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Uhhhh....I remember reading the other day about how researchers worry that men could become infertile in a generation because plastic is an epigenetic endocrine

Uhhhh....I remember reading the other day about how researchers worry that men could become infertile in a generation because plastic is an epigenetic endocrine disruptor. (https://www.gq.com/story/sperm-count-zero https://www.gq.com/story/sperm-count-zero). And that's only the latest way in which the world could end in my lifetime outside of nuclear war, climate change (Cape Town came close to running out of water this year ffs), etc etc. How you think we're all better off just because we're enjoying eating our seed corn I do not understand. Next year we will simply starve.

beat 8y ago
We're not eating our seed corn, though - at least, not to the point where we won't survive. When you start looking for conspiracies like "plastic in the water will make us all sterile", you're really bending over backwards to find reasons to believe we're doomed. Think about that! Food productivity globally has skyrocketed, to the point where we are supporting the largest population in history, with the cheapest food prices and lowest rates of malnutrition and famine in history. Climate change is a serious problem, but it's unlikely to end civilization, and even more unlikely to end the human race. At this point, I'm pretty sure the world would recover well even from a full-scale nuclear war between the US and Russia (which hasn't happened in 70 years anyway). That's because it wouldn't affect everyone directly, and massive, vital infrastructures are in place - the paved roads, power lines, working vehicles, communications systems, and most importantly, the documentation and literacy to read it. We could rebuild. We would rebuild. Population growth has stabilized at the beginning of the process, where it matters. Right now, there are two billion children in the world. In a hundred years, there will also be two billion children in the world. The growth in global population right now is coming from the drastically increased lifespan of previous generations - adults that were once children who, contrary to human history, weren't struck down by disease or famine or war. The biggest "seed corn" is fossil fuel, but we're moving toward a clean alternative energy future at a fine pace. By the end of the 21st century, clean wind and solar power will dominate, and fossil fuel will be a thing of the past. With a tremendous supply of clean energy, free information, and health... a lot changes.

beat 8y ago

We're not eating our seed corn, though - at least, not to the point where we won't survive. When you start looking for conspiracies like "plastic in the water will make us all sterile", you're really bending over backwards to find reasons to believe we're doomed. Think about that! Food productivity globally has skyrocketed, to the point where we are supporting the largest population in history, with the cheapest food prices and lowest rates of malnutrition and famine in history. Climate change is a serious problem, but it's unlikely to end civilization, and even more unlikely to end the human race. At this point, I'm pretty sure the world would recover well even from a full-scale nuclear war between the US and Russia (which hasn't happened in 70 years anyway). That's because it wouldn't affect everyone directly, and massive, vital infrastructures are in place - the paved roads, power lines, working vehicles, communications systems, and most importantly, the documentation and literacy to read it. We could rebuild. We would rebuild. Population growth has stabilized at the beginning of the process, where it matters. Right now, there are two billion children in the world. In a hundred years, there will also be two billion children in the world. The growth in global population right now is coming from the drastically increased lifespan of previous generations - adults that were once children who, contrary to human history, weren't struck down by disease or famine or war. The biggest "seed corn" is fossil fuel, but we're moving toward a clean alternative energy future at a fine pace. By the end of the 21st century, clean wind and solar power will dominate, and fossil fuel will be a thing of the past. With a tremendous supply of clean energy, free information, and health... a lot changes.