Rutgers: Scientists Question the Use of "Tipping Point" Metaphor in Climate Change Discussions

[jfz9580m]

5. Agreed

No, I don’t think it will be. I don’t believe they will survive much longer than the rest of us (and perhaps not as long… remind me, how did the French nobility make out in the 18th century? How about the Russian nobility in the early 20th century?)

Yeah I think they are worried about that. I saw this a while back and it illustrates how almost childlike the minds of the ruling class tend to be:

https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2023/02/the-apocalyptic-delusions-of-the-silicon-valley-elite

He joined editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson on the Current Affairs podcast to discuss how Silicon Valley’s elite are trying to shield themselves from the consequences of inequality and climate destruction.
Douglas’ latest book builds on an experience he had several years ago, where several billionaires called him out into the desert to ask him how to survive “The Event,” an anticipated apocalyptic catastrophe that would send them heading for their bunkers. He shows how the super-rich often don’t feel like winners. They feel scared about a coming giant global rupture. Some want to upload their consciousness and merge with machines. They are lost in fantasies about a transcendent future that bear striking similarities to Christian ideas of the Rapture.
The conversation touches on many topics, including right-wing conspiracy theories, Timothy Leary, metaverses, simulated cats, James Brown, plants, bunker jacuzzis, and Mussolini. But it focuses on what Douglas calls “The Mindset,” the ideology held by the world’s “tech bros” that envisions an escape from material reality and the merging of humans and machines. Douglas makes the case for viciously mocking tech bros who entertain damaging and delusional beliefs. He shows how what we really need is to care for the planet, care about each other, and not lose ourselves in techno-solutionist fantasies about transcending the material world. The “bunker strategy” for dealing with chaos, he says, won’t work, because human survival depends on the survival of society. “What happens when you need a new heater for the jacuzzi?” he asks. You can live alone in a bunker for a few weeks or months, maybe. But the only realistic long-term path forward is to build a resilient society and planet.

They really see a simplified model of the world where you follow some Thatcherite model of the world and society where you and the three other billionaires you know invented and built everything and deserve to be allowed to exploit the earth free of any repercussions. And since the media largely gushes and fawns over them and puff pieces like these glorify their narcissism, who is to call it out? :

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypercy/2023/09/26/is-elon-musk-the-greatest-leader-on-earth/
🤮