• Lif3r
    387
    This planet is going to start rejecting humans soon. The rich don't care. They are already prepared to survive it. The rest of us are too stupid to stop buying their waste. If you are poor you are almost completely fucked. Migrations are already happening and will become larger as time progresses. Land will become scarce and jobs will become very few. The poor will take a financial hit of many trillions of dollars. It's going to be absolute chaos and we aren't going to stop it. Our children and grandchildren are going to be fighting nature and each other tooth and nail for survival. Take measures now to prepare for what is next.

    Sell your beachfront property if you have one. It's not going to hold value because well...
    It's gonna be under water.

    Move to high ground near abundant water supply, away from highly flammable environments. Anywhere with common natural disasters will see an increase of those natural disasters. All of the weather will essentially become magnified, so you are looking for a place that doesn't have any or many natural disasters. Everywhere is going to get hotter. Climates that are cold will become mild, climates that are hot will become deserts.

    Consider building an inexpensive underground bunker with state of the art air filtration. Essentially all you really need is a pantry, abundant with food, water, and clean air. This may not come in handy immediately, but it could come in handy soon for multiple reasons, or it could come in handy for your children in the future, but remember the importance of location.

    Fresh water is going to become the new oil. It will be the most valuable and sought resource on the planet because it is going to become increasingly more difficult to access. You need some. As a matter of fact you need as much as you can possibly find and you should probably store it in your bunker.

    I don't know what is going to hit harder, the planet itself or our difficulties in coexisting with one another as it happens. In the midst of it all I have a feeling that government will eventually fail, shift, or become non existent altogether. Buy a gun. If you are smart, buy several. Don't trust anyone, as we will all be in constant fight or flight mode, and don't ask me for help. I'm sorry, but just because I have preparation doesn't mean I have rations or weapons or time to save you. My family is my responsibility under survival conditions and your family is yours. It isn't anything against any of you, it's just the intelligent way to approach the situation. Although I try my hardest to be a decent human, I don't trust people to be decent to each other, or expect that they have my best interests in mind, especially when shit hits the fan.

    Good luck.
  • unenlightened
    9.2k
    Buy a gun. If you are smart, buy several. Don't trust anyone,Lif3r

    Really poor advice. This is what brought us to this pitch. The bunker mentality.

    The problem is that we have learned to control the environment, but have no idea how to control ourselves.
  • Tzeentch
    3.7k
    Have you ever wondered why you desire for all this doomsday rhetoric to be true?

    Not that I'd know. But I'm sure answering that question would teach you a thing or two about yourself.
  • NOS4A2
    9.2k


    Do you trust humans to give you an accurate model of the future? Extreme poverty is in decline, life expectancy has more than doubled since 1900. Is it really time to cower in some bunker?
  • Lif3r
    387
    so you just expect that to magically change based on which disney movie?
  • Lif3r
    387
    the notion that I wish for doomsday is absolutely preposterous and a complete uneducated assumption of my character.
  • Lif3r
    387
    I already know your stance on climate change NOS, and I am uninterested in watching you flail aimlessly in the dark.
  • Tzeentch
    3.7k
    Buddy, I don't know who you're think you're fooling here. Yourself maybe?
  • Lif3r
    387
    wow can you please say something useful?
  • Nils Loc
    1.4k
    Sounds like all too much work for a life not worth living.

    I believe you can't really escape being, since being like something is all there is between spans of non-existence. Though we can escape suffering by whatever means is deemed worth it.

    I just don't want anyone to cut my eye lids off and slowly cook me alive over a fire. Be merciful.
  • unenlightened
    9.2k
    so you just expect that to magically change based on which disney movie?Lif3r

    No, I don't expect it to change by some manipulation. That is rather the point. You keep on with the same old and expect a different result. And even you can see that it doesn't work. So stop. Take a look around.
  • NOS4A2
    9.2k


    You preach end days and I’m the one that’s flailing aimlessly in the dark?
  • unenlightened
    9.2k
    As you see, you have provided us with a holiday from philosophy. We're all doomed, you're probably right. but it's bin fun watching you squirm between Nils Nos and I. :heart:
  • tim wood
    9.2k
    Buy a gun. If you are smart, buy several. Don't trust anyone, as we will all be in constant fight or flight mode, and don't ask me for help. I'm sorry, but just because I have preparation doesn't mean I have rations or weapons or time to save you. My family is my responsibility under survival conditions and your family is yours. It isn't anything against any of you, it's just the intelligent way to approach the situation. Although I try my hardest to be a decent human, I don't trust people to be decent to each other, or expect that they have my best interests in mind, especially when shit hits the fan.Lif3r

    It's likely you do not realize that you are living in (and out) a fantasy - I suppose it might be called the survivalist fantasy. Which is not at all to say there is not some truth or possibility of truth in dire predictions. What is unhealthy, dangerous, and unproductive is to confuse the fantasy with reality. The poster-child for this kind of fantasy - mental illness - is the fellow who takes his AR-15, a .45, and an ankle pistol to Walmart, the grocery store, and 7-11. Why is he strapped three ways? Because he's protecting his family! If you do not see the sickness in this, make an appointment with a metal health professional. And btw, do you or anyone in your home smoke, drive, or consume illegal drugs? That just goes to unaddressed dangers much closer to home than the apocalypse, and never mind the inherent and demonstrated danger of guns in homes.

    The test is reasonableness, not to be confused with conformity. And if you're several standard deviations away from reasonable, then you need recalibration of your actions, your motivations (and knowledge and understandings), or both.

    A test of reasonableness is reconciling your actions with best solutions for what you think the problems are. Have you identified any problems? Are your actions your best options for solving those problems? If not, then you're fooling yourself, making a fool of yourself, making yourself a danger to yourself and others, and profoundly misdirecting your life.

    But I suspect you have not even a clue as to what I'm referring to here.
  • Punshhh
    2.6k
    You might mock Lif3r's solution to the issue, but can you deny his predictions of the climatic conditions, or the human behaviour when it starts to happen?

    Unfortunately his bunker mentality isn't going to help him for long, you only need to watch Mad Max to see that.

    There are two things that interest me here, when will real estate values at sea level begin to drop? And how the super rich think they are going to insulate themselves from the mayhem?

    Firstly, I give the real estate values maybe another 5 years before the penny drops and secondly it would be interesting to know if there are any super rich building bunkers in mountains anywhere yet?
    Perhaps a mountain range somewhere like Hawaii, or New Zealand. I'd give South Georgia a go, but I'm not rich enough, but I have recently moved uphill, I'm now at 56m above sea level.
  • Athena
    3.2k
    I think you are correct to believe human behavior will not be congenial when the shit hits the fan. We can through studies of humans that mothers allowing passively allow their children to die when and abandon them when they can not feed them. We know of cases of humans eating humans when they are dealing with starvation. What makes us nice humans is full bellies and security. Take that away, some of them will give up and die, some of them become brutal to survive, the most capable and intelligent will work together for their mutual survival and protection of resources but such groups will necessarily be small when the environment can only support a small group of people, and we are no longer shipping meats, vegetables, and fruits to supermarkets year-round.
  • Athena
    3.2k
    And do you know how to keep a nuclear power plant from melting down? You may live so far from a nuclear power plant this is not an issue for you, but nuclear power plants must be properly maintained and this requires a constant water supply to prevent them from melting down and no amount of money will protect humans from this, because keeping a power plant operating and providing needs requires knowledge and labor. Who will keep the mines open and turn the ores into cars, batteries, cell phones, etc.? The richest people are dependent on the laborers to provide their needs. How are they going to protect their labor force and get essential resources from around the world?
  • Athena
    3.2k


    Historically good times become bad times and bad times become good times. Civilizations fall because humans do not live sustainably, and eventually, their populations require more than their environments can sustain. Increasing our success by consuming from around the world, means we pull the whole world down, not just our own civilization. Even if the changing weather patterns did not lead to our doom, our refusal to live with the limits of our environments and the limits of the planet, will take us down. Just as every civilization before us fell, including the fall of Rome and South American civilizations. However, if a plague wipes out 1/3 or more of the population, those who survive, get to enjoy the good life.
  • iolo
    226
    For my money, the species has done for itself. Let's hope it's quick. Do people think it matters much?
  • Punshhh
    2.6k
    I agree in terms of civilisation, but a few humans will survive like they did last time and the time before that etc.. ( we can't say how many times, but I expect more than historians think). The trick is to somehow pass some knowledge on to the survivors to help them along, so they don't have to go right back to the Stone Age and start all over again.
  • Punshhh
    2.6k
    I live about 25 miles from Sizewell B, Sizewell A is there too, it was decommissioned a long time ago and I expect there are some nasty surprises hidden inside. Sizewell C is due to be started about now. I know a number of people doing conservation work on the site. Looking at Chernobyl, nature is getting along just fine in the contaminated areas. I think I heard that some folk have moved back in, but it might just be a rumour.

    And looking to the survivors, Mad Max looks about right, with more gazolene than I would expect. We would be back to a feudal system quite quickly I expect, but with some serious turmoil and blood shed during the intervening years. The question is, just how far we will fall before it bottoms out.

    I am an antique dealer, I have reservations about the market recovering following the recent fall of the market.
  • iolo
    226
    ↪iolo I agree in terms of civilisation, but a few humans will survive like they did last time and the time before that etc.. ( we can say how many times, but I expect more than historians think). This trick is to somehow pass some knowledge on to the survivors to help them along, so they don't have to go right back to the Stone Age and start all over again.Punshhh

    It's conceivable, but there would need to be some big evolutionary changes. Wouldn't it be better to be developing successor-robots now? They'd last better, and there might be some profit in them.
  • Athena
    3.2k
    :lol: Robots just don't fit into my fantasy of what is valuable. I am old and as far as I am concerned if humans do not thrive, nothing matters. I care as much about robots outsurviving humans as I care about my shoe existing a hundred years from now. :roll:

    I will go with what Punshhh says about the importance of transmitting our knowledge to the young. I believe democracy is best for humanity and it is not defended unless it is defended in the classroom. We have not defended democracy in the classroom since 1958 when we replaced liberal education with education for the Military-Industrial Complex that makes people dependent on technology and authority instead of preparing us for liberty and the responsibility of democracy. Now we have humans who are happy to give up their liberty to live under the control of robots because they believe robots can be superior to humans. That is frightening! A machine can never be human. There are no fairies that can turn Pinocchio into a real boy.
  • I like sushi
    4.8k
    Nothing ‘philosophical’ here. Flagged.
  • Brett
    3k
    @Athena. @Punshhh. @iolo

    What a bunch of pathetic, self indulgent losers. I don’t believe any of you really believe what you write. You insult everyone that’s come before you to forge a life out of nothing.
  • Punshhh
    2.6k
    Is climate change not happening then? I'm happy to be corrected, indeed it would be great news. I have cut down on flying and heat my house with firewood I grow myself. But if I don't need to do these things it would great?
  • TheMadFool
    13.8k
    This planet is going to start rejecting humans soon. The rich don't care. They are already prepared to survive it. The rest of us are too stupid to stop buying their waste. If you are poor you are almost completely fucked. Migrations are already happening and will become larger as time progresses. Land will become scarce and jobs will become very few. The poor will take a financial hit of many trillions of dollars. It's going to be absolute chaos and we aren't going to stop it. Our children and grandchildren are going to be fighting nature and each other tooth and nail for survival. Take measures now to prepare for what is next.

    Sell your beachfront property if you have one. It's not going to hold value because well...
    It's gonna be under water.

    Move to high ground near abundant water supply, away from highly flammable environments. Anywhere with common natural disasters will see an increase of those natural disasters. All of the weather will essentially become magnified, so you are looking for a place that doesn't have any or many natural disasters. Everywhere is going to get hotter. Climates that are cold will become mild, climates that are hot will become deserts.

    Consider building an inexpensive underground bunker with state of the art air filtration. Essentially all you really need is a pantry, abundant with food, water, and clean air. This may not come in handy immediately, but it could come in handy soon for multiple reasons, or it could come in handy for your children in the future, but remember the importance of location.

    Fresh water is going to become the new oil. It will be the most valuable and sought resource on the planet because it is going to become increasingly more difficult to access. You need some. As a matter of fact you need as much as you can possibly find and you should probably store it in your bunker.

    I don't know what is going to hit harder, the planet itself or our difficulties in coexisting with one another as it happens. In the midst of it all I have a feeling that government will eventually fail, shift, or become non existent altogether. Buy a gun. If you are smart, buy several. Don't trust anyone, as we will all be in constant fight or flight mode, and don't ask me for help. I'm sorry, but just because I have preparation doesn't mean I have rations or weapons or time to save you. My family is my responsibility under survival conditions and your family is yours. It isn't anything against any of you, it's just the intelligent way to approach the situation. Although I try my hardest to be a decent human, I don't trust people to be decent to each other, or expect that they have my best interests in mind, especially when shit hits the fan.

    Good luck.
    Lif3r

    A great plot for a video game or a movie but I think it's been done to death. Judging by the popularity of this genre I suspect it reflects the mainstream opinion or is the geeky lot, those who actually watch and play doomsday-themed movies and games respectively, susceptible to such bleak outlooks. Considering geeks are usually of above-average intelligence should we put stock in such future scenarios or is it that the geek-intelligence relationship is just a misconception and the future-is-disaster mindset is nothing more than an idiosyncrasy?
  • Brett
    3k


    or is it that the geek-intelligence relationship is just a misconceptionTheMadFool

    I think they got just enough of an education to lead them to think they’re intelligent.
  • Punshhh
    2.6k
    There are many people in the US who think the strategy adopted by Lif3r is appropriate for life in the US in its current state, irrespective of any worries about climate change. It's a symptom of the socio-cultural state of the nation.
  • Brett
    3k

    It's a symptom of the socio-cultural state of the nation.Punshhh

    So the rest of the world is fine.
  • TheMadFool
    13.8k
    I think they got just enough of an education to lead them to think they’re intelligent.Brett

    So, there's no truth in such beliefs - beliefs that there's a calamity waiting for humanity just round the corner? Geeks have it wrong then.

    I chanced upon a wikipedia entry titled Survivalism and it's exactly what the OP is about. The OP discusses the extreme version of survivalism but in the broader sense that it actually has is of considerable relevance to us e.g. it's about self-sufficiency and disaster preparedness and other stuff, all of which have real-world applications and are actually practised in disaster-prone regions of the world.

    What is questionable though is the leap to global disaster scenarios. I mean events that could set off a global catastrophe need to be exponentially greater than the local disasters we experience - supervolcanoes, giant asteroids, extreme global climate change, pandemics, nuclear war, worldwide politcal meltdown, etc. - and the likelihood of such events seem minuscule. Nevertheless the probabilities are non-zero i.e. even if very very unlikely, a supervolcano can erupt which would vindicate the extreme version of survivalism.

    I guess it boils down to understanding probabilities of events and then making decisions accordingly. Reminds me of Pascal's wager - should I not prepare for a world-ending catastrophe because it's so unlikely or should I prepare for it because it's so lethal?

    There are many people in the US who think the strategy adopted by Lif3r is appropriate for life in the US in its current state, irrespective of any worries about climate change. It's a symptom of the socio-cultural state of the nation.Punshhh

    Kindly read above.
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