Dear fellow DUers, I have a question: am I right to be terrified?

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122. Yes and No. Here's why the No.

(The Yes is obvious)

Why No?

In my opinion, our capacity for feeling terrified should be pretty much exhausted by now.

1. Climate change has turned the corner to become absolutely devastating over the next couple decades, if that. (in some places, it already is there.)
2. Severe over-population is not only exacerbating climate change, but many other devastating global impacts. Wars are basically being fought over diminishing resources (with other reasons given as a cover story). Meanwhile the attempt to hide the real problem and even PROMOTE further rapid over-population, seems far better funded than any effort to acknowledge the problem and find humane mitigation approaches.
3. Biodiversity loss - the upcoming major extinction event - also triggered by the first two - we are kicking out the bottom of the life pyramid on which humans as a species depend.
4. Over-consumptionism (a proper word isn't coming to mind at the moment) moves on apace, accelerating items 1 and 3 and being accelerated by item 2.

So, I'd say if you weren't already terrified - or had exhausted any capacity for that - you haven't been paying attention. But you are sadly in a very large company, including many good people who just don't know. Kudos to the global education system, sigh.