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Comment by madaxe_again | Hacker News Reader

The really sad thing is that when those forces critical to resolving this (governments, corporate interests, the majority of the global public) finally come around to the idea that climate change exists, they won't be interested in solving it - they'll blame their neighbours, refuse to change themselves, and will go to war.

Our extinction is coming, and the only tragedy is all the other life we'll take with us.

We're just not that great, and our behaviour is "primate basic" to the extreme.

Children playing with matches.

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Are other people made very uncomfortable by people like this looking down their nose at the entire species? I'm just not sure what these levels of defeatism and misanthropy get you.

It's not a question of looking down one's nose, rather that understanding that there are some really fundamental aspects of our own behaviour that are so deeply rooted we are practically blind to them that we must overcome if we're to adapt and survive.

We are violently tribal. We are biased to short term reward over long term gain. Crack those two and you're well on the road to panacea.

If we don't overcome them, we don't adapt, we don't survive. The universe is pretty big - something out there will hopefully make it through the great filter, if not us.

Sure, from a selfish and anthropocentric point of view I want us to survive and prosper, but the reality is that we may not. We're not infinite and indefatigable.

Right now, we are on the path to certain doom. This can change, but whether it will in time is down to getting pretty much all humans everywhere to pull together.

finally come around to the idea that climate change exists

Yes... they somehow impose carbon taxes, go to climate summits and make up protocols to agree to but none of them believe in climate change.

Acts speak far more loudly than words - if those protocols meant anything they'd have been adhered to, rather than utterly disregarded.

The US wouldn't even ratify Kyoto.

> they'll blame their neighbours, refuse to change themselves, and will go to war.

Seems like a good description of the state of the world right now.

Given that we are living in what is probably the most peaceful time since dawn of man your statement doesn't really make that much sense regarding the war part.

As for bickering and blaming others, sure it is annoying but somehow it has led humanity to an era where life is vastly better than it has ever been for more humans than ever before.

So it's weird, yeah.

"The really sad thing is that when those forces critical to resolving this (governments, corporate interests, the majority of the global public) finally come around to the idea that climate change exists, they won't be interested in solving it - they'll blame their neighbours, refuse to change themselves" - this is already happening

Why do you use these weasel words 'climate change'. For the nth time, everybody knows climate changes. If you think there is a simple cause and effect with temperature proportional to CO2 levels then you are simply wrong. Look at the record. Multiple factors make it much more complicated than that. Still, I wouldn't want to spoil a barnstorming speech to rouse the masses.

Suggest you check historical levels of CO2 before sinking into permanent depression.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPWmFNAwhvajgpMfPzgX4au...

Colored showing rates of warming or cooling (red=+++, black=--

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