It's been a while since I actually read this book. But when I did it scared the living shit out of me.
This guy took a look at medium to high global temperature rise that will happen if don't do anything radical. Instead of the "best case" scenario.
You know, the case that politicians, technoligists and optimists talk about when they tell us we still can save the climate. Whatever save the client means.
Since the book was released I believe the author has become a bit less pessimistic. Mostly because of Greta and all the good things that actually is done. Because there are. It's just way to little way to late.
It's no longer a matter if it's will be bad. It will be bad. It's just a question of how bad.
Is he doomer? I sure hope so!
But I strongly suspect he is closer to the mark than most. As I understands it the scientists are constantly surprised by events happening now that they predicted was years into the future. Heat domes, tornado frequency and power, wildfires, flooding and so on.
So how have I changed my life since I read this book to save the climate? To be honest. Not much. Why?
Because I Am weak and peer pressure is strong.
Becasue I'm not yet ready to be seen as a total freak.
And lastly, even if I did the ultimate sacrifice to save the climate, taking my own life. It would do ZERO difference.
Bigger things needs to happen on a global scale. I have no idea what and how.
Hail those who fight for the climate. All power to them. I Am too weak.
We accidently found agriculture and then it all went to hell. And we can't turn back.
Hunter/gatherers is the natural way of life for humans. The accepted truth and modern view of hunter gatherers life as "solitary, poor, nasty brutish and short" is almost certainly wrong.
Sure, it was not all paradise back than. As Chris put it: dead babies are no joke. But despite that it was almosts guaranteed a lot fucking better than most people have it living on earth now.
I mean, now in the two thoasands we finally live about as long as hunter gatherers did for about 300 thousand years humans roamed the earth before agriculture. Yes, that is median and not avarage life expectancy. They guy in the video below will explain why avarages sucks.
Let the following sink in and tell me it's better now than before agriculture.
5 million per year, 13800 per day, 230 per hour and almost 4 per minute children died in 2021 of in most cases preventable causes.
A dead child is a dead child no matter if there are 500 million or 8 billion humans on earth. One can reduce it to numbers and percentages all one wants. The global suffering is astronamical today compared to before agriculture and "civilization".
And lets not get into mental health problems we have in our o so grand western civilization!
Civilization is the root of all evil. And we are stuck with it.
He was basically wrong.
He may be right about the data he talks about. Problem is that he left out a shitload of data. Data that points in pretty much the opposite direction than his mantra of "things are better than you think".
This guy will explain it much better than I ever could.