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How I learned to stop fearing climate change and learned to love apocalypse

Well, sort of.

I'm despairing of intelligence in social discourse, press, government, industry, religion, or almost anywhere else. Present company excluded, of course.

So we'll have climate change, everything big or delicate or refined or nonadaptive or beautiful will die off. So nothing's forever. What's special about people? Or trees? Or dodo birds? Or panda bears?

Other eras ended with toxic volcano fumes, or asteroids, or diseasea, or whatever. There are mass extinctions, cool critters become fossils, the little disgusting things like rodents and cockroaches re-evolve into the new dominant species.

What's next - who knows. I think humanity is sowing the seeds of its own destruction and honestly doesnt care.

To be honest, I love nature and the big trees and the cool animals and plants. I find it appalling that people are so narcissistic and/or stupid and/or greedy that they take an "Après moi le déluge" attitude and basically tell future generations, "Après moi, fuck you." Meanwhile, paradoxically thinking that their fecundity leads to pseudoimmortality because a few strands of their DNA might replicate for a few more generations. Don't get me wrong - I would love the idea that a tree that I plant lives 100, 200 years and absorbs CO₂ into its woody rings and gives shade to a future generation. I really grieve over the wanton destruction.

But I feel pretty sure, the self-centered assholes will win. Does it matter? Or should we give in to the hedonists and let the future worry about itself?

Tags: climate change, hedonism, narcissism

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on March 19, 2010 at 11:21pm

plus there's the porn.

Permalink Reply by Tom Thompson on March 19, 2010 at 11:32pm

On first thought the apocalypse would give me way more time to do all the nothing that I'd like to do.

On second thought I'd probably be too busy scavenging for water and food and avoiding becoming Soylent Green to do much about nothing.

Permalink Reply by Фелч Гроган on March 19, 2010 at 11:53pm

Daniel the Prostate: plus there's the porn.

Absolutely. If my porn torrents disappeared, I'd probably have to resort to sex.

Permalink Reply by Tom Thompson on March 19, 2010 at 11:23pm

Oh, you aren't the only one. I haven't even spoken to my neighbors for years. I shudder to imagine having to walk down to the street asking strangers for the news.

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on March 19, 2010 at 12:01pm

not to mention, without refrigeration and electricity for heat, foraging for food will be an adventure.

Maybe climate change is the Earth's version of a fever. It's infected with with massive humanosis (or is it humanitis?). Weather events and earthquakes are the chills and rigors.

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on March 19, 2010 at 11:28pm

The earth's got a fever.

Permalink Reply by Jim DePaulo on March 19, 2010 at 1:20pm

Another very likely scenario is a breakdown of our electrical infrastructure which, in turn, would shut down water supply and all communication.

Permalink Reply by Jason Spicer on March 18, 2010 at 8:41pm

Two words: Soylent Green. Oh, wait. We were trying to cheer Daniel up, right? Oops. Still, people are the problem, after all, and Soylent Green kills two birds with one stone.

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on March 18, 2010 at 9:29pm

Jason, Soylent green is not a bad thought, but as a vegetarian, I would have to use it as compost. I picture it being like fish emulsion.

Say..... maybe instead of the green burial, I can just have myself composted, then packaged into little bottles to fertilize tomatoes.

Permalink Reply by Tom Thompson on March 19, 2010 at 11:29pm

I'm a vegetarian also. However, I don't understand why most people are. I'd probably eat meat if I could stand the taste and texture. Soylent Green overcomes both doesn't it? :)

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on March 18, 2010 at 11:33pm

Oh - according to this article, it's really "Soylent Vauguely Pink". Not as interesting sounding however.

Permalink Reply by Jason Spicer on March 18, 2010 at 11:46pm

Huh. I think Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak's name is composting nicely. It'll be all diphthongs before too long, the way she's going. Still, who wouldn't want to be "supercooled in liquid nitrogen to about minus 196°C, then shattered into very small pieces on a vibration table"? Beam me up, Scotty! That is awesome! Crap, I can hardly wait to try it!