this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2023
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By reminding myself that unless some space rock suddenly hits us or the sun decides to explode super early, we're fine. And if you look at our history as a species, we'll continue to be fine. We've endured far worse things than this before and we'll do it again and again. We're good at that. Stupidly good. Whatever rough spots we're facing now is going to pass. It's always passed. Can't be bad all the time, after all. As for global warming causing a potential extinction event? It...more than likely won't happen in our life time, so, worry, but don't, like, believe it'll happen tomorrow or that we're already actually facing The Great Dying 2.0. We're maybe at the crossroads, but not there yet.
Other than that? I do as a few have already mentioned here and try and make the world just a slightly better place. Helping others in my community out, being kind and considerate to the people around me, trying to not get frustrated at drivers out on the road (this is tough NGL), that kinda thing.
Climate change is killing people currently. It's not some far off distant event outside of our lifetimes. It's already happening and causing worldwide problems. We already passed the crossroads. Every year is hotter than the last, every year breaks records in terms of storm severity. This impacts people in poor, underdeveloped nations the most.
A possible extinction event isn't the only thing we need to worry about. The other problems of climate change are already here.
Let me be clear, we as the species Homo Sapiens, have not experienced catastrophic climate change on the level and speed we are now. We have also not lived through a mass extinction on the level we are now. Though we did live through an extinction of megafauna at the end of the last ice age, that is far different than a full scale mass extinction that is also decimating tiny animals like insect populations and the like, which is far more disturbing.
We really can’t say for sure how bad things are going to get before we (hopefully) get old and die but it is likely going to be very bad.
Oh yeah, on the level of Extinction Events, we haven't survived one yet. Hopefully we will in some way, shape or form (hopefully as ourselves), but you never know. That's why i said, or tried to say, "worry, but don't claw your hair off because of it just yet". Because if that punch is coming, there's no sense in worrying about it--better to brace for it as best we can, you know?
When i said "we've survived worse before" tho, it was in response to the OP's worries of the state of the United States. The question itself was kinda broad and they didn't really get specific, but at the same time...i highly doubt this is the worst it's gotten for the States (or any country, really) besides in the area of climate change, but that's not exclusive to the US, that's everwhere.