A long time after we're all gone what will remain is what we've given back to the world, our contributions, our marks. Would we want these ugly nasty spatches of destruction and pollution, proof that we sucked our surroundings so dry it couldn't hold itself together? Or would we rather leave behind a more positive constructive legacy for the generations to come. Will there even be many generations to come if we behave the way we have historically? It seems unlikely, the world is at its carrying capacity, the environment is rejecting us and the long term changes that our asinine actions have triggered are likely to make the world less hospitable and amenable to our long-term survival. It's not unlikely that our descendants, however they maybe will look at our times as the best and the worst of times.
The best of times because its the height of human growth and survival. Numerically speaking there haven't been these many living humans in the entirety of history and also there likely haven't been such a large percentage of those who leave a safe comfortable life without too many urgent life-threatening diseases or dangers of other kinds. On the other hand they'll see this as the worst of times because our uncaring attitude towards our future, towards the present of our surroundings, is dooming the fate of those that come after us. Our selfish approach maximizing our well-being at the cost of that of our children and grandchildren will not be looked upon kindly.
What if there is nothing we can do at this point though, if the tipping point has been reached already and no matter how many corrective procedures we apply how many billions and trillions we spend on engineering our environment to undo the results of our own foolish ill-thought actions, there is no turning back the time and the world as we know it is gone forever? What if we're fated to have lost our loving caring hospitable world in exchange for a hellish one of our own creation. Is there any point in making changes to our lifestyle to be more sustainable, or could we just give up and live the worst possible lives because why does it matter anyway it's not going to change the outcome for the better anyway.
The tipping point may be reached, we do not know, but regardless of whether our actions have impact on the future or not, giving up is not the right move. Rather, if we are meek against the environment, we need to make changes in places where our actions will have positive impact still-- the structures of our societies. We need to create institutions and structures that are geared towards assisting those in need, those that are going to be the victims of our selfish ways. The environment may be a lost cause, but we can change the way we deal with the impact to make it more humane, egalitarian and kind. Make healthcare more approachable and affordable, make governmental more flexible to great disruptions, make agriculture more adaptable to the adapting ecosystems. There is no giving up. Humans are tough and adapting, and we can surely adapt to the results of our follies. The cost may be high, but it's worth the reward of a sustained human growth.
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