Hi Greg, I pretty much agree with this, and I also believe there are a wide range of scenarios for the near future (even if ecological system collapse is it the mid-range at this point, when and how we get there will vary).

Among them is the path of clear-eyed crisis management. Out best case scenario. This is not the path Trump Season 2 puts us on to. But it might be the path we are goaded onto by his second presidency. I know - call me an optimist!

The dire scenarios your post describes are also possible, maybe more so than my best case. What I fear is that by adopting a catastrophic perspective that, to quote several bloggers I admire, “America is fucked”, we inadvertantly neutralize the will to push back and fight for a better tomorrow. As long as there is hope, we can find a way to fight.

With this in my mind, I found your post dire, impossible to refute—but not very helpful. I would be more interested in your views of what’s next? Where do we find traction, gain footholds, push back?