and civilization, until they reach a breaking point. As the saying goes, things begin to fail “slowly at first, then all at once.”
While we struggle to make the transition away from the oil and gas industry, the world’s richest man talks seriously of colonizing space. Read between the lines. This wealth and these resources would be better spent on straightforward investment in our home planet.
Here are some other Musical Scalpel pieces on this subject, each one followed by discussion and links to more information.
World on Fire Exxon Knew All Along
