Death
"Every year heat kills tens of thousands of people.
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Their breathing grows shallow, their heart rates
flutter, their muscles spasm, and then they die."
Death rates from greenhouse pollution are
increasing and are expected to multiply.
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One death may result from the lifetime ​ pollution
"A rapid phaseout of fossil-fuel-related emissions" is
"needed to save millions of lives."
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With 20th century disasters, "an annual death toll in the millions was common."
Since 1965, however, there's been dramatic improvement.
“There were a variety of causes for this steep decline in death rates," such as:
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Environmental interventions
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Nutritional improvements
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Medicine​ & access to health care
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Education & standards of living
The reduction in famines was
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"‘one of the [world's] great ... triumphs’.”
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"increasing agricultural yields ...
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sanitation; increased trade;
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reductions … in extreme poverty”
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“technological progress [and]
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the spread of stable democracies”
Last century saw 100 million war deaths.
​Lately, there've been fewer violent fatalities. ​​​
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“We may now live in the most peaceful
time in our species’ existence.”
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Why the increases in life expectancy? ​
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- Urbanization, women’s education
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- Birth control, women’s employment
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- Better infant health & obstetrics
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- Vaccinations, antibiotics
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The 21st century has been the:
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- most peaceful (see above)
- most healthy (see above)
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- most prosperous
- and most populous
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epoch in human history.
Will we repeat the mistakes made 100 years ago?
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Can we stop creating the atmospheric conditions
for more droughts and floods,
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and consequently more famine and fighting?
Modernization delivered many benefits,
but we haven't been keeping up with the (ecological) payments!
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The longer we postpone a renewable transformation,
​ the more traumatic the change will become.
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