Comment by palata

We have 3 problems that are the consequence of abundant fossil energy:

1. Biodiversity loss. We are measurably living in a mass extinction that is happening orders of magnitude faster than the famous one of the dinosaurs. It is due to what humans do when they have abundant energy. If we all had a nuclear reactor in our pocket, we would still be destroying the biodiversity, so it's not just a fossil energy problem.

2. Climate change. It's only the beginning, and the cause of it is the CO2 we release by burning fossil fuels. Society as we know it depends on abundant energy, and 80% of the energy we use is fossil. The solution to climate change is degrowth, but nobody wants to accept it.

3. Energy abundance. Energy became abundant thanks to fossil fuels, and those are not unlimited. Conventional peak oil was in 2008, and Europe's economy has been slowing down since then (though Americans like to think that it's slowing down because the Europeans are lazy). Eventually (soon), the global economy will slow down because of that. Which will bring global instability (even though now doesn't sound like the most stable it has ever been).

The only solution we have to those is that we need to stop living the way we live, and we need to do it fast. It's already too late so it will hurt, but the faster we react, the lesser it will hurt.

The reality is too bad for most of us to accept it, and by not accepting it we make it even worse. We're pretty much screwed. There is a business to make on "not being defeatist" and offering "solutions" for a "sustainable growth", but that's just business, that won't save us.