It’s time, I think, to move past the illusory “optimist/pessimist” dichotomy. Ask any ecologist: when any population overshoots its carrying capacity and parasitizes its own life support systems (water, topsoil, and other species—plant and animal—on which it depends), systemic collapse and mass die-off are inevitable. Humanity is no exception, only this time, the overshoot, collapse, and mass die-off will be global, with no place to run or hide, even for billionaires. There may be scattered survivors—I’m not sure—but most likely they will be either (1) viciously predatory marauders and survivalists (who won’t last long before they kill each other off in merciless competition for dwindling water and food supplies) and—if we are lucky—(2) small communities of Gaians, who practice permaculture and strive to grow gardens, grow community, and grow awareness wherever they go…This is my only remaining hope, but it is enough to live for and strive for as long as I draw breath.