Every generation has had its own set of crises that could “never be overcome”. Being a doomer is letting them win. A better future only happens if we make it happen.
Agreed. I would say yeah we likely are at one of those historical inflection points. But I think what we do in the interstitial period matters a lot. It’s now apparent that these systems that we were told were immovable can be dismantled rather quickly.
The hinge point we sit on is whether or not we allow the existing ruling class to consolidate power and create the new world or if working class people take back the power that belongs to them. I think the doomer attitude favors the prior.
Climate change is nothing like previous crises. How are we supposed to reverse physics to make better future happen?
Even if we all adopted neolithic lifestyle and stopped putting more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere today, the amount of harmful elements that are already in the atmosphere means temperatures will keep rising for the next couple of decades.
Tell me with a straight face this is same as WW2 or cold war.
It’s not just the carbon dioxide that comes into contact with the chlorophyll in the leaves. It’s all the terpenes (and other aromatics and pollen) it pumps out too. Meaning it cleans the air high in the sky.
And atop that, it can replace many polluting technologies. Oil and deforestation (like for farming), for a couple hot examples.
Even making limecrete housing, instead of offgassing carbon dioxide and causing loads of carbon dioxide during production like concrete does, it’s actually carbon negative, in production and throughout its lifetime, sucking up carbon, further hardening over time.
Similar gains with bioplastics, graphene, paper, fabric, rope, medicine, food, etc.
It can grow in a greater range of climates than any other useful plant. We could re-green e.g. the entire sahara, the australian outback and the southern half of north america. And it’d increase the soil quality readied for other vegetation within a year or two.
And that’s just one idea.
Our problem is not physics, it’s psycho-socio-economic.
If the new solid state battery from donutlabs is legit, that could indicate the trickle of cleaner technologies coming, perhaps even towards availing of the emancipatory technologies that have been suppressed for the past century or two. Many an untapped potential. Even just the more mundane better known, like thorium reactors. We have so much headroom without the crooks keeping us down and dirty.
At this point it’s already happening one way or another so either you resign yourself to the fact that the world you knew is over and do everything in your power to make something better or you cede the future to those who certainly won’t. I’m not delusional, I know things suck. The planet is irreparably damaged. Wallowing in that fact does nothing, it’s a bridge to nowhere.
We just need to like… skip a generation, then breed just enough to stay level.
I don’t think anyone means no one should have children, but man… there’s too many fucking people. And it doesn’t mean killing people, just letting people die naturally while not adding more.
Yeah funny thing is this is basically what we’re already doing. China’s one child policy and neoliberal austerity everywhere else ensured the current generation of children is smaller than ever. We’re running the experiment now, and overall we’d be fine if the countries that have negative growth rates weren’t so xenophobic and let immigrants in to replace their ageing workforce.
Twenty years ago I would have agreed, there’s too many people, but now the pendulum is swinging the other way.
Every generation has had its own set of crises that could “never be overcome”. Being a doomer is letting them win. A better future only happens if we make it happen.
What if we’re in a “fall of the Roman empire” type scenario? Shit does not feel like business as usual.
Agreed. I would say yeah we likely are at one of those historical inflection points. But I think what we do in the interstitial period matters a lot. It’s now apparent that these systems that we were told were immovable can be dismantled rather quickly.
The hinge point we sit on is whether or not we allow the existing ruling class to consolidate power and create the new world or if working class people take back the power that belongs to them. I think the doomer attitude favors the prior.
Climate change is nothing like previous crises. How are we supposed to reverse physics to make better future happen?
Even if we all adopted neolithic lifestyle and stopped putting more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere today, the amount of harmful elements that are already in the atmosphere means temperatures will keep rising for the next couple of decades.
Tell me with a straight face this is same as WW2 or cold war.
No “reverse physics” required.
One idea among many:
Restore cannabis.
It cleans air 7 times more than pine forests.
It’s not just the carbon dioxide that comes into contact with the chlorophyll in the leaves. It’s all the terpenes (and other aromatics and pollen) it pumps out too. Meaning it cleans the air high in the sky.
And atop that, it can replace many polluting technologies. Oil and deforestation (like for farming), for a couple hot examples.
Even making limecrete housing, instead of offgassing carbon dioxide and causing loads of carbon dioxide during production like concrete does, it’s actually carbon negative, in production and throughout its lifetime, sucking up carbon, further hardening over time.
Similar gains with bioplastics, graphene, paper, fabric, rope, medicine, food, etc.
It can grow in a greater range of climates than any other useful plant. We could re-green e.g. the entire sahara, the australian outback and the southern half of north america. And it’d increase the soil quality readied for other vegetation within a year or two.
And that’s just one idea.
Our problem is not physics, it’s psycho-socio-economic.
If the new solid state battery from donutlabs is legit, that could indicate the trickle of cleaner technologies coming, perhaps even towards availing of the emancipatory technologies that have been suppressed for the past century or two. Many an untapped potential. Even just the more mundane better known, like thorium reactors. We have so much headroom without the crooks keeping us down and dirty.
You had me at cannabis, fuck yeah lol
At this point it’s already happening one way or another so either you resign yourself to the fact that the world you knew is over and do everything in your power to make something better or you cede the future to those who certainly won’t. I’m not delusional, I know things suck. The planet is irreparably damaged. Wallowing in that fact does nothing, it’s a bridge to nowhere.
Whatever. I’m still not going to have kids. The future is fucked and I don’t want to inflict it upon them.
And having kids is the best way to not get a better future.
I used to think this. Then I remembered everyone will get old and no one will be around to run the economy.
But … our current economic system is a big part of how things got so bad. Being able to fuck it up is kinda a motivator for not having kids-
We just need to like… skip a generation, then breed just enough to stay level.
I don’t think anyone means no one should have children, but man… there’s too many fucking people. And it doesn’t mean killing people, just letting people die naturally while not adding more.
Yeah funny thing is this is basically what we’re already doing. China’s one child policy and neoliberal austerity everywhere else ensured the current generation of children is smaller than ever. We’re running the experiment now, and overall we’d be fine if the countries that have negative growth rates weren’t so xenophobic and let immigrants in to replace their ageing workforce.
Twenty years ago I would have agreed, there’s too many people, but now the pendulum is swinging the other way.