We live during interesting times. The global political climate is worsening, social media has warped our understanding of empathy and community, and all capital will soon be in the hands of the same five people.
Sounds gloomy, but many people agree. When it comes to the planet, 42% people from 33 countries believe that parts of their countries will become uninhabitable because of extreme weather. In other bad news, almost half of those living in the U.S. and Western Europe fear that a third world war is likely to start in the next five to 10 years.
But there also are some niche things that most us don't know. Threats to certain ecosystems, old infrastructure, and complex processes in our oceans are just some of the things people have shared in an online thread under the question "What is currently on the brink of collapse but no one is talking about it?"
#21
Civilisations decline/collapse over generations - I'd suggest that there is a strong possibility that "the free liberal west" is in the early stages of a multi-generational decline, not unlike that of the Roman empire. Facebook and Netflix are our bread and circuses while around us cultures that are not compatible with our (democratic, egalitarian, progressive, liberal) values are rising to challenge and eventually displace us (think BRICS + ME). It won't happen in my lifetime, but it is happening.
crazyclue:
Along those lines, I think the democratic political system has gotten so gridlocked, corporatized, social media-centric, bot driven, echo chambered, and machined that it is starting a multigenerational decline itself. The next great civilization will probably come out of some new system, whatever it is, that either totally rejects or uber perfects the current trends in a novel way.
This sort of coincides with the concepts in the book Bowling Alone (at least in my mind), but I don’t think it’s entirely predictive or correct on where the future lies. We haven’t seen big enough quakes in the bedrock yet.
crazyclue:
Along those lines, I think the democratic political system has gotten so gridlocked, corporatized, social media-centric, bot driven, echo chambered, and machined that it is starting a multigenerational decline itself. The next great civilization will probably come out of some new system, whatever it is, that either totally rejects or uber perfects the current trends in a novel way.
This sort of coincides with the concepts in the book Bowling Alone (at least in my mind), but I don’t think it’s entirely predictive or correct on where the future lies. We haven’t seen big enough quakes in the bedrock yet.
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#22
The movie industry feels that way in Hollywood right now.
theducks:
Agreed. I used to see several movies per year.. literally the only thing I’ve been slightly interested in seeing was Nicolas Cage’s The Surfer, which sickens me to be honest.
theducks:
Agreed. I used to see several movies per year.. literally the only thing I’ve been slightly interested in seeing was Nicolas Cage’s The Surfer, which sickens me to be honest.
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#23
Bees. They are basically gone. I seen two this summer so far and I have extensive gardens planted with native species.
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#24
The Cascadia Subduction Zone.
Altril2010:
There was a really interesting article published a month or so ago about the subduction zone. It turns out that not all the faults are connected. So even when the “big one” hits the way the plates react is going to be slightly different than originally projected. Some areas will be much worse off and a few others may not see as much as an impact. It also means that if one area of the fault slips it doesn’t necessarily mean that the whole zone will.
No evidence for an active margin-spanning megasplay fault at the Cascadia Subduction Zone
Altril2010:
There was a really interesting article published a month or so ago about the subduction zone. It turns out that not all the faults are connected. So even when the “big one” hits the way the plates react is going to be slightly different than originally projected. Some areas will be much worse off and a few others may not see as much as an impact. It also means that if one area of the fault slips it doesn’t necessarily mean that the whole zone will.
No evidence for an active margin-spanning megasplay fault at the Cascadia Subduction Zone
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#26
The Anthropocene.
Anthropocene is a term that has been used to refer to the period of time during which humanity has become a planetary force of change. It appears in scientific and social discourse, especially with respect to accelerating geophysical and biochemical changes that characterize the 20th and 21st centuries on Earth.
Anthropocene is a term that has been used to refer to the period of time during which humanity has become a planetary force of change. It appears in scientific and social discourse, especially with respect to accelerating geophysical and biochemical changes that characterize the 20th and 21st centuries on Earth.
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#27
Society. We are living through unprecedented technological and econonomical upheaval and I think almost everyone can feel it. The fabric that holds our communities and societies together is slowly unraveling.
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#30
Western civilization. Crumbling infrastructure, regulatory capture, increasingly authoritarian governments with autocratic aspirations, idiocracy of the masses. It's all lining up.
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#32
Firehouse Subs, the other day they sent a 50% off your order by ordering online, within 20 minutes of ordering the 50% off order they sent a free sub with any purchase coupon in an email. I walked out of that place with an additional sub for the price of a cookie. They got to be going belly up, with all the coupons they send out.
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#33
Surveillance. Everywhere. If you participate in a protest you will be photographed and watchlisted.
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#34
Surveillance. Everywhere. If you go to a protest march you could be watch listed
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