I'm fairly convinced that the status quo can do nothing to prevent the collapse of complex industrial society. Obviously it's a complicated topic, but if you assume the position that by 2030 there will be dramatic, uncontrollable warming of the planet (and all of the side effects that will bring), what is to be done to prevent that?
As a guy with a decent work-from-home kind of job (for now) and enough resources to be comfortable, it's been incredibly tempting during quarantine to think about building a house off the grid, finding a stable source of drinking water, and building a sustainable farming homestead in rural America. 2020 has demonstrated that things don't always just work out. I'm worried about the precarious material conditions that pervade contemporary urban culture (at least from the perspective of sustainability if food/water/power systems are interrupted). And I know I could develop the skills I need to live like that.
But obviously, something can be done to prevent a collapse. We could work together to ensure the stability of urban environments, and produce all of the energy and matetials we need here, locally. We could put everyone to work with this goal in mind. We could build a better world collectively.
But how? How do I find a group of people to work with? How do I convince the liberals who just shrug and say, man, isn't it just terrible that trump is in charge? How do I find anyone who's thinking about this shit, and realizes that actually yes, this can all fall apart. Things are not as stable as they seem. Climate change is literally the only issue that matters in any time frame beyond 10 years.
What is next? What is there to do?
deleted by creator
This is an incredibly interesting question, because you recognize that there is no such thing as a win-win; this is a complex situation, and every decision has trade-offs. There is no One Simple Answer. I do think that there is an intervention point to be found here:
This premise presumes that it is crude capitalist consumption that drives quality of life, which the evidence simply does not bear out. Consumption culture doesn’t actually make people happier, we just tend to believe that when we live in consumer culture. Above a certain level of material security, having additional material stuff doesn’t actually increase quality of life.
Monks. My point isn’t that we all need to become monks, but my point is that, throughout history, people have been able to decide, en masse, to decide to do with less, and were happier for it.
Obviously, no firm answers. I think that mass geo-engineering is a fool’s errand, personally. It’s like trying to sweep your floor when there’s a sandstorm and all your windows are open. And geo-engineering generates other issues around ecological degradation while trying to ‘fix’ the symptoms of climate change without looking at the causes.
I don’t know what it will look like, but at a certain point, growth simply has to stop. In a materially finite world, an economy premised on infinite growth is simply not sustainable. You will always hit ecological limits. Indeed, we’re hitting many right now right resource shortages and extinction crises; it’s only that climate change is so global, long-lasting, and frankly simple that it’s the one we all focus on.
I think that we will have to stop growth, and likely degrow a little. But I also think that if we do it via socialism, the vast majority of people will end up with a lot more security and wellbeing while we do it :)