One of the most fascinating things about humans is their endless ability to deny the obvious. Our civilization is clearly headed for collapse, yet most people — even those who know that climate change is real — think the economy can keep growing forever, just so long as it’s a “green economy.”
First of all, there is no such thing as a green economy. To create renewables and electric vehicles, we have to destroy ecosystems so we can mine rare-earth metals. And to produce the plastic, steel, cement, and other components that go into solar panels and wind turbines, we need oil. There’s nothing green about any of this.
Secondly, even if we found an infinite source of clean energy, endless growth would still be impossible. If energy usage were to keep growing at 2.3% per year — as it has for many decades — in 400 years, the oceans would be boiling just from the waste heat. The laws of physics are a bitch.
So obviously, infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible, yet most people deny this basic fact. The idea of modern civilization coming to an end is so unthinkable that they simply refuse to believe it.
There are some who agree that in the long run, civilization is unsustainable, but they still believe it can survive the 21st century if we convince every major government to enact climate-friendly policies. I have some bad news for those people.
Even if there were no climate change, civilization would still collapse due to the dwindling supply of fossil fuels. We get about 84% of our energy from fossil fuels, and we need them to create thousands of everyday items, not to mention synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, without which half the world would starve. But it gets worse…
Even if there were no climate change and we had an endless supply of fossil fuels, civilization would still collapse due to biodiversity loss. We are at the beginning of the Earth’s sixth mass extinction event, and it looks like it’s going to be the fastest one ever.
Pollution and habitat destruction are mutilating the tree of life. Once the insects are mostly gone and the topsoil is mostly dead, we will no longer have the ability to grow food on a mass scale, and it will be game over for modern civilization…
