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Billionaires and greed part is actually right, and we as people should prepare accordingly. Those with more resources (money) will be able to afford travel, appliances, insurance, and better locations. Those who are struggling will have high mortality rate.

Just like what happened in titanic - if you were a third class passenger you were likely to die compared to first class passenger.

There are advertisements telling people to do their part, but that is misleading propaganda. Because a badly managed industry will actually spend more in a day than a person can produce in their lifetime. Only real reason would be to reduce consumerism to increase wealth, but very few places tell this real message or work for it.

We should try our best to increase this resource of money(to increase our survival) and also use our knowledge and wisdom to secure the resources people are not putting real value on.

Climate change would be unsettling during initial period as that would be the period of change. Suddenly, the weather will become really harsh as climates are moving and reorganizing. After that, a harsher equilibrium will be reached. We should accept that reality and work to help our loved ones weather it through.

We're just along for the ride. The people profiting from this have all the money and aren't going to change their mind because they think they can buy a solution for just themselves.

So, like the knowledge that we all die one day no matter what happens, it just has to be something you live with. Until you don't.

I want you to at least consider stepping away from the news if you can. Focus on what make you happy, what make you enjoy a life. Do you have a hobby? Is it something we can play with sometime?

"You will find that if you look for the light, you can often find it. But if you look for the dark, that will be all you will ever see." - Uncle Iroh in Legend of Korra

I am not going to deny that those topics you brought up are serious topics indeed, but it requires balanced mind to be able to confront such challenges and to ward off those who prey upon your vulnerability, so don't neglect yourself.

I wouldn’t call myself terrified, but I’m pessimistic. I’ve had this attitude for years, so the fear has faded into a constant, dull, background gloom.

It would take major, expensive, immediate action to combat climate change in a meaningful way, and I don’t think my government (US) has the willingness to do it. It’s too corrupt, and there are too many climate deniers in positions of power.

Now multiply that problem a few dozen times. Imagine how difficult it would be to get countries that hate each other to work together. Even if we narrow it down to the top polluters, it’s not gonna happen.

Next, consider individuals. A lot of people are greedy, selfish, and think climate change is a hoax. Plus, people are wired for denial. That’s not a condemnation of any group. It’s just a psychological fact.

Lastly, think about the nature of the problem itself. To avoid the worst of the consequences, we need to act before undeniable proof exists. Too many people don’t trust science, and will refuse to act until their personal standards for proof are met. Unfortunately, by the time there’s “sufficient” proof, it will be too late. Even if we could flip a switch and stop burning all fossil fuels immediately, it would take years for the environment to recover.

Of course, I could be wrong. I’m not one of those depressing clods who uses pessimism as an excuse to do nothing. I still try to do things that don’t harm the environment, even though I think it’s useless and trivial. I live as though my actions could matter. We’ll see… sooner rather than later, I think.

It's rough feeling that way. I don't blame you, OP. Climate science and the political situation around it look pretty grim right now. But I don't think humans are going to go extinct—rather it's just going to suck major ass after the 2.0°C threshold is breached.

This is easier to digest and accept if you don’t live in one of the areas already impacted by climate change. When you are actually experiencing the effects the reality of it is in your face and hard to tune out.

OP, just do what you can on an individual level and try to relieve your anxiety. It will take major, massive change to offset the Holocene extinction we’re currently in, enjoy the life you have and are living currently.

I am an environmental geologist and I do not have good news for you. I am also an eternal pessimist, and the two do not mix well. What I've personally found is that avoiding the news helps tremendously, especially when it comes to topics I have virtually no control over. It's not just burying my head in the sand, the news didn't used to be formatted to polarize you and force feed you fear by the bucketful like it is now. It's better for my own mental health to focus on my inner sphere, the things I can affect and have some control over. I follow my local news to a degree, I stay up on the things that impact the work I do, but otherwise I do anything and everything I can to avoid the news and I legitimately sleep better for it. I also try to impact things that will make a tangible difference to real people in my area. Think of it this way - if what you think is true (it's not that bad but it's still not good) then you and I have no way of controlling if the planet kills us and everyone else in fifty years. But what we can control is if something we do makes a difference to our neighbor. We can something that puts a smile on a friends face, or helps someone we love (or maybe we don't even know) have a better day. Those are active choices we can make and have control over.

Not saying it's for everyone, but that's what I've found helps me the most.

The concerning part is that a lot of the data is the most conservative available, so as to not seem alarmist. When even that looks grim, it's hard to hold onto any hope that our planet is on track to becoming anything other than a hellscape. A lot of climate change is the result of positive feedback loops -- self-aggrivating conditions. E.g., warmer arctic climate causes the release of methane previously trapped by ice (methane is a ridiculously potent greenhouse gas... something like 30x more potent than CO₂), so its release causes the climate to warm even more, which melts more arctic ice, which releases more methane, which makes the climate warmer, which melts more arctic ice, etc...

Even if every human just suddenly got thanos-snapped out of existence right now -- no more cars, no more shipping, no more deforestation, no more industry of any kind... full stop on pollution and active environmental destruction... even then, the positive feedback loops we've set into motion aren't just going to stop on their own. The process would be slower, sure, but Earth is (rather, the things on earth that make it more than just a dead rock floating in space, are) fucked.

On the plus side, we'll only be alive long enough to see the start of the 'find out' era. It's the generation after you that's really fucked; and the generation after them that's really, REALLY fucked, rinse and repeat until humanity is an eco-dome filled with oligarchs, or just straight up extinct.

At this point we're dependent on a (series of) miracle-tier scientific breakthrough(s), or literal divine/extraterrestrial intervention. I don't see the latter two happening. Vote for candidates who give a shit about science if you think there's any hope in that route.