When in the 20th century did people realize this century would be wrecked by climate change and population related issues?

[Weebster]

Why didn't they try and prevent this?

 

[tiredplant777]

I ask myself all of the time. People, especially Indigenous peoples have tried to stop this, but the powers at be and the majority of people just do not seemed concerned.

 

[Weebster]

I ask myself all of the time. People, especially Indigenous peoples have tried to stop this, but the powers at be and the majority of people just do not seemed concerned.

Because it didn't affect them.

 

[Oblivion Access]

70s or 80s iirc? I know less about this than I probably should. As for why we did nothing - a lot of factors, fossil fuel industry had and still has a ridiculous level of influence over politics, people weren't and still aren't willing to give up convenience and creature comforts (or in the case of the richest, their opulence and unearned sense of superiority as they lord over us and flex) to prevent a disaster a) that seems far away b) we somehow still argue whether it exists at all, despite universal consensus among anyone not paid off to say otherwise. The truth of how badly we fucked up is so crushingly bleak that we resort to magical thinking along the lines of "technology will fix it" while we carry on making things worse, when clearly the only solution is cutting consumption across the board and radically redefining how we relate to the flora, fauna and each other... some years ago. At least we get to watch the slowmo downfall of humanity in real time on our pocket-sized nightmare screens?

 

[Weebster]

70s or 80s iirc? I know less about this than I probably should. As for why we did nothing - a lot of factors, fossil fuel industry had and still has a ridiculous level of influence over politics, people weren't and still aren't willing to give up convenience and creature comforts (or in the case of the richest, their opulence and unearned sense of superiority as they lord over us and flex) to prevent a disaster a) that seems far away b) we somehow still argue whether it exists at all, despite universal consensus among anyone not paid off to say otherwise. The truth of how badly we fucked up is so crushingly bleak that we resort to magical thinking along the lines of "technology will fix it" while we carry on making things worse, when clearly the only solution is cutting consumption across the board and radically redefining how we relate to the flora, fauna and each other... some years ago. At least we get to watch the slowmo downfall of humanity in real time on our pocket-sized nightmare screens?

 

[Meretlein]

Our brains are far better at responding to concrete, imminent threats than abstract far off threats.

 

[MellowAvenue]

It became a more popular idea in the 1980s, but the Greenhouse Effect was known as early as the 1820s! As for why we didn't do anything, I really think the biggest reason is because companies weren't, and really still aren't, willing to cut down on their own carbon footprints because they don't want to take short term hits to their bottom lines. Why do you think most outlets try to push the burden onto the consumer when, unless you are running a factory in your backyard, you are a climate ant in comparison to pretty much any major company. That's not to say there isn't more we could be doing as a whole but unless companies cut back drastically we can't do nearly enough to make an actual dent at this point.

 

[Weebster]

It became a more popular idea in the 1980s, but the Greenhouse Effect was known as early as the 1820s! As for why we didn't do anything, I really think the biggest reason is because companies weren't, and really still aren't, willing to cut down on their own carbon footprints because they don't want to take short term hits to their bottom lines. Why do you think most outlets try to push the burden onto the consumer when, unless you are running a factory in your backyard, you are a climate ant in comparison to pretty much any major company. That's not to say there isn't more we could be doing as a whole but unless companies cut back drastically we can't do nearly enough to make an actual dent at this point.

Our chimneys even when not in use contribute more carbon than their smoke stacks do lol

 

[SuicidallyCurious]

My general worldview as someone who is intimately exposed to this subject for reasons that won't be disclosed until after my death:

I think what happened is the global powers that be have been aware of it at least since the late 1800s. Various governments realized it probably would be unfixable or very unlikely to be fixed around the mid 20th maybe even earlier. The world we live in today is a sort of simulacrum (no, not a simulation google the word if you don't know it ). They've set up a world where the rich and most of the citizens of the rich countries can sort of enjoy as we slowly power everything down.

Those aware of the situation of course do fund research to maybe investigate how to stop it but I think the consensus view of the global oligarchy is that it won't be stopped thus they have to get increasingly aggressive in maintaining the simulacrum

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Around the 80s I think, at least that's when all the Captain Planet stuff started.

I think wanting to save the environment is equally selfish anyway since nature itself will be able to survive even through climate change, it just won't be as livable for us human beings but then if we're the problem, then isn't trying to do something about it also going against nature?

Apathetic and lazy assholes like me are the reason it's gotten this bad.

 

[SuicidallyCurious]

Around the 80s I think, at least that's when all the Captain Planet stuff started.

I think wanting to save the environment is equally selfish anyway since nature itself will be able to survive even through climate change, it just won't be as livable for us human beings but then if we're the problem, then isn't trying to do something about it also going against nature?

Apathetic and lazy assholes like me are the reason it's gotten this bad.

I'm apathetic because I've just never seen any progress happening in any scenario. I summed up the scenarios one day mentally and thought the humans will definitely go for the "scramble" type scenario mentioned by Lawrence Wilkerson in the four horsemen document

After seeing how the humans behave on a micro scale it just seemed obvious it would all end up a mess one day