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I feel the same. The coronavirus pandemic pandemic felt like the final nail in the coffin of my optimism. Humanity’s collective response or lack thereof was on

I feel the same. The coronavirus pandemic pandemic felt like the final nail in the coffin of my optimism. Humanity’s collective response or lack thereof was on full display and if that was the best we could do when faced with an immediate and dire threat to our way of life then I’m in need of serious convincing that something like the climate crisis which is already here and quantifiably guaranteed [1] to occur in the future as we can’t simply reverse the process on a dime like we did with a vaccine when it came to the virus. 1: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/climate/climate-change-future.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/climate/climate-change-fu... > That price — more vicious heat waves, longer wildfire seasons, rising sea levels — is now irretrievably baked in. Nations, including the United States, have dithered so long in cutting emissions that progressively more global warming is assured for decades to come, even if efforts to shift away from fossil fuels were accelerated tomorrow.

mikepurvis 6y ago
To be fair, the response in South East Asia was considerably better and more collective-minded than what any European or North American state achieved. Which still doesn't bode super well for a coordinated global response to the climate emergency. But it does point to which areas of the world are likely to manage the best while the rest of us descend into chaos and anarchy.
- pmastela 6y ago
  Agreed, there were bright spots, one of them was South East Asia. Perhaps the people there will manage better but that's all they'll be able to do is manage and not prosper. Rising sea levels won't spare those that manage to muster up a better response.
  - mikepurvis 6y ago
    Sure it will. I mean, coastal cities will flood regardless, but the nations which understand what's going on and get a head start on a compassionate, equitable approach to relocation will fare much better than those which prize rugged individualism and react to a climate refugee crisis with victim-blaming.
- falcolas 6y ago
  South East Asia had something of an advantage: it was already culturally acceptable to wear a mask; acceptable to consider someone else's health over your own appearance. Of course, I'm not sure how we can build such a culture of acceptance around masks in the West, where masks are seen by some as an attack on personal liberties.
  - krapp 6y ago
    >Of course, I'm not sure how we can build such a culture of acceptance around masks in the West, where masks are seen by some as an attack on personal liberties. Don't worry, natural selection will take care of them in due course.
luxuryballs 6y ago
The threat to our way of life was the government response, by a long shot, not the virus. And it’s not over, our way of life is still very much in jeopardy from government throwing away civil liberties to “flatten the curve” which somehow turned into “flatten the economy”, this is probably the most terrifying thing I’ve seen in the past 30 years.

mikepurvis 6y ago

To be fair, the response in South East Asia was considerably better and more collective-minded than what any European or North American state achieved. Which still doesn't bode super well for a coordinated global response to the climate emergency. But it does point to which areas of the world are likely to manage the best while the rest of us descend into chaos and anarchy.

pmastela 6y ago
Agreed, there were bright spots, one of them was South East Asia. Perhaps the people there will manage better but that's all they'll be able to do is manage and not prosper. Rising sea levels won't spare those that manage to muster up a better response.
- mikepurvis 6y ago
  Sure it will. I mean, coastal cities will flood regardless, but the nations which understand what's going on and get a head start on a compassionate, equitable approach to relocation will fare much better than those which prize rugged individualism and react to a climate refugee crisis with victim-blaming.
falcolas 6y ago
South East Asia had something of an advantage: it was already culturally acceptable to wear a mask; acceptable to consider someone else's health over your own appearance. Of course, I'm not sure how we can build such a culture of acceptance around masks in the West, where masks are seen by some as an attack on personal liberties.
- krapp 6y ago
  >Of course, I'm not sure how we can build such a culture of acceptance around masks in the West, where masks are seen by some as an attack on personal liberties. Don't worry, natural selection will take care of them in due course.

luxuryballs 6y ago

The threat to our way of life was the government response, by a long shot, not the virus. And it’s not over, our way of life is still very much in jeopardy from government throwing away civil liberties to “flatten the curve” which somehow turned into “flatten the economy”, this is probably the most terrifying thing I’ve seen in the past 30 years.