HI Stomp,

In my view, you may be missing my main counter-argument and point.

You are seeming focused on the technical details of climate change, emissions, GDP, footprints as if the problem is mostly technical in nature, exists without being dependent on other social, political and economic realities on Earth.

Climate change and pollution / emissions is but a symptom (this is my view, not everyone's obviously) of a much larger problem on planet Earth.

So, in my "realist view" worrying and treating "climate change" is like treating a stage 3 or 4 cancer patient by focusing on problems with their skin and hair. Or, for example, treating the skin lesions of a person with full blown AIDs or Ebola. These are symptoms of an underlying disease, not the core underlying illness.

Climate change and pollution, while serious of course, is a symptom of the problems with planet Earth, not the cause of the problem. So, by focusing on the technical aspects of climate change and pollution, likewise, is to focus on treating the symptoms of a disease versus the underlying root cause. Of course, there is nothing wrong with treating symptoms of a disease. Treating symptoms provides us comfort. When we have a cold, we treat the symptoms (fever, headache, cough, etc) until the virus runs its course. There is yet no cure for the common cold. Treating full blown AIDS or cancer patient's symptoms, so they can be more comfortable is a noble thing to do; but it will not stop the cancer or full blown AIDS sufferer from dying from the disease.

The root cause of this "climate change" and "pollution" problem is rooted in how humans have evolved as a species. It's evolutional biology.

First of all, just to start somewhere, there is greed and social-economic problem which are deeply rooted in the world.

The rich and powerful are intoxicated by their wealth and power and influence and most spend their time in the sensual realm. They desire more fame, bigger mansions, more social network followers, and more beauty, etc. Just look around you. You can have a great idea and post some issue on social media about pollution, cybersecurity, climate change on LinkedIn, and few people pay attention However, a young woman posts photos of her sensual face and she can build an entire cult of followers and her "brand". This is self evident.

How crazy is it that human females (for example) must spend big money on makeup and cover every part of their face with chemicals to compete with other female and males in a society? Why do human females need to wear makeup and human males generally do not. Imagine if dogs or cats did that? You would think the dogs and cats were crazy, putting on lipstick, covering their faces with makeup, and then taking selfies and promoting themselves on social media!

Young men and women from economically underdeveloped very poor countries start cultivating their social network (FB, Instagram, etc) at a young age so they can exchange their sensual and sexual "attributes" with "richer" people from developed countries as soon as they are "legal age". This is the fabric of the under developed world. This is a result of the evolutionary path of homo sapiens and the social and economic inequalities that dominate most of the world's population. The vast majority of the people on our planet struggle just to eat from week-to-week!

What I am describing is a human condition which is the underlying social-economic fabric of most of the planet. The homo sapiens' fascination and addiction to wealth, beauty, fame and all sensual things is the underlying cause (actually it is ignorance which drives humans to such nonsense, but that's another story). Dogs and cats do not have this mental / social disease (to my knowledge). But of course, dogs and cats don't live in a world where advertisers and special interest groups are constantly pushing memetic information into their minds. Dogs and cats do not sit around and watch cable TV, YouTube or play on Facebook or Instagram most of their "awakened state".

Then on top of that, dogs and cats do not try to convince each other that their ideas, religious, social, or political views are superior to others. Dogs and cat do not exchange currency and worship money and coin. In fact, no animal on Earth does this but humans; that I am aware of, but I guess if I was an expert on the topic, I might find other species that have some form of currency, like bees and honey or dogs and bones, but I'm not an expert in that area and am getting out over the tips of my skies here.

Climate change, emissions, pollution and the like are only symptoms of the problems with glitches in the process of human evolution.

Yes, there are species of animals and insects who fight wars for control of territory; even dogs and cats fight for territory, but they do not destroy the planet in the process (this I think is a fact). Even tribal warfare between ants often is good for both species and the environment, according to some Discovery Channel videos I saw recently!

Stomp, I complete understand and admire your optimism and hope for the human race in terms of climate change. I also admire everyone who is working, passionate about it, and who is treating this symptom of the underlying disease of homo sapiens. Treating symptoms are normal and good, but it does not solve the underlying disease.

On the flip side, the world is focused on "populism" because people of one social-economic class feel very unhappy with people of another social-economic class. Brexit, Trumpism, etc etc. Racism, nationalism and hate are on the rise globally. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. There are various forms of warfare and terrorism going on 24 hours a day because of ideological difference between humans. People kill other and hate each other based on differences in ideas! Imagine that!

The problem, in my view, is that humans have not evolved quickly enough to have the mental and emotional maturity as a species to stop hating, to stop killing, and to stop being addicted to sensual pleasures (money, power, ideas, sex). As long as human kind is addicted to sensual and material pleasures (which includes ideas , memetics and mental formations, not just external material sensuality) they will be greedy, self-serving and self-destructive. As long as humans are greedy and self-serving they will put themselves above the need of the planet as a whole. As long as the rich and famous are mostly interested in getting more richer and more famous, and the poor are left to their own sad fate, the world will continue to plunge deeper into this human-created darkness the less fortunate live in every day.

This is one big reason many "smart people" believe that as a species humans are past the tipping point regarding climate change.

The underlying solution is not "counting emissions and CO2". That is just a symptom of the underlying problem - that human kind has harnessed machines and information in way which the evolution of the human mind, as a whole, is not ready for. They have harvested the power of machines and information primarily for sensual gain. It's like giving a 2 year old a loaded gun, if you get my meaning. The ways humans think, as a species (not as all individuals) is toward the self and not the planet.

What I am describing is result of the cause and effect (causality) of how humans have evolved from simple life forms to mammals (monkeys and apes) and then to homo sapiens. The human mind, and indeed the entire realm of human social consciousness is a result of evolutional biology and the probability is that homo sapiens will continue along this materialist, addicted to sensuality, self-centric path. I do not claim I am anything but human myself and know how addictive fame, fortune and sensual pleasures can be; and I have also been "stung" by this "bee". It's human nature!

In closing (sorry for such a rant), if aliens from an advanced civilization were looking at Planet Earth from afar and were inclined to wagering (gambling); placing a bet that homo sapiens will evolve fast enough to solve the underlying problems from the process of human evolutionary biology before homo sapiens destroy the Earth's natural resources, is a low probability bet. If course it is possible that humans will rise above this state of addiction to all thing sensual and material, and many humans (as individuals) have.

But sadly, the species of homo sapiens as a whole, and their self-focus on sensuality and materialism are really quite primitive, don't you think?

See also: Wikipedia - Human: Transition to modernity