Yes you arr right - first that we should not give up regardless of the odds - expecially since we don't really know them. And secondly that there are always degrees of catastrophe. I don't agree that human extinction is out of the question, butr I agree it is not the most probable outcome. MOstly I spend my energy try to figure out wha we can do, regardless of odds. No real value in looking at the chances of losing.
On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 9:26 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > > 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 -- Facebook: Gar Lipow Twitter: GarLipow Solving the Climate Crisis web page: SolvingTheClimateCrisis.com Grist Blog: http://grist.org/author/gar-lipow/ Online technical reference: http://www.nohairshirts.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
