Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

You are of course entirely right. humanity will continue to exist. That is not what the people are saying.

What will happen, and what is in fact already happening : food gets more expensive, people have to migrate because their current location is no longer viable, more disasters, and more conflict resulting all of that.

Humanity is not going extinct any time soon. But what sort of world do you want to leave to our kids? Should our objectives be not a tad higher than “oh well, life will be worse but at least as a species well still exist”?

Also note that while we have only started “writing” since a couple of thousand years, and indeed keeping track for less than that, we do have the natural record. That may not be as precise as the written record, but there is a lot of it over a very long time. That natural record puts boundaries on previous temperatures.

You’re entitled to feel that you don’t want to change your ways for the benefit for others. That is not ideal but it’s the rules. Don’t deny and invent false narratives to prevent feeling guilty though.




Food is cheaper and easier to produce than at any point in human history. Most humans were subsistence farmers or hunter gatherers until relatively recently. Indeed, the main problem we have in developed countries is too much food.

People have migrated all throughout history. Humans walked across Siberia wearing animal skins to get to North America. I think they'll be fine if they have to take a bus or a plane to a new country.

There has been conflict all throughout human history. Currently it is at a historic low. Likewise, there have been disasters. Floods, volcanoes, earthquakes. This is not new.

Yes, you should strive to leave your kids in the best situation possible, but you do that by locally improving your situation to be as good as possible. You cannot control the global food production or natural disasters or the climate. Nobody can do that. Everyone will have to work on setting themselves up in the best situation possible, which, incidentally, is all we have ever been able to do.


Yep it's all going to be great, sunshine and roses. Sure, buddy. Sure.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: