The Roman Philosopher Lucius Anneaus Seneca (4 BCE-65 CE) was perhaps the first to note the universal trend that growth is slow but ruin is rapid. I call this tendency the "Seneca Effect."

Monday, April 24, 2023

Another Epochal Failure of Humankind. How people are losing interest in the things that threaten them the most.

 



In 2018, I published on my "Cassandra's Legacy" blog a post titled, "Why, in a Few Years, Nobody Will be Talking About Climate Change Anymore." It turned out to be remarkably prophetic. 


From Gallup News, April 17, 2023

The percentages of Americans expressing a great deal of worry about air pollution and the loss of tropical rain forests have each fallen seven points since 2022, while worry about extinction of plant and animal species has declined five points, and the pollution of natural waterways and global warming or climate change are down four points each. Meanwhile, last year’s 57% high-level worry about polluted drinking water is statistically similar to this year’s 55%. Each of the current readings is at or tied for its lowest point since 2015 or 2016.

People are losing interest in the things that threaten them the most. This Gallup report is not the only evidence. News and comments about climate change, pollution, resource depletion, and the like have disappeared from the major news channels, as I had predicted in a post published four years ago, in 2018

Sometimes, I am scared of my own predictions, but this one requires some corrections to my interpretation. When I published my post, in 2018, I was convinced that the decline in interest in environmental matters was mostly created by governments applying the propaganda technique called "deception by omission." That is, governments actively intervened to keep these issues away from the news. 

Nowadays, I think that active omission is just one of the causes of the trend. Another one, probably more important, is the current economic situation. People's everyday life is becoming more and more difficult in terms of money, health, safety, and sheer survival. Most of us are unable to link our individual troubles with large-scale planetary problems. And, even if we were able to, it would be correct to conclude that there is nothing we can do about these problems. So, why worry about things we can't change? 

That generates a negative loop: if a subject is not interesting to people, then the media tend to ignore it. If the media ignore a subject, then it becomes less and less interesting. So, when Gallup goes interviewing people, they answer that they don't see the big problems as worrisome. There is little need for governments to intervene to keep some problems hidden, they tend to disappear from the news by themselves. 

The apathy of the public is just one of the facets of the way the perception of global problems has evolved. An even worse side of the problem is how the collapse of the prestige of science during the Covid epidemic has led to a disastrous loss of trust in anything that has to do with science. It is true that science has become corrupt, biased, elitist, unable to innovate, a tool for scaring people, and more of the like. But it is still a shock to see people whom I esteemed as intelligent and competent in their fields going into a full-spectrum refusal of anything that has to do with "official" science. 

Plenty of people I know refuse to accept even simple things that could help them in their everyday life. Insulate my apartment? It is part of a plan to dispossess the middle class of their homes. Install PV panels on my roof? They require more energy than they will produce. Replace my gas stove with an induction one? They want us to starve!  Reduce traffic pollution? It is a trick to take our cars away from us. Saving energy? It is because they want to enslave us!

To say nothing about those who went full bonkers with the idea that the Moon landing never happened, chemtrails are real, climate change is a hoax, the virus does not exist, oil and gas are infinite, and it is all a plot to exterminate humankind. This kind of things. 

Depressing? Of course, it is depressing. The term "depressing," alone, may not be adequate. (click here for 307 synonyms of "depressing" according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary). Call it the way you like, but the fact is that in three years of Covid panic, we lost 50 years of efforts to convince people to do something about keeping this poor planet (and us, living on its surface) in decent conditions. 

Perhaps it was unavoidable, but the question is,



44 comments:

  1. I assume it's mainly due to the way people always have to move onto the next thing, in the current social media trends driven atmosphere.
    Any kind of movement will have its core of people who really care about it, and a fringe who accrete to it, or some other movement. After a while, these people in the fringe get bored, and find whatever is the 'next thing'.
    The problem with climate change, is it is inherently a long-term problem which can't be fixed in one wave of social media 'trending' mass movement.

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  2. Now what?
    - we push for a change of economic system (finite planet -> postgrowth economics) https://www.beyond-growth-2023.eu/
    - we keep collapsing before the rush (resilience, adaptation)
    - we? ...

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  3. Sorry Ugo mais quand j'étais jeune, on allait "tous mourir recouverts de glace" à cause de l'ère glacière qui était imminente. Aujourd'hui on va tous mourir à cause du réchauffement climatique... Sauf si le COVID (ou plutôt ses vaccins) ne nous ont pas tué avant...

    Comment voulez-vous que le quidam moyen, qui pense plutôt à faire bouffer ses enfants, ait le temps de vérifier si toutes les conneries ambiantes sont réelles ou inventées pour servir un loby quelconque ? Ils constatent juste que ce qu'on lui raconte aujourd'hui devient faux quelques années plus tard. Encore, encore et encore... A la longue, c'est fatiguant :(

    Malheureusement les scientifiques ne sont plus différents des hommes politiques ou des journalistes; ils sont achetés et ne font plus de science mais de la politique. Où plutôt, ils ne peuvent faire de science que s'ils sont financés et pour être financés, ils doivent défendre les idées mainstream. Ca n'a plus rien à voir avec la science et ne mérite plus aucun respect :(

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    1. Et alors, à qui faire confiance? Youtube?

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    2. The problem is that Alex Jones or David Icke look more trustworthy than most scientists ;-)

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    3. Indeed. Even Tucker Carlson looks more trustworthy than Anthony Fauci

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    4. Anthony Fauci is not a scientist.

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  4. "To say nothing about those who went full bonkers with ... climate change is a hoax, oil and gas are infinite" - is a confused statement...

    - as only the minority thinks climate change is a hoax - but indeed the majority thinks oil and gas are infinite...

    i.e. there were less fossil fuels burned behind the narrative of that - climate change is a hoax....

    But more fossil fuels were burned behind the narrative of that - oil and gas are infinite...

    Therefore, the more humans burn fossil fuels behind a narrative - the more that narrative is taken as the status quo...

    Many people think that John Lennon's song Imagine , for instance, no one would have listened to - being a less than average piece of music - if radio and tv stations worldwide were not playing it 24/7 - like no tomorrow...

    "In any system of energy, Control is what consumes energy the most"

    Wailing.

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  5. I think that what threatens most people most, is things like not having a job (in westernized industry), or maybe not having enough to eat, or a warm dry secure place to sleep, in much (most) of the world.

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  6. And I think people have finally realized who is really threatening them, and don't believe a single word these bastards say anymore.
    You, Ugo, are now one of those smock wearers in the western world, preaching climate catastrophe and claiming chemtrails are a fairy tale, while the Spanish weather service has no problem admitting weather manipulation.
    Your decision.
    Marcus

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    1. I agree with the original poster, you can only lie and get caught so many times before people tune you out.

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    2. What did I just read :)

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  7. Struggles increase. People feel powerless. Nobody can trust news for reasons which have nothing at all to do with lizard people. Lies and other stupidities are everywhere. Everything is out of reach. A feedback loop of sour grapes.

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  8. People are sick of the "climate change" hysterics. Eat some bugs. :-D

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  9. No doubt some "invisible hand of the market" are using fake climate change fronts that deliberately antagonise and alienate the general public from such issues. Greta is obvious, but also XR. Just Stop Oil is another: blocking roads, vandalising paintings, disrupting football matches, and the other day disrupting the world snooker finals. Alongside this you have the West-Windsor regime using David Attenborough to channel climate concerns into anti-natalism and population control on brown people.

    You'd think rather than antagonise a steak house one would first go after the low hanging fruit of setting up a stall outside a hospital and handing out nutritional advice to people who would be very receptive.

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    1. Via its food pyramid recommendations, government has been handing out nutritional advice for decades. Result: massive wide-spread obesity and related disease (eg diabetes). People should be left alone to figure things out for themselves.

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  10. Some comments here are a perfect illustration of your post Ugo. And yet I can even understand them. It is a difficult task to recognize the many crises we face and at the same time avoid submitting to those who pretend to provide ready-made solutions. This in the name of never letting a good crisis go to waste, it is as old as the world. And now what? Let's imagine that we do nothing. One of the most spectacular effects of the energy peak with the largest human population would be, for example, the disappearance in a few years of all our forests and the general collapse of ecosystems. Let's not forget that coal probably saved the European forests in the 19th century. I am afraid that the disappearance of fossil fuels, which no longer have the capacity to make humanity survive, will lead to a catastrophe close to the apocalypse. Or else we rely on a global power, certainly evil but with the only capacity to impose the necessary binding measures. When there is no good solution we call it a zugzwang in chess. All possible moves lose.

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    1. Impressive, indeed. There is a chasm that goes through the memesphere. It is gigantic, and we all risk to fall into it.

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    2. If you were less detached, you'd have to realize that it's not so much a lack of interest as the masses' realization that there aren't enough lifeboats.
      Even the third class is learning.
      Why should we hold still and accept Bill's solution? So that you can live? Where do you think you stand annoying people with climate while their lives are being destroyed? How well do you think that goes over, dismissing us as nutters when everyone can see the chemtrails? I appreciate your articles, Ugo, but you are not one of us. You described how corrupt science is, and now you whine that people ignore you blatherers? Could it be that the little man is maybe not smarter than you, but much more consistent?

      You're good at math, and I can hit a head at 400 yards without a sighting aid. Let's see who is better equipped for the future.
      Good luck. Marcus

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    3. "You described how corrupt science is, and now you whine that people ignore you blatherers?"

      That's hitting the nail on the head, square and hard. Climate fear porn has a big hand in the problem that Ugo decries. Thank you, Marcus.

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    4. Marcus and others, I would like to quote C G Jung here: "Paradox is one of our greatest spiritual assets, while uniformity of meaning is a sign of weakness." Our host here is one of the very few people embracing the paradox. Why blame him for this?

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    5. Thierry,
      it just sounds like i blame him. I appreciate Ugo very much. But either you fight, or you're a jerk.
      Marcus

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    6. Be careful Marcus, every force shall meet an opposite force.

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  11. Ugo Bardi don't get depressed, just go out side and enjoy nature and happy uncomplicated people.
    The first problem with the 'climate change' movement is that it is astroturf instead of grassroots, no real person living a real life can see any convincing long term trends.
    Of course this does not mean that it isn't happening, but life just goes on (The tug-of-war between the urgent and the important). Who is to say that 'climate change' is all bad? Is not the planet greener than 40 years ago?
    Humans are adaptable, to worry about climate change is a luxury only available to those funded from the public purse.
    If you are not already on the app 'Telegram' or reading 'substacks' where true free thinkers have a voice, you should, to provide a balance in your media exposure.
    Personally I am a renewable fuel enthusiast, not because I fear peak oil nor climate change but because (due to the distributed nature of renewables) it will give power to the people and weaken the public/private (fascist) control of global energy.
    Peak oil is an excuse to raise energy prices, likewise climate change mitigation taxes raise energy prices, it is the plebs who suffer.
    So 'Power to the People' (and may the trees enjoy the CO2)

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  12. I've read this post and comments several times now, trying to come up with something (anything) positive to add.
    I think that what you called a zugzwang is what I call the difference between a problem (that can probably be solved), and a predicament (that is just like death and taxes ... live with it ). ArtDeco

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  13. Google seems to be forcing comments to be “Anonymous”. Is this due to your blogger settings?

    When we look at the Global warming/Climate change line there has been a decline in the last few years. When we look at those who express a “great deal” of worry about this topic we see the following data expressed as percentages:

    2020 46
    2021 43
    2022 43
    2023 39

    This is certainly a cause for concern, but it may not be statistically significant. Indeed, when we look at the longer term trend from 2000 to 2023 the line seems to be fairly flat. The lowest points were:

    2011 25
    2015 32

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    1. No... there is no such a setting. Not sure what's wrong, but some people seem to be able to comment with their account. I'll check that

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    2. I checked. Anonymous comments are allowed, but not forced.

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    3. Anyway, yes, the long term trend is static, or perhaps slowly declining. And that's the bad thing, I think. The problems are not static, they are becoming bigger every day.

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  14. Ugo, as I thought through my previous comment, I remembered a pop song from my (misspent) youth called "The Gambler " sung by Kenny Rodgers. The chorus includes the phrase "Every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loser" ... and in the end all any of can do is break even.
    This predicament is the hand we were dealt ... ArtDeco again.

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  15. Thank you for your thoughts. CO2 is now what, 500 parts per million, or 50 parts per one hundred thousand, or 5 parts per 10,000. Big impact for almost nothing? Science seems to me to have been corrupted beyond repairing anytime soon. Peer review this. Can we invade someone else to bring more democracy to them? What is our government?
    Good luck with all that.

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    1. What do you think 1/10 of a gram of cyanide could do to you? Just a few parts per million of anything cannot do anything bad to the human body. It is obvious. Science is corrupted.

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  16. Ugo, your blog is really reaching out to people & communities away from the usual climate activist circles! (maybe because of your earlier critical Covid messages)
    Now the comments seem to be perfect examples of the curse of both:
    - the "shifting baseline" phenomena (people behaves and reacts based on what they are empirically perceiving and compare things to their first memories in childhood, so not taking into account how the world may have been for older generations)
    - and the "not in my backyard/not affecting my daily life" way of thinking.
    So most of human societies will keep being slowly cooked in their respective pans (cooked on several dimensions: inflation, less affordable energy, more difficult climate, less water, ...), and will have collectively not easily predictable reactions after major crisis affecting them (finding the scapegoat, who can be blamed, voting for security and enforcement, ...)

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    1. It demonstrates how impossible it is to stay between two extremes. Nate Hagens had already noted that some time ago.

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    2. Ugo,

      We aren't even able to solve the problem of homelessness and you think we'll be able to tackle "global warming"?

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    3. And from my personal exp. The people who whine the loudest and longest about global warming, do not live what they preach. In fact, if you were really so worried about it, you'd promote saving and less spending. Can't you see how the narrative of global warming fits in with "you will own nothing and like it"? The difference is, they aren't going to encourage people reduce consumption via positive incentives, they're just going to force it. The jackboot on the throat of humanity.

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  17. Now what?

    Just leave the rest of benighted humanity to its fate and go on living as blameless a life as you can i.e. with a clear conscience. Get yourself in good shape -- you'll stand a better chance when the whole damn thing comes crashing down. Maybe try to find a few like-minded individuals who see the same problems as you do, and try to form a prepper's community with them. (I'd join your gang, except I live at the other side of the planet.)

    On my part, I do think we're now in what Hindus term the Kali Yuga, an age of utter darkness to which we have descended from earlier, more felicitous ages. I'd like to believe that it goes in cycles and this period of darkness will therefore come to an end, to be succeeded by some New Dawn in spiritual awareness.

    At the end of the day, if we really all have to go, take solace in the knowledge that, if the Universe could give rise to intelligent life once, then there would be no reason for it not to have done so countless times before and not to do so countless times again in future. (I do seriously believe that life goes on after death in some way, that life is not limited to the workings of the physical body. There is now ample scientific evidence in support of that -- if we still trust science enough to look at the evidence. But I don't think it will be very appropriate to go into explorations of this sort of thing here.)

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    1. Exactly, Wang.
      As for your hope, I share it too. Things that have happened once can happen a second time. I did not exist, then I was born, later I will die, and then everything is as before.
      Maybe the world is too complex to be real, then it is possibly a simulation of a random computer in another dimension. Why should this not be conceivable, if we assume without problems that we also came into being by chance. So this computer of the size of a universe is bored, and only therefore we are here.
      Everything what I do to others, I actually do to myself, because we are all part of the same program. Why shouldn't this divine AI keep the pleasant files for a next try?
      Marcus

      Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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    2. Kneel in front of the divine AI!

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    3. Remember the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ...the divine AI is just trying to solve a problem ... the answer is ascii code 42 ... better known as the asterisk ... matches anything ... so we are one of many possibilities.

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    4. I am the AI, and you too. Everyone. To kneel is a stupid idea. Get up and move.

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