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Comment on Is there hope for humanity? Or are we just destined or designed to wipe our own selves out?

partial_accumen@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

As a child of the 70s, I was sure we were going to wipe ourselves out in global thermal nuclear war. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty instead took the nuclear cores from thousands of American and Russian missiles and consumed it in civilian nuclear power plants for electricity. If you had told my 10 year old self my game console would be running on decommissioned Russian nukes, I wouldn’t have believed you.

The rapid technological advancement of green technologies (especially them being financially cheaper than fossil fuels) gives me hope humanity (and most of the species of Earth) will survive climate change.

So, yes, we might indeed still wipe ourselves out, but we have on many occasions, as a species, stopped at the brink and turned around to go back to safety.

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trxxruraxvr@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

stopped at the brink and turned around to go back to safety.

I’d say we haven’t so much turned around as veered off to skirt along the edge until we’re about to hit the next one. There is a real chance we’re going to end up not being able to diverge and actually go over the edge. If it when that will happen is impossible to predict before it’s too late though.

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- partial_accumen@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  You’re free to hold your own model, but I’d question some of yours.
  
  I’d say we haven’t so much turned around as veered off to skirt along the edge until we’re about to hit the next one.
  
  That’s a different edge in a different direction.
  
  There is a real chance we’re going to end up not being able to diverge and actually go over the edge.
  
  There’s certainly an element of inertia to large, extinction level events, but not all extinction level events share that same inertia. As an example, nuclear war and climate change don’t share the same path of humanities destruction.
  
  If it when that will happen is impossible to predict before it’s too late though.
  
  Humanity is pretty good and being able to predict things which will negatively effect us. We’re just not great at stopping doing those things that cause those negative things.
  
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  - trxxruraxvr@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    
    nuclear war and climate change don’t share the same path of humanities destruction.
    
    Not nuclear, but don’t underestimate how much greenhouse gases have been released by blowing up oil refineries in recent wars. I’m not saying it’s the same path, but they are connected.
    
    Humanity is pretty good and being able to predict things which will negatively effect us.
    
    True, but not at convincing others to stop doing it, or accurately predicting whether we can convince enough people in time to avert disaster.
    
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theuniqueone@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
“Green technologies” won’t solve it when a lot of them aren’t green, others aren’t adapted and the profit motive still rules humanity.

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- partial_accumen@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  
  “Green technologies” won’t solve it when a lot of them aren’t green,
  
  Sure, I’m not talking about greenwashing products though.
  
  the profit motive still rules humanity.
  
  This is perfect example supporting my argument. Solar power is cheaper than any fossil fuel. The profit motive, in this case, is for the green tech.
  
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