Is The World Getting Better Or Worse?

It's us versus us.

If so, how do you propose we reconcile with this enemy? And dont tell me that we need to limit our perspective to logic and evidence. At best we would become atheistic secular humanists.

"We have met the enemy and he is us." It's hard to find a clear winner in that fight. That's like asking, "What's 1 + 1 ?" and then adding, "And don't tell me it's 2."The answer is the answer. Reality is reality. That would be best. Why don't you do that?

Where was the serious and respectful consideration of the warnings 50 years ago when we had time to address the issue with considerably less deprivation than we face today?There were warnings of consequences. A foot in sea level rise, more frequent intense storms, loss of species, crop and habitat dislocations. The web is full of the results we are now feeling today. We were warned. We did nothing to stop it and now we are beginning to see the results.Now there are more dire warnings. Another foot of sea level rise, bigger more powerful more frequent storms, more dislocations, more loss, more death. What used to be 100-year floods, already more frequent, will start occurring annually, etc, all by 2050+-.And things will get worse from there. More inundations, heat waves, storms, desertification, new more virulent disease, crop failures, population dislocations well into the 2100s.But that’s not the bad stuff. As the breadbaskets of the present world begin to dry up and ecologies move north to what used to be colder climes the have’s of today will become the have not’s. The bad stuff will come when the deprivations get so severe whole societies rise up to rebel. The rise of dictator’s, left and right, promising relief and plenty. Wars over ever decreasing resources. Wars that will be ever more destructive, widespread and deadly. Many times more destructive than your End of Times come true without any kingdom of god in relief.So the choice. Do we disrupt the comfortable lives of today or kill hundreds of millions in the future?Our best science, evidenced in international meetings agreed to by the whole world, is that oil and gas production needs to fall by about 20 percent by 2030 and by almost 55 percent by 2050 in order to stop Earth’s temperature rising by more than 1.5^o C.What do we do about it, Faith?The nations of the world put together a meager plan to try to address this dystopian future. We have done nothing to advance that plan. In fact, the political and moneyed elite, Big Carbon and the global capitalist mega-machines, have sought to delay and derail those plans.So now what? Keep our beer cold and just let dystopia happen?And make no mistake, regardless of the Big Carbon propaganda the science accepted by the world is pretty much settled and far from abstract, it *is* going to happen.The longer we delay action the more severe the deprivations will become.So what the fuck do we do about this, Faith? Edited by AZPaul3, : No reason given.

Double the fuel economy of the cars on our roads over the next ten years.Begin the plan to move about 120+ MILLION people away from the coastal US and relocating the resources and infrastructure and jobs over the next 20 years.Build a water reserve equal to two years consumption.Move agriculture off the land and into hydroponic factories.Build wind farms, solar farms and neighborhood micro-nuclear generating plants.Pass zoning laws requiring all homes within 250 year flood plains to be built at least 12 feet above ground or five feet above highest recorded flood stage whichever is lowest.Pass zoning laws that disallow rebuilding homes in areas that get flooded unless they are raised to at least five feet above highest recorded water level.Pass a carbon tax bill.Pass a tax based on income that will be set aside into a Social Security type fund to help mitigate losses from global warming.

Atheism is not reality. It seems evident and obvious to you, but you do not have all of the evidence. keep looking.Once you find God(perhaps in that place you have yet to look) you can safely "throw Him away" if you insist. You can become a believer like jar who sees no evidence (nor any way of producing such evidence while he is alive) yet do what you feel charged to do, helping the ones Jesus talks about in the book and staying far away from these crazy churches.

Been there, done that. Being born again works both ways you know.

Thanks for being honest and blunt as usual. I will agree that you have seen both sides of this. I have also. And I won't let organized religion brainwash me. If anything, I will be the one doing the brainwashing! Don't drink the Koolaid, Tangle. Let's go fishing.

It all sounds logical in theory and we have the money to do it...with help from increased taxation...and if the wealthy and their private enterprize help out.I fear war, though. Many other nations won't have the capability to adapt and many people will get restless, angry, and hungry. In order to be great again, we need to be kinder to the rest of the world or we will be judged accordingly.

Thank you, that's the kind of thing I was hoping could be done, although I don't know about the feasibility of all the particulars. I particularly appreciate the water reserve and the hydroponic agriculture suggestions. What I've found out about the dangers of wind and solar farms to birds and probably even to increasing the temperature of the atmosphere leads me to reject that part of the list. But thanks, that's definitely in the right direction. We can't just suddenly give up everything that's dependent on fossil fuels, change has to be gradual-- or should be if we want to avoid violent reactions.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

What do we do about it? Maybe a better job of persuading people for starters? I mean cut out the arrogant hysterical rhetoric and the accusations of greed, selfishness and stupidity, understand the reasonableness of the resistance people have to such ideas. Stop accusing big business of evil motives when they are concerned basically with producing what society has needed to function. They will naturally change their focus in response to changes in lifestyle. Think up ways to bring about the necessary changes that are enticing rather than tyrannical? LURE people away from the coasts? LURE people to the northern regions? (Tell ringo to make room for us on his Frozen Wasteland. With an enterprising spirit he and his family and friends could even turn a profit from us.) Increase hydroponic agriculture (I like that one from jar's list). Think in terms of solutions that can have capitalistic benefits. Keep in mind the needs of all the rest of the living creatures. Find reasonable ways of minimizing predators and increasing birds and fish and etc.Tell the Democrats who threaten to deprive us of everything all at once (although not themselves I'm sure) to shut up and get to work accomplishing something. If you want to eliminate 20% of fossil fuel production/use come up with enticing -- feasible and not prohibitively expensive -- alternatives instead of just legislating the death of the industry.Just a few thoughts. Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

That's a very high probability; for example water is essential to life and the US in particular has already wasted the vast majority of our potential availability. We simply have no way to build the reserves we need or to even maintain our current usage. And we ain't got many if any options. We can hope for desalination but to build that infrastructure we would need several generations and it's unlikely we have enough water to last that long.

If you reject any part of the list it will fail Faith. What I outlined is absolute minimal efforts that will possibly at least allow many to survive; but certainly not enough to allow us to prosper.Faith, the US and much of the world is simply up shit creek without a paddle; they simply missed the opportunities to do things that needed to be done thirty or fifty years ago.It may well be too late.It's time to be afraid, very very very afraid.

Fear is not an option. And wind and solar are going to cause more problems than they solve.

Fear is a necessity!Wind and Solar are the only possible options available within the time possible.