Some 20,000 years ago, our planet began to emerge from its most recent ice age. The end of the Pleistocene Epoch brought about profound changes. Sea levels rose, providing less land for vegetation, grazing, human habitation and migration. Receding glaciers exposed new land for vegetation, grazing, human habitation and migration.

Og was a cave person with above-average intellect, ingenuity and drive. He and his tribemates comprised the best group of hunters in the region, providing much-needed meat and animal skins for their tribe. They developed techniques that produced a high-quality pelt, much desired for clothing, blankets and yurts. Due to their ability to process information, adapt to changing conditions, invent new tools while improving upon existing technologies, hominins of Og’s tribe thrived. One of the most useful tools of that era was fire.

Og became the most proficient fire-maker in the land. In return for providing fellow villagers with a product that improved their quality of life, Og was compensated with animal skins, meat, fish, nuts and berries.

Og and his fellow fire-makers became wealthy as a result of their ingenuity, hard work and a willingness to take risks. They employed fellow tribesmen to fell trees and process the wood into usable lengths. With their abundance of skins and foodstuffs, the fire-makers were able to acquire the finest caves and yurts, as well as the most desirable mates. The tribe prospered, but not everyone was happy.

The tribal leaders, accustomed to having the most and best of everything, soon decided that, in the name of fairness, a percentage of stuff traded for fire should come to them to be redistributed as they saw fit. Thusly was born taxation. Disinclined to accept this arbitrary punishment for his hard work and capital investment, Og simply charged more for his product to make up for this newly added expense. This fundamental business practice caused resentment toward Og, an emotion openly fomented by tribal leaders eager to deflect attention away from themselves.

A handful of well-meaning tribespeople had voiced concerns about the unpleasant side-effects of man-made fire. In addition to burns, smoke inhalation had led to breathing problems and even death. These particular cave persons, genuinely concerned for the tribe, stopped hunting and gathering and devoted their time to promoting awareness of the problem of excessive smoke. The general population soon demanded changes, and pressure was applied to fire-makers to clean up their act, leading to the use of cleaner burning wood and new drafting techniques that allowed more smoke to escape from caves, huts and yurts. Fire became safer and more efficient, but not everyone was happy.

Several members of the cadre that had brought the dangers of man-made fire to the attention of the public were not eager to return to the rigors of hunting and gathering. They had gained power and influence by identifying a problem and felt superior to the working class of the tribe.

The members of the cadre decided they needed a new problem. It need not be a real problem, like excessive smoke; it simply needed to be plausible. After some discussion involving grunts and hand gestures, they settled on their next venture. They would begin by assigning blame to man-made fire for the rising waters and receding glaciers. Then, they would convince the ruling elders of the need to study the effects of man-made fire on the changing environment. They were to be compensated for their critically important work with skins confiscated from Big Fire. These “pelt grants” allowed the cadre to prosper without stooping to manual labor. As one of them pointed out, “Hey, we don’t need to be right; we just need to be believed.” They all grinned and nodded.

A few members of the tribe, including Og, were skeptical. They argued that the fire disk in the sky was the main factor determining warming and cooling. Moreover, they contended, forest fires ignited by lightning produced much more smoke than hominins ever could. What about volcanoes? And was the air not thoroughly cleansed after each rain or snow event?

The high-brow cadre dismissed the skeptics as knuckle-dragging Neanderthals, a relatively new insult at the time, and yet the skeptics continued to stoke the fires of reason in the hope that some day common sense and logic would prevail. Some 20,000 years later, the flame still flickers.

Bruce LaRue lives in Mount Ulla.