It hasn't been a "real threat" to humanity for the past 5000 years, during which time the oceans have risen 50 feet and buried entire coastal cities.
At no time in the past 5000 were humans the dominant species on earth, and spread so far and wide. Sure, plenty of cultures have become extinct over the period, some at the hands of other humans, some due to environmental factors. See Jared Diamond's work. EDIT: When I say "dominant," I mean only on one plane. There are plenty of species that more numerous, or have more power even now in their own domain.
I think the real threat is people, like yourself, who can't see the forest for the trees with regard to climate change. You think you're more powerful than "mother nature" and that kind of hubris is frightening.
No, I don't believe for a second that humanity is "more powerful than 'mother nature,'"; in fact, just the opposite. Geology will always have the last word. It is people who think that the earth is a big playground full of resources to be exploited without thinking about sustainability beyond the next 10-50 years who seem to me to be the ones with hubris. But I suspect that we will be talking "at" each other, as we have so often in the past. We'll just have to agree that we will never be able to understand the other's POV. Or, perhaps better, that we never be able to convince the other that our own POV is well grounded. And, of course, there is always the possibility that we are both wrong, that we both have very limited perspectives! For better or worse, humans are far far from omniscient. |
