Memories of the Future
An Interview with George Tsakraklides and Lyle Lewis
The following interview took place by email in November 2024. I met George Tsakraklides and Lyle Lewis on Twitter, where they actively post on environmental subjects and related matters. As I was developing content for this issue, I asked if I could interview them, and they kindly agreed. My questions appear in italics, and their answers in the order in which I received them.
George Tsakraklides is the author of Frankenpolitics: How Global Capital Broke Democracy and Social Movements; Beyond The Petri Dish: Human Consciousness in the Time of Collapse, Apathy and Algorithms; In The Grip of Necrocapitalism: The Making and Breaking of a Psychonomy; and other titles. He writes about human self-destruction, drawing parallels between fields as diverse as biology, ecology, anthropology, philosophy, cognitive psychology and economics. Trained in molecular biology, chemistry, food science, and Earth sciences, he left the science field for a career in data analytics and marketing. He has worked for some of the world’s biggest corporations, where he became an expert in consumer marketing and gained a deep understanding of the inner workings of profit-driven and exploitative forces that control human society. After two decades in business, he realized that his deeper interest was in ecology, and he dedicated himself to documenting civilizational collapse and humanity’s broken relationship with nature.
Lyle Lewis is a former endangered species biologist/supervisor with the U.S. Department of Interior. He founded the Western Bat Working Group and Southwestern Carnivore Committee and received awards for bat, carnivore, and natural area conservation. His diverse professional positions include range conservationist, watershed specialist, hydrologist, fisheries biologist, ecologist, wildlife biologist, endangered species branch chief, and endangered species recovery coordinator. Over two decades of his federal career were spent in efforts to conserve imperiled species in the face of livestock grazing, logging, oil and gas development, agricultural development, mining, recreation, highway expansion, construction, rights-of-way, and urban development. He says that while growing up on a small ranch in southern Oregon in relative isolation, nature became his best friend and that as an adult, his career and love of the outdoors have taken him to many of the wildest places in North America. In January of this year, his book Racing to Extinction: Why Humanity Will Soon Vanish was published.
What are the effects of your work on your family, friends, and colleagues? Has anyone accused you of intensifying their trauma instead of reducing it? Have you modified your thinking, approach, or relationships because of these responses?
George My immediate family is supportive of my work and has understood the collapse predicament our climate, ecology and society are in. The more extended family is mostly ignorant at the very least, as is most of society. One first cousin who I grew up together with and now works on an oil rig off Norway last year officially disowned me, meaning he wants to have zero contact with me. Obviously, I intensified his trauma, and for him I am a member of Greta Thunberg’s ecological mafia as well as a fraud, writing about overshoot and the climate and ecological crisis just to get attention for myself. Others see me as an “author”, i.e., someone who writes pretty books, as opposed to an activist and thinker. I haven’t modified any of these above relationships. I do not discuss my activism or opinions on overshoot and the climate crisis anymore, unless asked, challenged or provoked. Last month I went to a baby shower and a baby christening because I was invited by neighbors. If I had told them that the future of their child is looking incredibly grim, which is the truth, obviously it would have been the end of that relationship. Surprisingly, I also met an XR member who was very keen to have children and was battling with themselves on this idea. As far as colleagues go, I left the corporate world last year, where the unspoken rule is you never talk about anything that could sound negative for business. There is a very strong censorship on ethics, which is seen as naïve, selfish, and bad for business. The only good business decision is one which results in profit. The climate crisis is a forbidden conversation in the workplace pretty much everywhere, as it is a “downer”. Exceptions of course are some charity organisations. There are in-depth essays both about the corporatocracy’s “toxic positivity” culture as well as trauma suppression mostly in my book Beyond The Petri Dish.
Lyle None of my family members have read my book, Racing To Extinction. They are deeply rooted in their beliefs, making it difficult for them to consider alternative viewpoints. Most are unaware of my work’s existence, as I can predict their reactions—either pity or ostracism. As a result, I keep my writing to myself.
In contrast, several of my closest friends played a vital role in the initial editing phase of my book and provided valuable information during the writing process. While many intuitively recognize the dark path we’re on, they often choose to distance themselves from the topic. None have changed their lifestyles, and it wouldn’t matter if they did; the die for humanity’s future has already been cast. I lead a relatively minimalist lifestyle, not because I believe it will change the course of events, but to alleviate my own guilt regarding my contribution to the Sixth Mass Extinction. Despite the book’s publication, my relationships haven’t significantly changed; my old friends remain my friends. However, I have formed new connections through this journey, cultivating support and understanding that allows for meaningful discussions about the themes in my book with people who offer fresh perspectives.
At the end of October, Valencia, a municipality in Spain, suffered catastrophic flooding. On Nov. 9, thousands of people marched in the streets, calling for the resignation of the regional president and clashing with police. In Florida and North Carolina—where Hurricane Milton caused comparable damage and also took lives—Americans voiced unhappiness with their government but did not respond so dramatically. What do you think is wrong with the ways government communicates with citizens in times of environmental crisis?
George To answer your question, which is really about the role of government, I give you some redacted excerpts from my books. Politically I consider myself somewhere between ecosocialism and anarchy. I am against all central governments as I consider them to be living extensions of the self-destructive money entity. Governments by definition resist all change, therefore climate change is something they will always be two steps behind.
From Frankenpolitics:
The idea that a small group of individuals can form a “government” that represents the best interests of its people, has been one of the biggest leaps of faith humanity ever took. Arguably, as our societies grew, we had no choice but to form these governments ••• The pooling of resources in practice often meant the accumulation of these resources within the hands of the few ••• Governments significantly expedited the exhaustion of resources, widened inequality to previously unimaginable levels, and alienated almost every citizen, who sooner or later felt the cold, heartless hand of indifference and discrimination from the very people who had been elected to “represent” them ••• It doesn’t take much effort to argue that government represents neither people, nor a privileged class of humans. It represents, defends, and protects the entity behind every single one of humanity’s decisions: money and wealth ••• Despite being an abstract, mechanistic, non-DNA based entity, money behaves very much like a life form: it too needs to secure its future existence, which it does by pursuing profit. Through the creation of money, humanity unintentionally gave rise to a new life-form which eventually parasitized it. The role of government in this symbiosis has been, and remains, to be a puppet. ••• Like any biological life form, they (governments) will do anything to survive. It was a mistake to create institutions which attained so much power and autonomy that they eventually became super predators of society. Both government and money behave as selfish life forms which need to survive and procreate.
From Beyond The Petri Dish:
The popular perception that governments exist to “maintain order” is as false as the definition of order itself. Order of what? For whose benefit? At what cost? Order is open to multiple interpretations, rules and prohibitions which become vehicles for societal control. Order is the favorite word of fascists •••The most dangerous aspect of all forms of government and power is that they despise change. They want to keep everything the same: the same economy, the same players, the same mistakes. This is how they ensure that their sponsors will not be unseated from positions of power. The downside of this is that the most serious existential threats are only ever addressed at the level of pantomime theatrics •••If anything, governments are effectively Reality Management Authorities, servicing the need of the most powerful to maintain social narratives which control the production and distribution of wealth. Governments are the visible manifestations of the psychonomy, enabling the most controlling, psychotic and unstable personalities to thrive and attain leadership positions ••• A successful leader today is more of an ideological chameleon than a mission-driven decision-maker. Their most critical skill is masterfully dancing around the bullets of the psychonomy’s crossfire, pretending to be a peace maker ••• By managing people and agendas and keeping the wild jungles of the power ecosystem from closing in on them, politicians can secure their tenures as sitting representatives of the corporatocracy •••Stubbornly protecting their corporate bosses, governments simply hasten and amplify recurring convulsive episodes of economic and social seizure. The wealthy elites have been consulted. The PR agencies have been briefed. And the casualties have already been selected, before the guns are fired •••Governments can easily be classified as existential threats. Their dithering, inertia, inaction and procrastination create all of the horrifying conditions for small, once addressable issues to grow and one day become terminal, impassable predicaments. Because of their inability to handle change even when it knocks on their door, RMAs are incapable of addressing the worst type of change: an existential threat. In the face of a polycrisis, RMAs will typically avoid, deflect, distract and postpone, while at the same time weaponize the crisis for propaganda. As looming threats grow, the government will spend all of its energy to do what it does best: reality management •••The priority of politics during an existential threat has always been to create, curate, and broadcast narratives which regurgitate the lies this civilisation desperately needs to keep calm and carry on living its fantasies. When a collapse begins to register, it is already too late. This is because collapse is only the very last stage in a long process; a stage which, however, is irreversible: it can only be observed and endured. As the crisis enters free-fall, the RMA goes quiet: leaders literally disappear, retreating into their pre-built bunkers and golden parachutes. Social services vanish, silence falls across the political spectrum, and the public is abandoned. The government who we all thought would come to our rescue, was indeed merely a glorified PR machine ••• Following so many failed COP meetings attended by all these RMAs, it would be delusional to nurture even the slightest bit of hope in any government to solve the existential threat of the climate crisis and civilisational overshoot •••From the much larger Gaia perspective, authority and power are meaningless human constructs. The only authority and power on this planet belong to nature, and physics.
Lyle Environmental crises often present missed opportunities for effectively communicating with citizens about their underlying causes. Instead of addressing these root issues, governments and the media focus on the symptoms. For instance during droughts, flooding or wildfire season, atmospheric CO2 levels are rarely discussed, and the planet’s rapidly diminishing carbon sequestration capabilities—due to logging, deforestation, and urban development—are completely overlooked. This lack of focus on the fundamental causes not only hinders public understanding but prevents meaningful action to address the environmental challenges we face.
Commenting on a Twitter post by Ryan Grim, one of you said, “I see very little difference in Rs and D’s efforts to combat climate change. Even their response to climate crises may not be significantly different. We’re quickly approaching a threshold where nature renders countries helpless.” What struck me about this was the possible equation of country and helplessness. Could climate crises lead to the weakening or dissolution of countries?
George We are looking at the dissolution of many things to begin with: economies, infrastructure, food supply, global trade and therefore global agreements and UN resolutions. Government budgets and ability to respond to crises will evaporate and confidence will plummet, which will result in the collapse of centralized power. The ensuing power vacuum will lead to global unrest and the collapse of borders, especially for countries who will be invaded by powerful neighbors for their resources, as it happened in the colonial era. Some of these countries, especially uninhabitable ones, will in turn invade their conquerors with climate refugees: this time not millions, but billions. We are looking at multiple simultaneous genocides, as climate refugees are gunned down en masse during their attempt to cross borders into so-called “free” and “civilized” countries. Human rights will diminish as life becomes incredibly cheap on a planet of 8 billion mostly starving humans with poor and unstable mental health. There is a possibility of good alliances and cooperation, but what looks more likely is a world war between the two emerging superpowers: the old colonial Anglo-European G7 alliance of “freedom” yet slavery to capitalism’s Unhappiness Machine, and the emergence of the BRICS fascist axis. By then of course both of these empires will be fascist. It just so happens that these two superpowers are almost equally matched in terms of GDP, representing 30% and 35% of the global economy respectively. So it is a perfect storm, this could really be a bloodbath.
Even if we leave the worst-case scenarios aside, we will be seeing the redrawing of the world map, for those of us who live to tell the tale and see these new borders – drawn not by governments, but by corporations. Geography and natural terrain will play a big role, as they did earlier in our history. Obviously, the complete re-wiring of the AMOC which is currently taking place will be an additional driver, given that it completely redraws the food-producing regions of the world. We see this already in our oceans with major fish stocks migrating to the North Atlantic for example, as they escape marine heatwaves. This has been a tremendous boost to Iceland’s economy, but the vast majority of countries will be sore losers of course.
Lyle Climate crises, alongside other global challenges, will gradually or in some cases quickly weaken national boundaries as desperation increases among populations. There will be clear warning signs leading up to this shift. Countries have already experienced localized instances of these possibilities. For example, in the United States, Hurricane Katrina and the Rodney King riots showcased how police departments and public safety measures can become overwhelmed. Similarly, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the global struggles of health departments under pressure. As these basic government institutions falter, the ability of governments to function as independent entities will also decline, leading to significant societal instability and challenges in governance.
I was a longtime donor to Earthjustice and the Center for Biological Diversity. However, when through their advocacy (501[c][4]) sections, they endorsed Kamala Harris’s political campaign, I ended my financial support because of her willingness to continue the Biden administration’s policy of supplying arms to Israel. Have you been in situations where your environmental principles brought you into conflict with people you were allied with? Can you describe these situations and tell us about the outcomes?
George There are different colors and variations within the environmental movement with regards to types of policy and action, and this is understandable given that everyone is trying hard to imagine how to exit a seemingly impossible situation where humans are slaves to a semi-sentient economic necrosystem (what I call The Thing).
I had a recent experience of the sort you mention when I was directed to the Greenpeace website where I saw a profusion of online “merch” such as T-shirts, mugs etc. I was disgusted and withdrew my monthly donation which I had kept in place for years. At the same time though, as an author, I sell my self-published books on the evil Amazon website because no publisher has taken the risk to publish my ideas. In other words, capitalism has trapped us in a situation where we continue to harm the planet no matter what we do or think. It is easy to become hopeless and defeatist but there is so much that can be done on this planet to have more of Earth, and less of humanity.
I disagree with a great portion of the environmental movement, for two main reasons. First, I oppose the “energy transition” as it has become an investment party for green capitalists, which in the end does not result in a reduction of emissions as the end goal is profit. Emissions keep increasing not only because no one talks about reducing our total energy consumption, but also because solar panels and EV batteries have an incredible emissions impact which is never “offset” during their lifetime. In fact, any “product launch” by definition is incredibly detrimental to the planet, given that it immediately mobilizes an entire economic apparatus which is needed from conception, to the sale point, to the dumpster. The message of “don’t buy anything” is being censored by the necrosystem. The mainstream environmental movement has fallen prey to capitalism yet again, productizing the “new green world” they envision at a tremendous cost to emissions and the ecology of the planet. It is basically capitalism all over again, greenwashed and served to both clients and consumatronic zombies in the general population alike. As long as we all feel we are doing “green” things, we can get rid of our guilt. On Linkedin there are hundreds of thousands of highly paid “sustainability consultants”, yet this planet is accelerating towards annihilation.
What we need is degrowth, i.e., contraction of everything, including our population, which is the second area important for me and where even organizations such as XR, considered one the most progressive, have most regrettably shied away from. What I like about being an activist and author with no sponsors or donors is that I can say whatever I want to say, and I simply don’t care. Many environmental organizations have taken the capitalism route however, doing more damage than good just so they can stay within the green corporatocracy ecosystem they are functioning in. I’ve written numerous ecophilosophy and economics essays on the green capitalist conundrum we face, one of the most recent being The Great “Solutions” Swindle: Capital, Products, Technology and the Civilisational Lie which received wide interest and was reposted on the highly influential nakedcapitalism.com US outlet and Sam Mitchell’s Collapse Chronicles YouTube channel, which I highly recommend to your readers. A very rare recognition for me.
Lyle My environmental principles often lead me into conflict with those I consider allies. The intricacies of environmental issues make it difficult for people to consistently reach an agreement. Even among my closest friends who share my values, disagreements arise. This tension is simply part of being Homo sapiens navigating a planet that is too complex for complete understanding by anyone.
Throughout much of my career, I was tasked with shepherding conservation policies and suggesting strategies for ensuring the viability of individual species. Often, I either supervised or collaborated with teams of biologists working toward a common goal. Yet, despite our shared objectives, each member brought their own ideas to the table, resulting in continual conflict even among those who agreed on the desired outcomes.
The complexity of these discussions only intensifies when engaging with individuals who do not share the same goals. Biological systems are so intricate that no single answer exists. While some individuals possess more knowledge and experience, their opinions often hold less weight within human-structured systems because environmental considerations barely rate a mention in the larger economic and political scheme.
Moreover, even when there is general agreement on environmental issues, deeply held beliefs about other topics can create conflicts. Ultimately, the degree to which someone is invested in a particular belief significantly influences their willingness to overlook disagreements. Personally, I have developed a practice of overlooking strongly held beliefs on different topics when I perceive the individuals involved as the lesser of two evils. Recognizing that our choices often involve deciding between the lesser of two evils is crucial for maintaining realistic expectations about environmental issues and social norms, ultimately preventing continual disappointment and anguish.
One of you recently wrote on Twitter: “Children deserve to know the truth. Because this collapse is the only inheritance they get from us.” It reminded me of a dinner at which I shared my belief that an apocalyptic future awaited us. I was speaking primarily to a young woman, but of course everyone heard me. A man I was working for chastised me for introducing a negative topic into the conversation even though the woman wasn’t offended, merely concerned. In social situations where the rules of engagement are a bit different, do you suppress your beliefs? How do you handle these? And going back to your Twitter post, what do you think parents should say to their children about the coming times?
George I do suppress my beliefs in the company of others, because everyone’s struggle with reality is ultimately their own lonely fight to fight. The cognitive handicaps of humans, our herd behavior and inability to see outside of cultural “norms” deserve volumes of analysis and this has been the central theme of my work over the years, for those willing to at least lend an ear. People will resist what they consider “indoctrination” by others, will selectively choose convenient lies over inconvenient truths, and will shoot the messenger at no hesitation, especially if they smell blood, i.e., if that messenger already belongs in a vulnerable minority group: non-white, queer, non-conformist. My antinatalism views are the best case in point, labelled “ecofascist”, “extremist” and “antihuman” not only by X trolls but by family and friends. I honestly don’t go out of my way to get shot at, it is only rarely that I will express these views, but each time I do, it is almost as if a big data cloud in the sky suddenly clocks me, and I become the recipient of an incredible force of hate: the wrath of a species that is hellbent on defending what I call “The Civilizational Lie,” i.e., all the narratives of growth we tell ourselves to keep calm and overshoot. The magnitude of this reaction tells me that anti-natalism, and degrowth hit to the heart of the necrosystem which governs us, and which has over millennia created myths, religions, economies and systems to encourage us to procreate, spend, and keep growing. We have been farmed, essentially. This is why the industry of misinformation and troll bots on social media is huge. Delusion at this point has become as essential as oxygen for this civilization.
Lyle Few are as practiced at mitigating the traumatic effects of despair caused by the destruction of our biosphere as I am. There is little difference between losing a loved one and witnessing the destruction of something we cherish. My relationship with nature has led me on a slow, gradual journey through the five stages of grief as I have witnessed its decline. For many years, I oscillated between anger, denial, and bargaining. Only in the last decade have I transitioned to depression and finally, acceptance. Because nature has always been woven into the fabric of my identity, my path through these stages is likely different from those who have spent more of their lives in urban environments. Even among those who shared my early love for nature, each individual will have a unique journey toward acceptance.
Part of this acceptance involves recognizing the limited capabilities of our species, which is easier to achieve with a deeper understanding of human history. Many people cling to the hope of humanity’s persistence on Earth or believe that our current state will remain unchanged. They may view Homo sapiens as special or expect us to evolve into something greater than we are. However, these unrealistic expectations often lead to disappointment. Romanticizing our past is a significant way we convince ourselves that we can become “more.” Few have the courage to truly see people for who they are and recognize the realities of our history.
George, your interest in mind control through technology is of special interest to me. I don’t know if you’re aware of the work that was produced for the animation competition sponsored by Pink Floyd to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its Dark Side of the Moon album. Two of the winners represent, for me, the good and dark uses of technology: to create art and expand the mind, and to imprison the mind and force it to obey. When we use technology—and when we write—to express dark things, how are we reducing the trauma in the world?
George I’m a big fan of Pink Floyd and even more so of Roger Waters. Art, whether writing or making music, is a conversation with ourselves and with the world, and conversation is the very first step in dealing with trauma. As a writer I am inspired, propelled and energized by the music of countless artists in what I do, as they help me articulate and enhance these inner conversations. I use social media to communicate with my readers, posting excerpts of my writing and images to elicit unique reactions and new insights. I think that language, although terribly inefficient, is a great medium that transfers well into technology, as music and other forms of art also do. But it is more about the quality rather than quantity of information. Our civilization has stopped talking about death, happiness, existence, the things that really matter, as it desperately tries to shield itself from thousands of years of self-inflicted trauma. Our best response to this trauma so far has been to externalize it and pass it on to the planet. Of course, it is coming back to us. It doesn’t get more Karmic than this.
Lyle, the Amazon.com description of Racing to Extinction promises intriguing revelations, e.g., that you will “examine conventional wisdom regarding human intelligence” and that you will provide a “real-world rationale for resignation but also acceptance.” Can you talk about the ways your research, experiences, and so forth enabled you to develop a means of moving from resignation about our fate to acceptance?
Lyle The field of environmental sciences attracts many empathic individuals who possess a strong connection to both nature and humanity. This personality type often has an innate ability to gauge the sentiments of individuals or groups, allowing them to navigate conversations without causing offense. Driven by a need for peace and harmony, they typically approach potentially controversial topics with caution. Over the years, I have developed a skill for engaging with diverse personalities, assessing how far I can go in discussing sensitive issues. My approach often fluctuates between speaking candidly and remaining silent, largely depending on the receptiveness of my audience to darker themes. Unfortunately, in most cases, I find that people are not open to such discussions. It is indeed rare to encounter someone who understands or is willing to engage with the challenging topic of biosphere collapse.
We’re all aware of how disappearing resources—especially clean water and air—are going to trigger migrations into places like the U.S., UK, and France. As primary polluters and resource exploiters, we defend ourselves from the very people whose countries we’ve weakened economically, politically, and environmentally. When you despair over the fate of the Earth, how do you reduce the traumatic effects on yourselves?
George Activism is medicine, as my friends over at AIM (Activism Is Medicine) would say. For me it is also very important to maintain contact with nature and conserve what you can. I am a very busy gardener, maintaining a community green space set around a 2,500 year-old Ancient Greek fortification wall surrounded by ugly residential high-rise buildings. Once constructed as a defensive structure, the wall and its surroundings are now a conservation habitat I have created for both native and foreign species (you’ll find it listed on Instagram as The Unlikely Garden). Nurturing plants and providing habitat for pollinators and birds is so important to my mental health. As I see the garden decline due to droughts and heatwaves in my region, I become more determined. I constantly investigate new resilient xeric species and ways to conserve water. I believe there is a huge future in gardens both as conservation oases and mental health sanctuaries, not to mention food sources, in a world where food prices will become impossible, and quality food itself very scarce. Most of all, plants can teach us about degrowth. Plants can conserve resources and go into hibernation in thousands of different ways, something which our civilization needs to do ASAP.
Lyle Humanity’s actions inevitably contribute to trauma on a global scale. While many humans experience trauma, this is only a fraction of the suffering endured by tens of thousands of species driven to extinction and countless others hanging by a thread. As I write this on a computer, I recognize that its production involved mining, manufacturing, fossil fuels, and water—all at the expense of our planet’s biodiversity. To sustain my existence, I rely on food, water, clothing, and shelter, all of which demand logging, agriculture, fossil fuels, and manufacturing processes that harm the environment. Each day, I generate waste that further poisons our planet. With eight billion people on this Earth, we are collectively traumatizing what was once a beautiful, biodiverse world and its myriad inhabitants. It is crucial that we acknowledge this impact and seek ways to mitigate it.
What kind of Earth do you envision for the year 2030? 2040?
George Mass migration, global unrest, nuclear war, billions of deaths and huge swathes of the planet’s surface area falling outside of the habitable zone is where we are heading, fast, as food inequality intensifies, climate disasters bring down entire governments, and the Global South possibly revolts (India and Pakistan are already uninhabitable for great parts of the year). This will really be an unrecognizable place. I’m afraid that things are not looking good, then again, this is no surprise. An addict needs to reach rock bottom to have an epiphany, though this always comes too late if at all, based on our knowledge of the 85 or so collapsed civilizations we have studied. Degrowth, our only way out, has never even been attempted in human history and has even less of a chance today given that humanity has outsourced its sovereignty to suicidal, profit-driven algorithms (The Thing) which exist to grow and expand.
Throwing AI into this mix, our own technology may decide to finish us off in some way, before we exterminate all remaining living things. Or, it may just sit back and enjoy watching it all, prodding society here and there as it collapses in order to ensure that basic infrastructure remains in place to sustain a non-biological, non-DNA life entity that can take the heat (pun intended). I don’t worry about us ever going over to Mars and trashing it, this civilization will already be on its last leg way before it can muster any renewed appetite for big projects. The global decline of industrial civilization in my opinion is already in full swing as we speak.
It will be interesting to see the role activism and awakening can play in mitigation. Our fundamental issue is one of consciousness, and as long as the news media is a vehicle for capitalism, humanity will be kept unconscious. We do have the capacity to turn this all around in theory, if we all awakened, and this is what is so frustrating.
Lyle By 2030, I anticipate a rapidly warming planet. Assuming no catastrophic events occur between now and then, the global population will likely reach around 9 billion people. The combined energy, food, and water demands of this many individuals, exacerbated by climate change, could result in the extinction of between 0.5 and 1 million species over the next six years. Most lakes and reservoirs may become dominated by Cyanobacteria for much of the year, leading to the death of much of the planet’s freshwater aquatic life. Water shortages, heat-related deaths, social chaos, and anarchy will likely become commonplace.
Between 2030 and 2040, I foresee multiple events of mass mortality in various geographic regions, with casualties ranging from 5 to 75 million people within short periods. These tragedies will be driven by extreme heat domes, flooding, water shortages, chemical poisoning, pandemics, and food crop failures. As a result, governments may become overwhelmed and largely nonfunctional. Species extinctions will likely skyrocket, with an anticipated loss of half of all remaining species within that decade. While this grim reality underscores the urgent need for immediate action, humanity will remain laser focused on economic prosperity ensuring the worst possible outcome.
This view of Earth’s horizon as the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean was taken by an Expedition 7 crew member aboard the International Space Station.