Science is always changing, and long-term predictions don't necessarily account for shifts in human behavior that occur after the prediction was originally made. I do think things could be better, but I don't necessarily think we'll be done by the end of this century; People are becoming a lot more savvy to climate issues, and solutions are being developed (but rarely reported on because non-doomist news rarely gets clicks). I forgot where exactly, but in some Nordic country, they've opened/are about to open tested-and-approved CO2 removal plants.

Also, if there's one thing I severely, truly dislike, is the "humans are the real virus" rhetoric; That's a manufactured ideology that's purpose is to send listeners into a pessimistic hate-spiral that keeps them from realizing that the actual issue are giant corporations and factories that refuse to adopt greener policies or use renewable/lower impact energy or machinery in the name of saving money that realistically, they don't need to keep saving. Similar is the "it's up to individuals to save the environment" rhetoric; Yes, we need to do more and rally the troops so to speak, but uh... We're not the ones with the giant factories or means of enacting pollutive practices on a gigantic scale. Companies gotta do their part.

My advice to you is to quit dwelling on some microbiologist's "prediction" to focus on rallying for bigger, wide-reaching change, whether that's boycotting companies (or even just buying from them less), donating to climate lawyers/projects, leading protests, or even something as simple as spreading information. And maybe look into good climate news periodically; there is a lot of good going on, but it gets buried by overblown headlines formulated to make you panic click.

Oh, and if you're in an area where you're able, take walks without a phone and just appreciate nature. It's good to do stuff like that to ground yourself once in a while and sort out your thoughts.

(All this coming from someone who used to be so wildly depressed and pessimistic I spent most of the day in bed and refused to see life and goodness when it was right in front of me, by the way, so this is coming from what helped me, not just stuff I pulled out of thin air.)

Our species first appeared 300,000 years ago. We only developed modern agriculture 11,000 years and change ago. Even if things do indeed go bad throughout this century, we're adapted to survive a world that is much, much less engineered for human comfort and survival. We'll still be able to construct shelters, forage food, and build community. Remember, it's not our technology or economies or legal systems that make us "civilized." It's our ability to join together in cooperation and care-giving, to protect and provide for each other. And that's something that coded right into our DNA, something we had for millennia before we even arrived at the technological breakthrough of "put seeds in ground on purpose."

—doctorlit asserts that humans will do well

I definitely clicked thinking it was a question about the future of the PPC, and I expect there are people for whom the actual question could cause a lot of anxiety, so...warning label added.

Yuki, I don't mean for this to make you feel bad; however, I do think a mention that this is not PPC-related may be helpful, so I've added one. Obviously not everything non-PPC necessarily has to be marked as such, but for topics like this I'm pretty sure having it be clear from the post titles what it's about is helpful. Often I see this happen organically, especially in political threads; either way, when it comes to RL Serious Topics, I think it's generally a good thing for people to have a little advance warning so they can choose whether or not they want to engage, and can avoid clicking on the thread entirely if they came to the Board specifically for writing/fandom related content (especially as a break from news sites or other platforms).

~Z

I'm a rather pessimistic person. As in, I'd think I have oral cancer if I get a canker sore.

P.S: Everyone here is indeed among the most supportive people I've ever interacted with, and I'm sorry if I've bothered anyone.

Where on Earth did you hear that?!?

—Ls, more confused than panicked