An opportunity to rectify things

[efarina96]

Our World Has One Chance to Get it Right if That, and Even the People Who Pretend to Get it Have No [redacted] Clue

That pretty much sums it up.

 

[efarina96]

PS you ever try to survive on a planet where the average temperature is 100 degrees farenheit?
I pity the fools who live after the fools who live today.

 

[Snorrie]

I'm somewhat confused about "The World having One Chance to Get it Right"? Get "What Right"? If the concept(s) is human population reduction/stabilization/control; disastrous climate change, environmental degradation, nuclear war, exhaustion of finite resources........ I'll grant that "We's in a Heap of Trouble", but I think that we haven't reached a tipping point yet. ..... My guess that tipping point is somewhere around 2050 ce. Note: Given current data, and analytical chaos, I'm still not buying an electric car, having crabgrass salads in lieu of cheeseburgers, and turning the heat down to 62 degrees in mid-winter. Yep! I'm wantonly clueless......... deplorable perhaps.

 

[efarina96]

I'm somewhat confused about "The World having One Chance to Get it Right"? Get "What Right"? If the concept(s) is human population reduction/stabilization/control; disastrous climate change, environmental degradation, nuclear war, exhaustion of finite resources........ I'll grant that "We's in a Heap of Trouble", but I think that we haven't reached a tipping point yet. ..... My guess that tipping point is somewhere around 2050 ce. Note: Given current data, and analytical chaos, I'm still not buying an electric car, having crabgrass salads in lieu of cheeseburgers, and turning the heat down to 62 degrees in mid-winter. Yep! I'm wantonly clueless......... deplorable perhaps.

We are at a point where 2% of the American population has died in less than two years due to a pandemic that many people don't even believe is real. 300,000 people dying a year, and you think we haven't reached a tipping point? You know what's going to happen by 2050? 4 billion plus dead while anarchy interspersed with totalitarianism reigns supreme.

Climate change is an auto-catalytic cycle. That means as cause feeds effect, effect feeds cause in turn, leading to a runaway greenhouse effect much like the one that rendered Venus uninhabitable.

12 years might as well be 12,000 years. We need to act now, at the very least to secure our communities if not to prevent this situation from spiraling out of control.
We may already be past the point where our only chance of survival is to terraform Mars, and that is a longshot solution at best.
Your attitude is perfectly acceptable in today's society, even commonplace. But when disaster after disaster decimates our way of life and leaves us scrambling for our most basic needs on a day to day basis (as is already the case for many unfortunate people around the globe we first-worlders selfishly disregard) remember we will have nothing to blame but our apathy and our antipathy towards truth, free speech, and democracy.

 

[Snorrie]

I can only foresee that H. Sapiens will go extinct in approx. a billion years or somewhat sooner which will be due to natural events beyond our influence or control. Note to your points: the Black Death wiped out on the average approx. 50% of Europe and was intermittent for 500+ years. It like the Spanish Flu of the 20th century was worse than our current covid-19 pandemic, (so far). None of those plagues were tipping point markers. Likewise, in desperation/natural disasters without viable lifestyle/physical safety/survival alternatives humans will immigrate, conduct wars, and refuse to change behaviors. Could such in our current time produce the chaos you allude to; yes of course. As for politics and politicians, (ok, ignorant, venial, rapacious, greedy, contemptable, nationalistic), they are just like everyone else; however, it's the system the World has to resolve problems albeit not to satisfaction. My opinion: Consider the mantra "If it ain't broke, don't fix it; otherwise do it". For better or worse people and their governments have that responsibility. H. Sapiens can't pack up and leave planet Earth. Thus, clear, rational direction is required to prevent worsening situations. That direction is not yet obvious.

 

[efarina96]

I can only foresee that H. Sapiens will go extinct in approx. a billion years or somewhat sooner which will be due to natural events beyond our influence or control. Note to your points: the Black Death wiped out on the average approx. 50% of Europe and was intermittent for 500+ years. It like the Spanish Flu of the 20th century was worse than our current covid-19 pandemic, (so far). None of those plagues were tipping point markers. Likewise, in desperation/natural disasters without viable lifestyle/physical safety/survival alternatives humans will immigrate, conduct wars, and refuse to change behaviors. Could such in our current time produce the chaos you allude to; yes of course. As for politics and politicians, (ok, ignorant, venial, rapacious, greedy, contemptable, nationalistic), they are just like everyone else; however, it's the system the World has to resolve problems albeit not to satisfaction. My opinion: Consider the mantra "If it ain't broke, don't fix it; otherwise do it". For better or worse people and their governments have that responsibility. H. Sapiens can't pack up and leave planet Earth. Thus, clear, rational direction is required to prevent worsening situations. That direction is not yet obvious.

To address your first few sentences: you realize the Black Death occurred at a time when "civilized" society allowed sewage to run through their streets, right? I would hardly consider that "out of our control".
The only issue is ignorance. The only failure is the failure to adequately educate our people.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

[efarina96]

I can only foresee that H. Sapiens will go extinct in approx. a billion years or somewhat sooner which will be due to natural events beyond our influence or control. Note to your points: the Black Death wiped out on the average approx. 50% of Europe and was intermittent for 500+ years. It like the Spanish Flu of the 20th century was worse than our current covid-19 pandemic, (so far). None of those plagues were tipping point markers. Likewise, in desperation/natural disasters without viable lifestyle/physical safety/survival alternatives humans will immigrate, conduct wars, and refuse to change behaviors. Could such in our current time produce the chaos you allude to; yes of course. As for politics and politicians, (ok, ignorant, venial, rapacious, greedy, contemptable, nationalistic), they are just like everyone else; however, it's the system the World has to resolve problems albeit not to satisfaction. My opinion: Consider the mantra "If it ain't broke, don't fix it; otherwise do it". For better or worse people and their governments have that responsibility. H. Sapiens can't pack up and leave planet Earth. Thus, clear, rational direction is required to prevent worsening situations. That direction is not yet obvious.

Climate change will bring pandemics, shifting geological and meteorolgical conditions, and tragedies on a scale I fear you cannot conceive of to A WORLD OF 7 BILLION PEOPLE THAT NEVER HAD MORE THAN 1 BILLION BEFORE 1900.
I'm sorry... Again, I appreciate your taking the time to respond. But I would conclude you simply aren't seeing the forest for the trees.

 

[Snorrie]

Basically, we are "in the same church, but in different pews". What you see today at 7b - 8b people, I see 30 years from now at 10b -12b people. I think we would have workable options/solutions at that time, hopefully. Granted, I and the world, as it is, may be sadly and frighteningly wrong in adopting a cautionary/halting approach to probable future catastrophe. I just don't know beyond guessing, and I want no one or group or government in the role of God, Saviour, Dictator or Czar. Yes, education about, and graphic depictions of "future chaos "might motivate attitude changes. However, without specific alternatives, I'm doubtful. ...... That's me.

 

[efarina96]

Basically, we are "in the same church, but in different pews". What you see today at 7b - 8b people, I see 30 years from now at 10b -12b people. I think we would have workable options/solutions at that time, hopefully. Granted, I and the world, as it is, may be sadly and frighteningly wrong in adopting a cautionary/halting approach to probable future catastrophe. I just don't know beyond guessing, and I want no one or group or government in the role of God, Saviour, Dictator or Czar. Yes, education about, and graphic depictions of "future chaos "might motivate attitude changes. However, without specific alternatives, I'm doubtful. ...... That's me.

What it would take is a highly co-ordinated society wide effort to restructure our society and our way of life to its very core. Sadly, whatever I or anybody else says, being the highly reactionary and chronically unprepared society we are, we will most likely fail to take action until after something absolutely tragic happens. Even then our reaction will probably be to shift blame and descend into anarchy. So, not much hope here.

 

[Hayseed]

Our World Has One Chance to Get it Right if That, and Even the People Who Pretend to Get it Have No [redacted] Clue

That pretty much sums it up.

Have you any idea of how many past fanatics, have said the exact same thing? History has many examples.