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Page added on July 21, 2018
Stop the hand-wringing, humankind will adapt and prosper
When people go public with private tears I am immediately suspicious. Not that I am against tears; as a physical reaction to emotion they are a fact of life best controlled in some circumstances but uncontrollable in others.
But articles, tweets and interviews that deliberately lob personal tears into the public domain sound the alarm bells of sanctimony. Telling the world about your saltwater reaction to this or that is perhaps the epitome of virtue-signalling.
“I cried two times when my daughter was born,” was the opening line in a New York Times piece this week. Those sanctimony warning bells rang loud. It was by Iraq veteran, English professor and climate alarmist Roy Scranton, promoting a new book of essays on war and climate change titled We’re Doomed. Now What? And yes, he claims to have shed tears for the planet.
“First for joy, when after 27 hours of labour the little feral being we’d made came yowling into the world, and the second for sorrow, holding the earth’s newest human and looking out the window with her at the rows of cars in the hospital parking lot, the strip mall across the street, the box stores and drive-throughs and drainage ditches and asphalt and waste fields that had once been oak groves. A world of extinction and catastrophe, a world in which harmony with nature had long been foreclosed. My partner and I had, in our selfishness, doomed our daughter to life on a dystopian planet, and I could see no way to shield her from the future.”
Where to start with such inanity? Perhaps with the good news. Max Roser’s work for Oxford University’s Our World in Data project shows that two centuries ago, 90 per cent of the global population lived in extreme poverty and now, even though the population has grown from less than one billion people to about 7.5 billion, those proportions have completely reversed so that only 10 per cent of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty.
Similarly, despite the explosion in global population, literacy has flourished. In 1800 more than 80 per cent of people were illiterate, now more than 80 per cent can read and write.
On both these indicators it is extraordinary to consider how much of the progress has happened in recent times. As recently as 1950, 72 per cent of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty and 64 per cent of us were illiterate. Postwar industrialisation, development, trade and globalisation have improved living standards dramatically for the overwhelming majority of people.
Two centuries ago, 43 per cent of all babies died before reaching the age of five. This mortality was spread widely — more than one in every three babies did not make it through the first five years in any country. Now, worldwide, more than 95 per cent of children survive their first five years.
Perhaps when Scranton considered his baby’s future on the planet, he should have limited himself to tears of joy.
But his schtick is pessimism: “Barring a miracle, the next 20 years are going to see increasingly chaotic systemic transformation in global climate patterns, unpredictable biological adaptation and a wild spectrum of human political and economic responses, including scapegoating and war. After that, things will get worse.”
Goodness me, I hope someone stops him reading to his daughter. She needs to hear less of this and more of Possum Magic.
Doomsday scenarios are hardly new. They are as old as human communities. In recent decades we’ve had the Club of Rome warning in the 1970s about how we would run out of food, resources and energy as we overpopulated and polluted the planet. We have seen rampant fears of nuclear Armageddon at the height of the Cold War and millennial doom and gloom in the 90s. But, increasingly, cataclysmic climate alarmism has taken hold and it is deeply rooted, with teachers and activists striking fear into the hearts even of our children.
Never mind that the climate has stubbornly refused to warm in line with any of the modelling published during the past three decades. Indeed, compared with the models, the global climate has been stable.
Never mind that the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has gradually revised downwards many of its predictions. Never mind that its early iterations talked about human factors accounting for about half of any climate change and even now it characterises anthropogenic factors only as “extremely likely to have been the dominant cause” of detected warming — that is, to an unknown extent, the climate is changing anyway. Never mind that climate change will boost living conditions and agricultural productivity in many parts of the world.
And never mind that if the world ever decided it had to switch to emissions-free energy in just a few decades, it could do so with existing nuclear technology. No, never mind any of this, just throw the switch to panic and pessimism.
Scranton even talks about suicide as the ultimate climate action. “Once you’re dead, you won’t use any more electricity, you won’t eat any more meat, you won’t burn any more gasoline, and you certainly won’t have any more children. If you really want to save the planet, you should die.” Cheery.
With this sort of madness infiltrating apparently intelligent communities around the world, it helps to explain how this country can be inflicting such harm on itself over energy policy. To placate these types of sentiments, unchallenged in the polite circles of the political/media class, we have adopted radical interventions designed not to supply energy efficiently and reliably but to appease the gods of Kyoto and Paris.
So after spending billions of dollars over a decade imposing policies specifically designed to undermine the viability of fossil-fuel generation and force it out of the market, we now have the government’s national energy guarantee proposal, an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission report, an Australian Energy Market Operator report and conservative political pressure all pushing, in different ways, for more expenditure and action to support, extend and encourage fossil-fuel generation so we can get back to reliable and sufficient energy supplies. It is the very definition of a shambles.
When the political class behaves so irrationally in the management of something as fundamental as energy, it is little wonder that voters will turn to a disrupter such as Donald Trump who was prepared to abandon Paris.
At the same time, by the way, technological progress on shale gas exploitation has made the US more energy-independent and reduced its emissions.
Ingenuity will beat ideology any old day.
The population explosion and industrialisation of the planet, of course, creates pressures we must deal with. But the story so far is one of triumph, not doom. We have found new ways to produce more food, exploit resources, reduce pollution, fight diseases, preserve wildlife, conserve water and protect lives. The population continues to climb and, as wealth and education rise with it, population growth slows. That will bring its own demographic challenges. Eventually world population may stabilise and shrink, as it has done in some countries.
If we keep our heads we are likely to deal with these challenges the same way we got to where we are; primarily through innovation, markets, democracy and optimism.
And we will do it, as ever, to make good on the tears of joy we shed for our children.
66 Comments on "Stop the hand-wringing, humankind will adapt and prosper"
Makati1 on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 6:17 am
“Stop the hand-wringing, humankind will adapt and prosper”
Hahahahahahahahaha! LMAO!
pointer on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 6:31 am
Hahah….
You beat me to it, Makati.
GetAVasectomyAndLetTheHumanSpecieDieGracefully on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 7:38 am
some more positive bullshit to convince people that slaving away their life for a nation and globalist is a good thing.
Three races are now committing self extermination: South Korean, Japaneses and White. People in position of power seem to be only concerned about economic growth. None seems to be concerned about the well being of humans. People in position of powers (politicians, bankers,..) seems to equate economical growth with prosperity and happiness. I fully understand why South Korean and Japaneses are committing self extermination. What fun is there to be alive when you work 60 hours a week. White, South Koreans and Japaneses have realized that life is only pain and misery and want no part of this fail project that is human life. They are fed up to work for the nation instead of working for them-self. Notice we never talk about how human psychology is affected by an overpopulated world and growth. Trying to make capitalism a look good.
dissident on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 7:41 am
Yeah, humans, when pushed out of airlocks into the vacuum of space can relax. All it takes is some adaptation. Because all variables of reality are slaved to human will power.
The author of this piece is either a retard or a shill.
GetAVasectomyAndLetTheHumanSpecieDieGracefully on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 7:43 am
No wonder why the MGTOW and TGTOW way of live is getting more popular with men around the world. MGTOW and TGTOW is a philosophy that preach human extinction. So happy human being are waking up at how much bullshit life is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvv16ZUkSCY&lc=z222htop2rbadrhjx04t1aokgefnbl11jm1zv4ntuabdrk0h00410.1532119066373927
MASTERMIND on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 7:53 am
The Australian is owned by Rupert Murdoch ie Faux News..He is trying to calm the elite sheeple
Cloggie on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 8:00 am
The scenario painted in the article is one of the many possibilities.
The Future is a topic anybody can freely speculate about and nobody has any accurate knowledge of.
In hindsight some guessers will be closer to the truth than others.
The particular speculation says more about the character/mindset of speculator than about the future.
MASTERMIND on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 8:40 am
Clogg
Actually we do have knowledge of the future via the limits to growth computer simulations..They have been accurate for around 40 years..You moron..If you study history you know where we are going..
twocats on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 8:45 am
hello author and anyone who sees truth here – so if only 10% of the planet is living in extreme poverty, and there are 195 countries on the planet, then you should be able to find 1 in 20 that would be a definite YES for wanting to live in. So I’m giving you way way more choices.
Here is a list of 42 countries –
https://www.infoplease.com/world/economic-statistics/worlds-poorest-countries
keep in mind this list DOESN’T include places like:
Somalia
North Korea
Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan
Uzbekistan
Moldova
Armenia
Georgia
Ukraine
Belarus
Azerbaijan
Turkmenistan
Kazakhstan
Maldives (bring life-vest)
Pakistan
El Salvador
Honduras
Guatemala
Egypt
and these all assume that if you experience a major hurricane, or a coup, or a major illness that you wouldn’t be able to just flee the country for a few months while chaos reigns. That’s what americans and australians get to do when they live in these countries. no – you’d be a citizen of the country and that country alone.
call me in 12 months when you’re either shitting your brains, bleeding out, or starving because there’s no work for bullshit journalists in these countries.
Sissyfuss on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 10:52 am
You won’t get published in a Murderdoch paper unless you go full on cornucopian. Unfortunately the sheeple eat this garbage up along with many other forms gas producing empty calories.
Outcast_Searcher on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 5:49 pm
So the climate is just dandy. The ice is melting because of unicorn farts. And moving on to 50 billion folks means 99% of them will be middle class and above. (Just follow the trends the author claims).
Look, I’m against all the Cassandras constantly peddling economic doom right in our face, but ignoring the long term effects of BAU growth is complete nonsense.
Permavillage on Sat, 21st Jul 2018 10:05 pm
Humankind will adapt and prosper? I don’t think so! With peakoil so close now, collapse of our modern world is at the door.
Harquebus on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 12:42 am
Those who depend on the current system for their wealth and prosperity will do and say anything to protect it and those who depend on it just for their survival, want to believe them.
I am an Aussie and most down here are in the latter category. They love this kind of poopaganda. It means that they don’t have to worry but, worry they soon will.
“History is littered with the regimes of despots and powerful elites that have willingly sacrificed the lives and well being of ordinary people in order to pursue their ideological beliefs and protect their personal interests.” — Graeme Henchel
Makati1 on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 1:19 am
True, Harquebus. Denial does not change fact. Ignorance is bliss … until it isn’t.
Davy on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 5:14 am
3rd world, harquebus comment is true of the P’s and Asia but you are in denial of that so are you ignorant in bliss?
Makati1 on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:48 am
Davy, you know nothing about Asia except the propaganda you read. You want to believe it so you will, 100%. I’m not the delusional one, Davy. You are.
You live in an oligarchy police state that is failing faster and faster every day. You just want the rest of the world to suffer more pain than you will. Sorry, not going to happen. The Us is at the top of the ladder and the fall is going to be a killer. SPLAT!
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:49 am
Give it a break, Exceptionalist! God, you are so fucking thick! Aren’t you supposed to be a Christian? Why don’t you go to church or something? You could at least stop attacking others on Sunday! In the Bible it says that even God took a day off, motherfucker!
Davy on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 7:07 am
“Davy, you know nothing about Asia except the propaganda you read.”
3rd world, you live in a little backwater village in the p’s and you act like you have your hand on the heart beat of Asia. You are a joke and most of your comments are just your own emotional propaganda. Look in the mirror.
Davy on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 7:08 am
“Bible it says that even God took a day off, motherfucker!”
Translation: When the fucks fly from boney juan he is pissed. I am glad I upset your bonehead.
Go Home
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 7:29 am
Delusional Davy “Translation: When the fucks fly from boney juan he is pissed. I am glad I upset your bonehead.
Go Home”
Good morning! I look forward to fucking with you all day today! LOL! I am not pissed or upset, Exceptionalist, I am entertained! You are like a trained dog or a monkey, I push your buttons and you can’t control your reactions, moron. I am home, Exceptionalist! My home is the USA; it as been for 30 years. That does piss YOU off, doesn’t it? You think that you are a patriot because you deny your country’s flaws? You are just a widdle, pathetic, radical, extremist nationalist, not a patriot! A patriot accepts the flaws and confronts them like I do, retard. You are NOT helping your country and its citizens, you are aiding and abetting their enemies.
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 7:31 am
Delusional Davy “You are a joke and most of your comments are just your own emotional propaganda. Look in the mirror.”
Projecting much, Exceptionalist? Look in the mirror! ROFLMFAO!
Cloggie on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 7:32 am
E-vehicle paradise Wroclaw/Poland:
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/07/22/wroclaw-polish-shenzhen-electric-vehicles/
Sales e-vehicles in Germany up with 21-25%:
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/07/21/renault-zoe-climbs-to-1-in-germany-cleantechnica-electric-car-sales-report-germany/
Davy on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 9:00 am
“Good morning! I look forward to fucking with you all day today! LOL! “
Whenever I see a “fucks” fly I think that stupid shit is stuck in his adolescence. That is you, boney juan, greggor and mm. You guys are immature idiots
“I am not pissed or upset, Exceptionalist, I am entertained!”
Me to
“You are like a trained dog or a monkey, I push your buttons and you can’t control your reactions, moron.”
You are the one that made the big scene about attacking me after giving me the big “choice” LMFAO at the dumbass. I think I have your buttons pushed. Besides it is not hard to moderate you. You are such a loud mouth extremist
I am home, Exceptionalist! My home is the USA; it as been for 30 years.
Leave you parasite. We don’t need freeloaders who hate us.
“You are just a widdle, pathetic, radical, extremist nationalist, not a patriot! A patriot accepts the flaws and confronts them like I do, retard.
You are no patriot. You are a scum bag that has deserted your original home to be a spoil brat in Miami Beach. You don’t know the meaning of standing up for family, friends, and country. This is something I do with you anti-American extremist. I make you eat your dirt daily.
“You are NOT helping your country and its citizens, you are aiding and abetting their enemies.”
You are the enemy and I am bitch slapping you daily. I hope you screw up and break the law and get deported. That would be poetic justice.
Davy on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 9:01 am
“Projecting much, Exceptionalist? Look in the mirror! ROFLMFAO!”
you don’t even know what projecting means you high school drop out.
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 9:34 am
Delusional Davy “You are such a loud mouth extremist”
Projecting again, Exceptionalist? LOL!
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 9:41 am
Delusional Davy “You are the enemy and I am bitch slapping you daily. I hope you screw up and break the law and get deported. That would be poetic justice.”
You are completely unhinged, Exceptionalist! You need professional psychiatric help. If you loved your children you would seek the help you need, but you are a whining narcissistic bully incapable of loving anyone other than yourself. Why would I break the law? I never did and I never will. I have no need or want to do so. Besides, I can fuck with you from anywhere in the world. You will NEVER get rid of me unless you stop posting hateful comments here. You are overflowing with hate and resentment.
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 9:46 am
Delusional Davy “This is something I do with you anti-American extremist. I make you eat your dirt daily.”
Only in your thoroughly deluded mind! You make me laugh daily, moron! I am laughing righ now thinking of your unhinged comment above. If you could see what the rest of us see you would understand, but you are living in denial. I am drinking espresso and eating cookies; I see no dirt on my plate. LOL!
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 9:53 am
Delusional Davy “Leave you parasite. We don’t need freeloaders who hate us.”
I am not going anywhere, Exceptionalist! That really, really bugs you, doesn’t it? I am not a freeloader; I have always supported myself. Maybe you are projecting again? And I don’t hate anyone or anything, Davy, I just think you are sad and annoying because you have ruined the board for many years. That is why I decided to annoy you, so that you could taste your own medicine. Since you claim to be “Christian” regardless of your extremely unchristian behavior maybe you should remember that teaching “Do unto others …”. Do you know what I am talking about? Google it! LOL!
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 9:56 am
And if you are entertained then keep it up, Exceptionalist! If you don’t stop bullying others and lying then I will keep you entertained for the rest of your life. Word! LOL!
onlooker on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 10:30 am
Nice comments rightfully lambasting this joke of an article. And you all did it without too much infighting. See, we humans can come together
Davy on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 10:35 am
Translation: Boney Juan is struggling with his message. I love seeing Boney Juan work so hard looking like an idiot. He needs to go down to the beach and play with his gay companion Boney Joe. Clearly Boney Juan is getting frustrated gaming the board. I alread whipped his ass good and this is the reason he burped out multiple stupid comments in his defense. Too bad boney juan’s buddies are not here to enable him.
Go home Boney Juan
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 10:47 am
The only thing you whipped today, Davy, is yourself into a delusional frenzy, and if anyone looks stupid here that would be you, Exceptionalist! LOL! What a sad fuck you are!
DerHundistLos on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 5:03 pm
Let’s look at just one sentence: “We have found ways to preserve wildlife.”
In what, vats of formaldehyde for future generations to enjoy while on tours of the Natural HISTORY museum?
News, flash…… we are driving between 150 and 200 species extinct every 24 hours.
DerHundistLos on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 5:08 pm
“3rd world, harquebus comment is true of the P’s and Asia but you are in denial of that so are you ignorant in bliss?”
This is a prime example of an unprovoked attack. I don’t see where Madkat said Asia was exempt. What is the point of this comment, except to provoke a rebuttal.
Makati1 on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 5:40 pm
DerhundistLos, all Davy does here is look for some small opening that he can twist to attack those who disagree with his deluded version of the world and especially the empire.
He fully supports the murderous, plundering, immoral, law breaking country he lives in. He cannot seem to understand why anyone would want that country to be crippled so it can not longer be the world’s biggest terrorist organization.
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 5:49 pm
Come on, Mak. We all know that Davy moderates and balances the board, qualifies other people’s untruthful comments, and neuters anti-American extremists every single day. He works very hard at it for no money! He is kind of like a superhero. I can’t even imagine where this board would be if it weren’t for Davy! Sarcasm of. LOL!
Makati1 on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:13 pm
JuanP, I might have just got up and having my first cup of coffee, but I got your sarcasm loud and clear. LOL
I cannot imagine living a life as he does. Delusions of grandeur and a totally warped vision of the world and the future, thrown in with immaturity and the need to dominate.
It is easy to see why he has no family living with him. If he did, he would have no time to pollute this board with his insanity as much as he does.
Davy on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:23 pm
I smell victory, 3 extremist dumbasses have their panties in a wad. Mission accomplished.
MASTERMIND on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:26 pm
Putin’s ‘unlimited range’ nuclear missile crashed after 22 miles
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/22/putins-unlimited-range-nuclear-missile-crashed-22-miles-us-intelligence/
Price is right (fail horn)
lmfao
Makati1 on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:29 pm
Davy, all you smell is your outhouse and the goats, delusionist.
onlooker on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:29 pm
Davy, you’ve become nothing more than a troll. Bravo
Davy on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:32 pm
Onlooker, it is not like you to take sides. I am disappointed in you. Now that you chose sides this means you will be moderated.
Makati1 on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:33 pm
“Us intelligence” … an oxymoron* if I ever saw one. More “info” from America’s lap dog, the UK. They don’t need that to give you a 3AM wake-up flash MM. LOL
*An oxymoron is a word or group of words that is self-contradicting,
JuanP on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:34 pm
Delusional Davy “I smell victory, 3 extremist dumbasses have their panties in a wad. Mission accomplished.”
Translation: The pathetic widdle bitch is getting her ass pumped and doesn’t know what to say. I am only getting started, pussy. The summer is still young. I am placing my annual seed orders which means I still have more than two months to bitch slap you full time. LOL! You are going to need adult diapers before I am done with you. You picked the worst fight of your life, loser!
Makati1 on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:38 pm
Guys, Davy needs your comments to give him a life. The goats ignore him. He has no family, He likely has no friends. All he has is the internet. No life without you and I to display his delusions and immature bullying to.
Ditto for his sock puppet MM, who lives to display his immaturity and ignorance on the internet.
MASTERMIND on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:41 pm
Madkat
You are the one who doesn’t have any girlfriend and your own family told you to stop contacting them..and your wife of a lifetime left you..
GregT on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:43 pm
“Onlooker, it is not like you to take sides. I am disappointed in you. Now that you chose sides this means you will be moderated.”
Give it a rest already Davy. People have absolutely had enough of your childish BS.
Davy on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:46 pm
3rd world, you are such a dork and a senior one at that. You are unimaginative and lame but you think you are clever and special. Too bad you waste so much space here with your noise.
onlooker on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 6:47 pm
Guys, Davy needs your comments to give him a life—
So if we all ignore Davy, I think we can get on with the business of dissecting the Doom. Hehe
Davy on Sun, 22nd Jul 2018 7:22 pm
Please, ignore me or follow every comment. You are starting to sound like 3rd world. Lol. I am here to neuter extremism. The gang gets it daily and this is why they are so upset. You guys can’t stand the fact you can’t get rid of me. Watch what you say or I will humiliate you with an education.