Wednesday, October 25, 2023

All previous intelligent life has destroyed itself?

See: NASA Scientists Present Theory About Why We Haven't Met Other Intelligent Life. It's Crushing. Mary Papenfuss, HuffPost, Nov 13, 2022.

That theory: "All intelligent life, they argue, has likely destroyed itself before reaching a sophisticated enough point in evolution to support such an encounter. And the same fate likely awaits humans unless we take action, they believe."

But also:

The World Solved Acid Rain. We Can Also Solve Climate Change Lessons from how we tackled acid rain can be applied to our world today, Hannah Ritchie, Scientific American, October 25, 2023

But if we don't act immediately?

Shades of Blue: What will our world look like if we don't act now? A scientist. A sustainability expert. An environmentalist. A climatologist. A psychologist. A policy maker. A writer. We assemble a proverbial roadmap for the path we must forge to ensure the future of our planet Ava Gilchrist, Grazia 15, 2023

“The agreement to create a so-called loss and damage fund was an important conclusion at the last COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt...But after most a year of fraught negotiations...the fourth round of talks in the Egyptian city of Aswan ended in discord over who should fund it, where it should be based and who would be eligible for support.”
Climate fund talks collapse as rich and developing countries clash Failure to agree on loss and damage arrangements sets course for difficult COP28 Attracta Mooney, Financial Times, Oct 21, 2023

"A special UN committee tasked with implementing the fund met for a fifth time in Abu Dhabi this week — following a deadlock in Egypt last month — to finalize recommendations that will be put to governments when they meet for the annual climate summit COP28 in Dubai in less than four weeks’ time. The goal is to get the fund up and running by 2024."
"World Bank to host climate damages fund despite opposition from developing nations," Reuters, November 5, 2023

To the extent that it's not going to be fixed, one approach: Resilience.

IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, FAQ 6: What is Climate Resilient Development and how do we pursue it?

Or: rehoming.
"These animals are racing towards extinction. A new home might be their last chance."
Some of the most threatened animals might not survive in their current habitat because of climate change. Researchers are testing a controversial strategy to relocate them before it’s too late — starting with Australia’s rarest reptile. Clare Watson, Nature, September 5, 2023

We should not rehome our trash to outer space. (NYT, November 5, 2023)

earth seen from space

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