I haven't gone through all of the predictions in this case, but with that first one, it was framed as a conditional prediction -- basically, what would happen if we didn't start tackling those problems. But that kind of prediction can only be proven wrong when it's ignored. The reality is the years right after he spoke were marked by massive and unprecedented efforts to address the very issues he was identifying. Would civilization have survived if we hadn't pursued arms control, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, banning DDT, de-leading gas, and making enough of an effort at population control to bring the global population growth rate down by over half? Maybe. Maybe not. All we can do is speculate.
That's where this differs from false prophets like Jesus, who made unconditional predictions that ended up being wrong. Jesus predicted a whole series of specific end-time events that he said in certain terms would happen in the lifetimes of his own followers, no ifs, ands, or buts. He wound up being wrong. If, on the other hand, he'd predicted that the end would come in their time unless they went out and preached the Gospel, then in theory you could have said it was a true prophecy that simply was never tested, since they did go out and preach the Gospel.
ThatOwlWoman (05-16-2022)
I choose my own words like the Americans of olden times........before this dystopia arrived.
DARK AGES SUCK!
cancel2 2022 (05-16-2022)
It's like:
"Back when I was 20, my doctor told me if I kept smoking two packs a day, I'd have lung cancer before I turned forty, but I'm fifty now and still no cancer. Shows what he knew!"
"So, you still smoke two packs a day?"
"No, I quit back in my 20's."
ThatOwlWoman (05-16-2022)
There's a repeated pattern there, where developed nations got the benefit of decades of uncurbed consumption, then they belatedly get to work trying to curb it, and developing nations that finally would have had a turn are expected to follow suit. It's similar with greenhouse gas emissions.
My idea for dealing with this kind of thing involves all the major consumer nations coming together to set a common trade standard with regard to other nations, which standards could involve things like environmental compliance and labor standards, where meeting the standards would assure low trade tariffs (and failing to meet them would mean losing economical access to ALL the major consumer nations). Start out year one with a very easy standard, then ramp it up a bit every year, always keep each incremental step small enough that the easiest path will be compliance. Doing that, other nations can be coaxed to come up to advanced-nation standards much faster than they otherwise would.
The problem, though, is that the "new world order" loons lose their shit any time you talk about setting common policy on anything with other nations, insisting that it's a violation of American First principles and a breach of our sovereignty. So, they'll derail any effort like that, leaving the advanced nations in a situation where it's every country for itself, and countries like China can easily play us off against each other. For example, if Germany and the US each have separate policy with regard to China, then each knows that if it raises trade barriers against China on, say, automotive components, in order to punish China for bad conduct, the other will then have cheaper components in its cars and will be more competitive on the global market. As long as people can be kept paranoid about giving up sovereignty to any international organization, countries like China know that little will be done to confront them, because whoever tried to go it alone that way would only end up hurting itself.
I choose my own words like the Americans of olden times........before this dystopia arrived.
DARK AGES SUCK!
BTW: The Chinese are very clear that under their rule there will be a global governance structure. What form it will take is not yet clear but there will be neighborhoods, and the neighborhoods will come together in a global structure under the influence of the Chinese, who will not command but will encourage.... as they hold a whip.
Carrots and sticks will be the constant tools of Empire rule.
I choose my own words like the Americans of olden times........before this dystopia arrived.
DARK AGES SUCK!
"Give pearls away and rubies but keep your fancy free."
ThatOwlWoman (05-16-2022)
Mina (05-17-2022)
[QUOTE=martin;5106592]I saw that and had the exact same thought. I applaud Mina for totally ignoring his attempts at demeaning her because he never has any way to rebut intelligent, research-driven. actual facts. That's why he chose to be a follower of the #MalignantMessiah aka #IMPOTUSx2 aka #TRE45ON.
"Conservatism is the blind and fear-filled worship of dead radicals." -- Mark Twain
cancel2 2022 (05-17-2022)
martin (05-16-2022)
WTF??? "NO WAY TO KNOW IF WALD WAS WRONG" ,,,ONLY IF YOU'RE A MATH-CHALLENGED IDIOT (aka: a "leftist; ).
He said, “Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.” — Harvard biologist George Wald"
LONG PAST THIRTY YEARS....HE WAS DEAD FUCKING WRONG.
TRUMP WILL TAKE FORTY STATES...UNLESS THE SAME IDIOTS WHO BROUGHT US THE 2020 DUNCE-O-CRAT IOWA CLUSTERFUCK CONTINUE THEIR SEDITIOUS ACTIVITIES...THEN HE WILL WIN EVEN MORE ..UNLESS THE RED CHINESE AND DNC COLLUDE, USE A PANDEMIC, AND THEN THE DEMOCRATS VIOLATE ARTICLE II OF THE CONSTITUTION, TO FACILLITATE MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL, UNVETTED, MAIL IN BALLOTS IN THE DARK OF NIGHT..
De Oppresso Liber
cancel2 2022 (05-17-2022), Earl (05-17-2022)
cancel2 2022 (05-17-2022), Earl (05-17-2022)
Mina (05-17-2022)
People like that understand, deep down, that they aren't smart. As such, the name of the game is to try to taunt others into an emotional mindset where they can't deploy their superior mental skills effectively.
It's a bit like Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield's ear, in hopes of getting him angry enough to negate his superior boxing skills, or like a football player spitting and throwing racial slurs at an opponent in hopes that he'll retaliate with a penalty that gets him tossed from the game, or at least that he'll be too angry to execute the game-plan properly. The key is just to ignore it and focus back on the work at hand, which is the last thing the inferior competitor wants. He needs you down in the mud with him, because that's where he's at home, and he knows it's his only chance to even up the competition.
martin (05-17-2022), Phantasmal (05-17-2022), ThatOwlWoman (05-17-2022)
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