User:Tesjes167/Climate apocalypse

A climate apocalypse (also called a climate dystopia and a climate-induced collapse, among other names) generally denotes a predicted scenario involving the global collapse of human civilization and potential human extinction as either a direct or indirect result of anthropogenic climate change. Many academics and researchers posit that in actuality, unless a major course correction is imminently implemented, some or all of the Earth will be rendered uninhabitable as a result of extreme temperatures, severe weather events, an inability to grow crops, and an altered composition of the Earth's atmosphere.

This reality of these events is explored in many science fiction works, including The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, which depicts ecological breakdown through societal collapse; American War by Omar El Akkad, explores the idea of an underwater, war-stricken country; or The Word for World is Forest by Ursula Le Guin that engages in space colonization to escape the conditions of Earth.

Etymology and usage[edit]
Rhetoric and belief centered on apocalypticism has deep roots in religious contexts, and similar rhetorical approaches undergird secular apocalyptic interpretations of climate. Historical interpretations fall into two visions of apocalypse: the tragic and the comic. Tragic apocalypticism frames a clearly divided good and evil, with preordained events. In contrast, comic framing emphasizes flawed human agency, and it tends to be characterized by an open-ended, episodic, and ongoing timeline. Some of the most significant books in environmentalism make use of either the tragic or comic apocalyptic framing: Carson's Silent Spring (1962), Ehrlich's The Population Bomb (1972), and Al Gore's Earth in the Balance (1992).

The tragic apocalypse places a fate upon society that ends with the apocalypse. There is no deviance from this path and the direction and speed at which they are headed towards this apocalypse is out of anyone’s control. Comic on the other hand, suggest that human action does have the capacity to change the apocalypse outcome. It is important to note that the apocalypse will still happen, just the specific circumstances as to which it happens can be influenced more if action is taken.

Since World War II, there has been continual discussion of environmental destruction due to nuclear war.

There is a Western world tradition of describing a climate apocalypse with images and descriptions of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and other features of the apocalypse.

Just like the whole apocalyptic concept, the Four Horsemen originate from the Christian Religion. First is a white horse, carrying the figure of conquest. Then the red horse, carrying the creator of war. A black horse carrying a food merchant, presenting famine to the world. And the last to emerge is a pale horse, carrying Death and closely followed by Hades. Each horseman typically represents a stage in the events leading up to the apocalypse. The final, pale horse indicates the apocalypse is in full swing and the world has reached the end.

Attempt to lessen apocalypse[edit]
Grist advised that although some people describe an expectation of a horrible Climate Apocalypse, the effects of climate change could be lessened or worsened depending upon when a coordinated response to lessen the damage develops.

KQED reported that the scientific consensus is to take whatever action possible, wherever possible, even when there are reports of a coming Climate Apocalypse.

Scientists commenting in The Atlantic said that the Representative Concentration Pathway was an important measurement to watch, and that as of 2018 this measurement predicts a worst-case scenario for the world.

Stratospheric aerosol injection, a hypothetical process for blocking sunlight from the earth, is proposed as a desperate technological response to reduce existential risk.

The possibilities of new technologies to lessen the effects of the climate apocalypse are easily explored in science fiction works. In Robert Costanza’s Four Visions, one vision for the future is an Ecotopia, where priority in harmony between humans and nature is emphasized and government protection of natural capital in order to preserve the environment. New technologies are increasingly trying to avoid the burden of humans on the environment, like the idea of modular architecture introduced by Alvin Toffler in his article "Future Shock".