Governments have been lethargic about enacting changes to make society better, especially when it comes to global warming.
If we assume mid to worst case scenarios (and at this point we might as well, honestly), we're going to see large scale collapse of entire regions as wet bulb temperatures are reached. The appropriate way to prep is not to single-person hoard a bunch of stuff - the usual survivor prep you see - but to create interlinked networks of communities and individuals who can provide aid to one another. Humans survive solo very very poorly. A surprising number of 'go it alone survivalists' need insulin, for instance.
More immediately, we also have a huge problem with wealth and power disparity. We can take a punch at both problems by creating a wide ranging community that focuses on building a complete supply chain of essentials, and supporting worker owned companies that actually pay their employees fair wages.
Big companies merge and aim to control as much as possible. For instance, Amazon is taking over warehousing and deliveries as well as eating up retail stores.
We need:
- Some kind of alternative to paypal. I know credit unions exist but I'm not aware of one with paypal like services.
- Some kind of alternative to uber and other basic services that only need a website and people who want to trade labor for wages.
- An alternative to Amazon that is worker owned and actually ethical.
- A mutual aid organization that isn't purely local or crippled by surges in demand. When I looked into joining a local mutual aid community, their website said they were not accepting at this time. That's obviously not great for growth. But the way mutual aid organizations tend to be local also is crippling: what if you have absolutely no one in your area, such as a Republican strong hold? A more global or at least country wide organization aimed at mutually helping one another would be better equipped to deal with sudden surges in demand in one area.
- We could definitely use our own medical organization. Modern hospitals in the USA have a toxic relationship with insurance. A two in one medical-insurance worker owned organization could cut this out; this would also be good in countries less insane than the USA that still have problems with nurse burnout due to low wages and too much over-time.
Also, while not critical, it would be nice to have a research branch that people can direct funding to as they actually want and get frequent updates about. Churches spent tons on shitty stuff like private airplanes - why can't we have an organization that spends things on stuff that's actually useful like scientific research?
- Organization of meetups when a sufficient mass of people in a region are reached for it to be worthwhile and start executing goals, such as organized food making and distribution. Many of us don't have much of a green thumb but would be happy to water a plant if someone checked in periodically and reminded us or would be happy to help someone pay for a sun lamp, and I think a lot of space is poorly utilized. Food waste is a huge problem, but community talks about one's food situation would help with that - people could say if they have leftovers this week or not. Simple, little stuff like that can make a difference.
- Voting. This is something that can be done at the individual level, but obviously the more people who are agreeing to do it and to help others vote the better the outcome will be.
If you appreciate science and understand what a 'consensus of studies without cherry-picking' actually means, you appreciate what a huge threat society is facing. We haven't seen rapid temperature fluctuations like this since the Permian extinction, literately the worst mass extinction since animals evolved. Our current profit focused society is not equipped or interested in handling the threat. If we gain more power, such as undercutting the companies that are bleeding us dry directly by creating alternatives and supporting them, then we will be better positioned to make politicians listen to us as well as be better positioned for Plan B of society collapsing.
