Bill McKibben: This is how the earth works now

[AverageJoe90]

40. You didn't sound like a doomer to me.

I've been around a few of the "Earth will turn into Venus" or "Humanity will and should go extinct" types.....perhaps too many, and I haven't seen you saying any of that stuff. You'll have to forgive me for having been so cynical in the past, btw, but I was one of the many Americans turned off by constant barrages of "Earth will turn into Venus" type stuff all over the 'Net....I never did turn into a denier, but it took me a few years to wake up, and that was thanks to people like Peter Sinclair, and others, and they were just putting out the facts.

I'm a realist; I know how terribly serious this problem is and that the world's leaders do need to address the problems ASAP, or nothing will improve for us. And frankly, we have had to face setbacks in recent years, thanks to the downright evil machinations of the Koch Bros. and their ilk. Were it not for them, we would likely be in a much nicer position today.
We may very well face the mass downsizing of global civilization, and the loss of many tens of millions of people thru mega-famines, decades of at least semi-screwy weather patterns, etc. Some people may call me a doomer too, but I reject such labelling because I'm not one of those who believe there's no hope for Earth, or that humanity will go extinct, etc. What I do believe, is the reality that humanity does face an urgent, terrible, challenge for the foreseeable future in dealing with what could very well be the biggest crisis we've ever faced since the age of Civilization began, and that we MUST take action; the longer we wait, the more dire the circumstances. We have no other choice. But if we do, we can take steps to slowly, but surely build a better world for all of us.

You have already done your duty for 30 years, RobertEarl. Please don't stop now; the world needs more people like you. And I mean that sincerely.