> the fact that humans beings are doing better than they've ever done in our history by almost every imaginable metric.
That's because we have had ready access to insanely abundant high-energy density source of energy.
The non-fossil fuel supported carrying capacity of the planet for humans is estimated to be somewhere around 1 billion people. When the fuel runs out (if we don't cook ourselves first), that will collapse.
It is nothing intrinsic about humans that have lead to our recent success, just access to lots of nearly free energy.
edit: why the downvotes? Is there even anything controversial in these statements? HN's fear of bad news is getting out of hand.
That's because we have had ready access to insanely abundant high-energy density source of energy.
The non-fossil fuel supported carrying capacity of the planet for humans is estimated to be somewhere around 1 billion people. When the fuel runs out (if we don't cook ourselves first), that will collapse.
It is nothing intrinsic about humans that have lead to our recent success, just access to lots of nearly free energy.
edit: why the downvotes? Is there even anything controversial in these statements? HN's fear of bad news is getting out of hand.