Gar thinks there is still a "1 in 5 chance of avoiding ending up with a human die-off and reversion to pre-industrial technology." He says this is considered optimistic.
I agree that our efforts to mitigate global warming have a low probability of preventing climate catastrophe. Nevertheless I think, and I have heard many others say this too, the right thing is to do what we can and not to go down without a fight. Does this continued fight have any tangible benefits other than not giving up our human dignity? I can think of three: (1) The odds of avoiding catatrophe are low but they are not zero, i.e. it is possible that our efforts actually pay off. (2) Even if catastrophe cannot be avoided, our efforts may make a difference whether this catastrophe degenerates into a war of all against all or into a privilleged elite enslaving all others, or whether people will die with some dignity. (3) Even in the worst possible case, the human race will probably not go extinct, we are so smart and adaptible that a few humans will survive. They will inherit our social relations, and I sometimes think it may make a difference for them whether they inherit a tradition of solidarity or a tradition of exploitation. Hans. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
