Doomsday: Wake Up, it's Already Late

Acharya Prashant

17 min
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Doomsday: Wake Up, it's Already Late
We say, “Because the global temperature is rising and there is the climate catastrophe awaiting us, let’s be do-gooders. Let’s recycle plastic, let’s replace our old-style electric bulbs and let’s plant trees.” The thing is, planting trees is way too insufficient, now it’s not going to help. These two trees, four trees that we are thinking of planting are not going to help because the cause is Consumption, the cause is Overpopulation. This summary has been created by volunteers of the PrashantAdvait Foundation

Acharya Prashant: The topic was spinning yarns of epiphany. What’s epiphany? A sudden realization or revelation of the truth, right? We say that facts are the door to truth and therefore one has to first talk of the facts, before saying anything about Truth or desiring an epiphanic moment. Are we really in touch with the facts? So, we said let’s check that out and we named the presentation as “Missing the obvious.” Let’s see to what extent are we really grounded in the facts.

We’ll be taking 2 sets of facts—

  1. Facts that we are calling as far and wide — that relate to something Global, something macro and,
  2. Facts that are more personal, more micro, more related to our day-to-day lives and we’ll see whether we are really in touch with them.

So, let’s begin, yes.

First thing, as you look at this slide, you must realize that this is needed to be shown here because it is not being normally shown elsewhere.

We are talking of CO2 emission as a proxy for mindless consumption. Where do these emissions come from? They come from energy consumption, when it comes to all countries. Heat consumption, when it comes to mostly the first world, cold countries, transport, industrial production, and very, very importantly food, especially if you are a flesh eater. If you are someone who consumes a lot of so-called non-vegetarian food, animal products, be it flesh or dairy, then you are contributing a lot to carbon emissions and what have those emissions done?

Look at the statistics — The pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was two hundred eighty PPM, even till 1950 it was three hundred ten PPM. Currently it stands around four hundred twenty PPM, that’s an increase of 50% over the pre-industrial levels and we know what carbon dioxide does — it traps heat — the familiar Greenhouse effect.

Global mean temperature rise as a result of the Greenhouse effect has been 1.5/1.6 degrees Fahrenheit(F) and it is only increasing and increasing at an increasing rate. Forget about arresting the temperature rise, its only accelerating. The projected temperature rise by 2050 is 1.6 degrees, not F but C(Celsius) and that’s an optimistic estimate, mind you!

The sea level rise is already close to hundred mm and it can go up to two hundred, three hundred mm by 2050. These are not just numbers, these are warnings of an impending catastrophe, and this is not something that we discuss in our daily lives, this is not a part of our daily discussions and the national discourse.

1.2 billion climate refugees by 2050, that’s not the worst thing to hear of. The worst thing is that we are probably already in the sixth mass extinction phase and out of the previous five, at least three were caused by an excessive presence of CO2 in the atmosphere, the same thing that you are witnessing today.

Do you understand what Mass Extinction means? It means that as a generation, we have been so stupid that we are obliterating not just our own, but probably all the species on this planet and that’s happening within the next few decades. That’s who we are and that’s how oblivious we are to the very obvious, present, stunning facts. How can then there be an epiphany or truth?

Total and that’s total, and we are talking of both Indian and International news channel. Major news networks devoted less than 4 hours to climate change per year in recent years. Total! That’s total! And we are talking of both Indian and international news channels. This is the kind of importance that we are giving to the all-around destruction that awaits us.

Next one. And then when it comes to consumption, we are not just consuming industrial goods, not just fossil fuels, not heat, not just energy, not just food, but also something softer, subtler which is data. Look at the kind of GBs that we are consuming. The GBs that an average mobile user in India is now consuming is close to twenty. The average time that an average teenager is spending on his mobile screen is more than eight hours now! And a lot of that is just social media trivia! That’s what we are consuming and the result is an exponential rise in misinformation, fake news, loss of creativity and even loss of IQ, we’ll come to that later.

Yes, now we say, “Because the global temperature is rising and there is the Climate catastrophe awaiting us, let’s be do-gooders. Let’s recycle plastic, let’s replace our old-style electric bulbs and let’s plant trees.” The thing is, planting trees is way too insufficient, now it’s not going to help. Look at the data, you require a landmass much greater than the size of India to be forested, to be planted with trees, if you are to make any substantial impact. Obviously, that’s not going to happen. So, these two trees, four trees that we are thinking of planting are not going to help because the cause is Consumption, the cause is Overpopulation. Who consumes? The people consume and because there are so many of us that’s why the consumption levels are so high.

And when it comes to consumption, see how we deceive ourselves. We say “We’ll plant trees,” and that’s another aspect of deception, very personal. We do not have money to Study, we do not have money to invest in entrepreneurship, we do not have money for Research & Development but we’ve all the money for Bridal jewelry. India stands at no. two there and see the striking contrast. No. 150, No.190 what are the ranks in the last three points- No. 142 in terms of Per Capita Income, No. 144 in terms of Education Spending, No. 146 in terms of per capita health spending.

And what’s the rank up there in 1st point, No. 2 — India is the 2nd largest consumer of gold. More than half of this demand can be attributed to bridal jewelry. Education, health per capita spending, we are nowhere but when it comes to gold, when it comes to weddings, we are right at the Top. That’s who we are.

And, are we in touch with these facts? No, so we do take these things as normal. If we really are in touch with these facts, we would be astounded, we would be shocked, we would be stirred into action but what are we acting, when we are not even realizing, not even paying heed, how will we act?

Extremes- 10 examples of extremes here. Can you imagine roaming around in a t-shirt on Antarctica? or on the Arctic? But that’s what is happening. Look at the temperatures and there is no typo there. We have not missed out on a minus sign, that’s 38 degrees, yes! not -38 degrees. That’s the kind of extreme weather events that we are already into. We are not forecasting. Nobody is acting as a Doomsday Warner or something. 83% increase in extreme weather events. Remember the Australian forest fires, remember the European heat waves, remember what is happening in the Pakistan and Bangladesh next door — the floods and remember what is happening in India as well- the frequency of cyclones and 83% increase over just the last 1 or 2 decades!! That’s where we are.

Floods and other water related disasters could cost the global economy 5.6 trillion by the next decade or by 2050, to put things in perspective, that’s more than the current GDP of India, right? we are not yet even a $ 4 trillion completely. But the economic loss comes later. It’s the human loss that’s the worst tragedy.

And we are yet to Fathom the magnitude of what we are already into and neck deep into, but we talk of other truths. We talk of metaphysical realities; we talk of knowing the unknown and even the unknowable, when we do not know even that which is present right in front of our eyes. We do not know the obvious facts that stare at us and would destroy our life, but we want to know of some hidden mystical reality. How will that work?

Next slide. Extremes! Just as we saw extreme weather events, look at the Extremes here as well. We are contrasting the far and wide with the up and close, the near things and saying that be it the distant reality or the immediate one, we are equally in oblivion, right? Look at these Extremes and we are talking of $ billionaires here, mind you. India ranks third when it comes to the no. of Billionaires in the world and 80% of Indians earns less than 10,000 Rs per month. If you earn 20,000 or 25,000 Rs. per month, you stand in top 10 percentile in India! That’s where we stand.

The percentage of population below the poverty line is still 20% and that’s where we have defined the poverty line on bare sustenance terms. We have taken the minimum no. of calories a person needs to survive and then we say, “Ok, for these calories what is the minimum amount of food, grains, etc. that you need to consume and based on that we draw the poverty line,” which is a very inhumane way of drawing the poverty line and still 20% of us are below the poverty line and yet we have vulgar accumulation and display of wealth going on. The inequality is increasing continuously. You know of the journey coefficient? right? And you also know of how it is only increasing in the world and India.

Now, Killing, Violence. There is a violence that is happening on a global scale, on a macro level and there is a violence that is happening right in our household. Let’s first look at the former one, fish gone, number of species that are getting extinct everyday, do you know that is more than hundred times the natural rate. The natural rate is that one or two species will go extinct every day and that’s a natural thing. That has been happening for the last millions of years but today we have exceeded that rate by hundred times. Some studies say thousand times! Even as we speak, a few species have gone extinct.

Can you imagine the devastation? The total obliteration of life itself. That’s what we are doing, and we remain blissfully ignorant. We behave as if nothing is amiss. A science Journal study predicts that all the world’s fisheries will collapse by 2048. All the fisheries gone; would we survive? We behave as if fisheries are out there somewhere isolated, disconnected from us. Would we survive if they are gone? Please tell me!

And India, relate the last two points. Very few people realize that milk and beef are synonymous. Very few people realize that. We do not bother to enquire what happens to all the cattle after they stop yielding Milk. As young educated, inquisitive minds, should we be that complacent, that ignorant, that oblivious? Isn’t there a direct relation between our Dairy Consumption and our Beef production and subsequent export but we don’t mind.

Next. Killing them. State of Women in India. We are not just killing the cows, the buffaloes, the fish, the entire wildlife, look at who else is being killed. India ranks #189 in the UN’s Sex Ratio list (2021). 189, that’s Rock bottom! I wonder if there is any country below us. 920 is the ratio. Where are those missing eighty girls? And if you are a killer, why would you spare your own daughter or wife? That’s the worst kind of genocide going on in India. But we don’t bother. We behave as if we are an educated, enlightened, empowered country especially when it comes to empowering the other gender as well. Think of killing. Killing happens everywhere because the Killer is the same. The fellow who can kill an innocent animal, just for his pleasure and profit, why would he spare an innocent girl. She would be killed because he knows there is a cost to bear and then there is a dowry to gift and all such things.

Female labor participation rate 25%. Worst still, it is falling!! Education levels among women are increasing, their labor participation rate is falling. Over the last twenty years, it has actually fallen. More women were at workplaces than they are today two decades back. The proportion of women working was more than what it is today. Women are withdrawing from workplaces. 73% of them even if they continue to work, they leave their job after giving birth. And that’s not really an informed and voluntary choice. It is to do with the social conditions and the cultural conditioning a lot.

We talk of farmer’s suicide and that’s a very tragic thing, right. The newspapers are all full of farmers’ suicides and that is something we must address, obviously. But what about the housewives? And does anybody bother to enquire, what our cultural institutions are doing to the women? To the point that she is compelled to die by suicide, and we are missing that!!

As young students, when you talk to each other, I’m asking you, “Do you take up these issues? Do these form a part of your daily conversations?” They hardly do. Next.

Loss of Biodiversity. And we’ll be talking of another kind of loss next, right. This is a loss far and wide as is Biodiversity. This is biodiversity loss. I just addressed that. The extinction rate has exceeded the natural rate, not by percentage points but by many folds, by multiples. One million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. Do you understand threatened with extinction? They are not just threatened, the numbers are not just reducing, they are going extinct.

Do we understand what extinction means? They’ll never return!! We are not talking of a few members of species; we are talking of the last member of the species. It’s gone forever, never to return!! And we are talking of not one such species, we are talking of millions of species.

Look at the third point — “Humans and their livestock represent 96% of all mammals on earth in terms of biomass.” Let it sink in. The only mammals that are surviving today are the ones that we use. All other mammals we have wiped out. So, if you want to survive on this earth, we have to colonize it and monopolize it to such an extent that if you want to survive on this earth, you have to be usable to human beings. If you are not usable, you will be killed! So, goat, cow, buffalo, sheep, camel, only such mammals that are of use to us have been allowed to not just survive but multiply. We forcibly multiply them, right? That’s the reality of animal farms. We forcefully multiply them and all other animals, think of the millions of mammal species, we have completely wiped them out. That’s who we are.

Wild animals represent only 4%, Obviously. Next.

We talked of the loss of Biodiversity, here is the corresponding loss of Creativity. Huh, have you heard of something called the Flynn effect? Do you know that each generation has a significantly lower on IQ than the preceding one? That has been happening since the last forty, fifty years, since the advent of Television and now that has been compounded with the internet. We are losing IQ at the rate of 3-5 points every decade. Isn’t that astounding? Look at the other points.

Newspaper reading and magazine reading, declining sharply. When was the last time you came across a great new poetry book? A great new publication? Who cares for Poets now? Innovation, creativity, intelligence, empathy, all these things are being lost, just as we are losing biodiversity. The loss outside is also the loss inside and we are not seeing that!

Superstitions — 50%, almost 50% — Among the common public, 10% didn’t believe that global warming is occurring at all; nearly 24% believed that the climate is changing but not due to human activity, and 14% were unsure. You add up those numbers— 10, 24, 15, that’s almost 50% people still do not completely believe that global warming is happening and is anthropogenic, which means they won’t really participate in any climate activism. Isn’t that superstition of the worst kind. And that same kind of superstition is reflected in something else. Look at what is happening in social media these days. Superstition rules! And if you can propagate superstition, you will very soon be a Superstar! Is that not the rule now?

Look at this — Miracles do happen and that’s not just Indians believe in. Faith healing — no, no, no, the scientific system of medicine won’t help you, come to all the other kinds of mumbo jumbo and the no. of deaths that is causing, that’s going largely unreported.

So, a mind that does not care for the Truth is what is called a superstitious mind, right? We do not care for the truth when it comes to macro events, and we also do not care for the truth when it comes to things in our personal life. So small things, you want to proceed for an examination, somebody tells you, “Well you should wear this thread or take some yogurt before you leave.” And that same kind of harmless looking thing, is what becomes the climate tragedy and subsequent extinction as well. Please don’t take those little superstitions lightly. They are killing us!!

This article has been created by volunteers of the PrashantAdvait Foundation from transcriptions of sessions by Acharya Prashant
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