"and deeply believe the future will be truly bleak"
There has likely never been a period in human history where people en masse have felt otherwise. That said here's a three step program that shifted me away from depression/pessimism towards ambivalence with a hint of optimism:
1) Mild well-calibrated paranoia. You should spend sometime contemplating preventative measures against reasonable threats.
2) Buy insurance when applicable.
3) Know that whatever your 10-top doomsday list consists of it's likely none of it will happen in your lifetime or devastate your life. It's usually something else in your (our collective) blindspot. Because of that 20 years from now your child's top 10 list will likely be different and we'll have yet another generation of hand-wringers (I was no better).
"there is no escape from climate change."
I live less than 100 meters from the Pacific Ocean. What is more likely ? that sea-level rise will take my home or that I lose my home in a lawsuit, tsunami, earthquake, etc. The answer is "who cares (on a personal level) I have umbrella insurance".
"there is no escape from climate change."
Increase tree population and decrease human population ? The latter half may already be happening. We have a diverse food supply in the U.S. and we have desalination technology so we should be able to escape famine at least. You should qualify "escape". People live in Alaska and Phoenix despite a climate where life expectancy under direct exposure is measured in hours at times. Last I checked the people there can escape by moving elsewhere or turning on their HVAC. I am not trying to downplay this, there are times in the past where I thought wild fires would destroy my home and famine in poorer countries is a very real possibility.
Comments
"and deeply believe the future will be truly bleak"
There has likely never been a period in human history where people en masse have felt otherwise. That said here's a three step program that shifted me away from depression/pessimism towards ambivalence with a hint of optimism:
1) Mild well-calibrated paranoia. You should spend sometime contemplating preventative measures against reasonable threats.
2) Buy insurance when applicable.
3) Know that whatever your 10-top doomsday list consists of it's likely none of it will happen in your lifetime or devastate your life. It's usually something else in your (our collective) blindspot. Because of that 20 years from now your child's top 10 list will likely be different and we'll have yet another generation of hand-wringers (I was no better).
"there is no escape from climate change."
I live less than 100 meters from the Pacific Ocean. What is more likely ? that sea-level rise will take my home or that I lose my home in a lawsuit, tsunami, earthquake, etc. The answer is "who cares (on a personal level) I have umbrella insurance".
"there is no escape from climate change."
Increase tree population and decrease human population ? The latter half may already be happening. We have a diverse food supply in the U.S. and we have desalination technology so we should be able to escape famine at least. You should qualify "escape". People live in Alaska and Phoenix despite a climate where life expectancy under direct exposure is measured in hours at times. Last I checked the people there can escape by moving elsewhere or turning on their HVAC. I am not trying to downplay this, there are times in the past where I thought wild fires would destroy my home and famine in poorer countries is a very real possibility.