2 ms·

> I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but I don't think that makes the US a dystopia. I think it makes the US a society in a regressive slide towards dyst

> I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but I don't think that makes the US a dystopia. I think it makes the US a society in a regressive slide towards dystopianism. Admittedly, this is a nitpick of your point, but it's an important distinction because a dystopia is supposed to be the absolute worst anything can be. The US is just nowhere near that. I mean, fair enough, but if we zoom out, well, global warming is a thing. We're going to be too late to do much about it, and we may not be able to save ourselves or anyone else among humanity. Most non-human life is now going extinct. Multicellular life as a whole may go extinct if the clathrate gun turns out to be a real thing. We have declining living standards and the expectation of mass death. Oh, and a rather evil government.

BjoernKW 10y ago
> global warming is a thing So is the heat death of the universe, yet we don't feel existential angst about that. Global warming is a serious problem and it'll have a tremendous impact on human life. However, this will happen in a timeframe of several generations. While the consequences are certainly dire global warming won't mean the extinction of mankind, or most non-human life for that matter. Life will adapt. Mankind will adapt. We can't prevent global warming anymore but we can do something to slow it down and temper its effects. There's no reason to be defeatist about this. In the 80s sometimes the notion was floated that by now pretty much all of Northern Europe should be below sea-level due to global warming. This shows both that things don't always have to work out as badly as predicted and that a change for the better is possible.
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago
  >So is the heat death of the universe, yet we don't feel existential angst about that. Global warming is a serious problem and it'll have a tremendous impact on human life. However, this will happen in a timeframe of several generations. Several generations, my foot! The real nasty stuff will be coming to a head just about when I'm starting to hit retirement age. >While the consequences are certainly dire global warming won't mean the extinction of mankind, or most non-human life for that matter. Life will adapt. Mankind will adapt. We can't prevent global warming anymore but we can do something to slow it down and temper its effects. This is a stupid thing to say to people. "Oh, sure, you might die, or your personal prospects might get a lot worse, but humanity as a whole will probably persist!" Oh joy? Look, it's very nice that humanity might survive in some form, but I was hoping to survive in some form, into my natural old age.
  - E6300 10y ago
    What are you talking about? The most pessimistic estimates predict a sea level rise of 2 m by 2100. Just when are you expecting to retire?
    - AsyncAwait 10y ago
      Global warming is about much more than sea levels. Arguably, that's not even the most important concern. Food/water shortages, war over resources, refugee crisis that makes this one feel tiny in comparison etc.
    - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
      Around 2050, when major climate crises and extinctions will be coming to a peak and affecting economies, food supplies, and other human necessities, I'll be about 60 years old.
      - E6300 10y ago
        Source?

BjoernKW 10y ago

> global warming is a thing So is the heat death of the universe, yet we don't feel existential angst about that. Global warming is a serious problem and it'll have a tremendous impact on human life. However, this will happen in a timeframe of several generations. While the consequences are certainly dire global warming won't mean the extinction of mankind, or most non-human life for that matter. Life will adapt. Mankind will adapt. We can't prevent global warming anymore but we can do something to slow it down and temper its effects. There's no reason to be defeatist about this. In the 80s sometimes the notion was floated that by now pretty much all of Northern Europe should be below sea-level due to global warming. This shows both that things don't always have to work out as badly as predicted and that a change for the better is possible.

eli_gottlieb 10y ago
>So is the heat death of the universe, yet we don't feel existential angst about that. Global warming is a serious problem and it'll have a tremendous impact on human life. However, this will happen in a timeframe of several generations. Several generations, my foot! The real nasty stuff will be coming to a head just about when I'm starting to hit retirement age. >While the consequences are certainly dire global warming won't mean the extinction of mankind, or most non-human life for that matter. Life will adapt. Mankind will adapt. We can't prevent global warming anymore but we can do something to slow it down and temper its effects. This is a stupid thing to say to people. "Oh, sure, you might die, or your personal prospects might get a lot worse, but humanity as a whole will probably persist!" Oh joy? Look, it's very nice that humanity might survive in some form, but I was hoping to survive in some form, into my natural old age.
- E6300 10y ago
  What are you talking about? The most pessimistic estimates predict a sea level rise of 2 m by 2100. Just when are you expecting to retire?
  - AsyncAwait 10y ago
    Global warming is about much more than sea levels. Arguably, that's not even the most important concern. Food/water shortages, war over resources, refugee crisis that makes this one feel tiny in comparison etc.
  - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
    Around 2050, when major climate crises and extinctions will be coming to a peak and affecting economies, food supplies, and other human necessities, I'll be about 60 years old.
    - E6300 10y ago
      Source?