On Tuesday, 16 January 2018 15:56:14 UTC+1, Chris L Peterson wrote:

I don't anticipate global warming has the potential to eliminate
humans, or even close to it. But civilization is fragile. It wouldn't
take much to take down our current cultures and replace them with
something more typical- despotic theocracy, for instance.

Not something I want to see.

Even if there was no global warming countless cities would be killing millions of their occupants with vehicle and coal powered smog. Hitler could not accomplish what car manufacturers do every day to innocent people. VW enjoyed increased sales growth last year despite their criminal behaviour over toxic, diesel smog. The Nazis ended up in court for mass murder. Why not VW? Too valuable to be put in prison?

Even if there was no global warming real traffic speeds in most cities of the world would continue to fall as they have done for decades. Modifying cities to suit vehicle traffic only has never worked in all the time it has been attempted and failed abysmally.

Only in a few enlightened cities, in Holland, is commuting a relatively effortless affair where 8 out of 10 journeys are short and taken by bicycle. Shop takings have risen and towns enjoy multiple outlets within a short distance of housing. With much lower traffic levels, cleaner air and much less traffic noise. Pedestrian precincts [walking only streets] have increased the demand for shops and services. A far cry from the out of city, soulless mega malls and big shed retailers. With vast acreages of car parking on the fringes of society and each another global hot spot.

Even if there was no global warming constantly rising, quarterly energy bills would be forcing billions into fuel and comfort poverty. Solar and battery storage [in bicycle and vehicle] offer true democracy of energy production and consumption. Probably for the first time since women and girls were sent into the forests for firewood.

Imagine if the taxpayer's own money, handed in billions over to the [often] foreign energy companies, was invested in small scale and local solar ans subsidized electric vehicles? Add better home insulation and the world would be better prepared for the coming of the robots and global mass unemployment. The less efficient and more costly the energy supply to the masses, the larger the taxpayer bill will have to be pay to everybody for not working..