--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humans aren’t going to do anything in…" description: "\"“Humans aren’t going to do anything in time to prevent the planet from being destroyed wholesale. Poor people are too preoccupied by primary emergencie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/aric-mcbay-53895_anti-civ_humans-aren-t-going-to-do-anything-in-ti_3060603.jpg" --- # Humans aren’t going to do anything in time to prevent the… ![“Humans aren’t going to do anything in time to prevent the planet from being destroyed wholesale. Poor people are too preoccupied by primary emergencies, rich people benefit from the status quo, and the middle class are too obsessed with their own entitlement and the technological spectacle to do…” quote by Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/aric-mcbay-53895_anti-civ_humans-aren-t-going-to-do-anything-in-ti_3060603.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/aric-mcbay-53895_anti-civ_humans-aren-t-going-to-do-anything-in-ti_3060603.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/aric-mcbay-53895_anti-civ_humans-aren-t-going-to-do-anything-in-ti_3060603.jpg) > ““Humans aren’t going to do anything in time to prevent the planet from being destroyed wholesale. Poor people are too preoccupied by primary emergencies, rich people benefit from the status quo, and the middle class are too obsessed with their own entitlement and the technological spectacle to do anything. The risk of runaway global warming is immediate. A drop in the human population is inevitable, and fewer people will die if collapse happens sooner.”” [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Urgent climate crisis is worsened by social inequities and complacency, leading to inevitable collapse. **In simple terms:** Climate change is urgent and linked to inequality. Key Takeaway Act now despite systemic barriers. Themes environment social justice urgency inequality Mood concerned determined Type political environmental When to use this quote - policy advocacy - community organizing - personal carbon reduction - education campaigns Key Concepts systemic inertia population dynamics technological distraction Questions to Reflect On - What can you influence in your community? - How do you balance personal action with systemic change? A Different Perspective Change is limited by entrenched interests and short‑term thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anti-civ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-civ/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Collapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse/) [Deep-green-resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-green-resistance/) [Global warming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-warming/) [Human population](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-population/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Poor people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-people/) [Rich people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-people/) [Status quo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/status-quo/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“The ultimate goal of the resistance movement is a planet not just living, but in recovery, growing more alive and more diverse year after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-resistance-movement-is-a-planet-not-just/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“Further, any way of life based on the importation of resources is also functionally based on violence, because if your way of life requires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/further-any-way-of-life-based-on-the-importation-of-resources-is-also/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“Humans are only one species of millions. To kill millions of species for the benefit of one is insane, just as killing millions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/humans-are-only-one-species-of-millions-to-kill-millions-of-species/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“No successes we might have are guaranteed to last as long as industrial civilization stands. Conversely, most of our losses are effectively permanent. Extinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/no-successes-we-might-have-are-guaranteed-to-last-as-long-as/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“Our best hope will never lie in individual survivalism. Nor does it lie in small groups doing their best to prepare for the worst.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/our-best-hope-will-never-lie-in-individual-survivalism-nor-does-it/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [“The role of smart, radical activists is to encourage, protract, organize, and multiply the chipping away not only at the mythology of presumed supremacy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-carter/the-role-of-smart-radical-activists-is-to-encourage-protract-organize/) Michael Carter > [“If we can't love our one and only home, what can we love? If we're unwilling to defend what we love, then what are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-carter/if-we-can-t-love-our-one-and-only-home-what-can-we-love-if-we-re/) Michael Carter > [“Someone once told me his idea for surviving a crash of civilization was to be a lone wolf, heading for the hills, with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-carter/someone-once-told-me-his-idea-for-surviving-a-crash-of-civilization/) Michael Carter > [“Even if we're among the lucky few who benefit from civilization, we find ourselves curiously unsatisfied, plagued by stress, worry, and conflict... Like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-carter/even-if-we-re-among-the-lucky-few-who-benefit-from-civilization-we/) Michael Carter > [“This culture destroys landbases. That's what it does. When you think of Iraq, is the first thing that comes to mind cedar forests so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/this-culture-destroys-landbases-that-s-what-it-does-when-you-think-of/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“So while this is a book about fighting back, in the end this is a book about love. The songbirds and the salmon need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/so-while-this-is-a-book-about-fighting-back-in-the-end-this-is-a-book/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [Narrative Collapse is what happens when we no longer have time in which to tell a story. Remote controls and DVRs give us the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/narrative-collapse-is-what-happens-when-we-no-longer-have-time-in/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [“the hours plink past like water from a window a/c. we sweat it out, teach ourselves to wait. silently, lazily, collapse happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/the-hours-plink-past-like-water-from-a-window-a-c-we-sweat-it-out/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [“The violence of hierarchy is the violence that the powerful use against the dispossessed to keep them subordinated. As an example, the violence committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/the-violence-of-hierarchy-is-the-violence-that-the-powerful-use/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [“There is a name for the tsunami wave of extermination: the Holocene extinction event. There's no asteroid this time, only human behavior, behavior that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/there-is-a-name-for-the-tsunami-wave-of-extermination-the-holocene/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) ## More by Aric McBay > [“Humans are only one species of millions. To kill millions of species for the benefit of one is insane, just as killing millions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/humans-are-only-one-species-of-millions-to-kill-millions-of-species/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“The dominant culture eats entire biomes. No, that is too generous, because eating implies a natural biological relationship. This culture doesn't just consume ecosystems,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/the-dominant-culture-eats-entire-biomes-no-that-is-too-generous/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“No successes we might have are guaranteed to last as long as industrial civilization stands. Conversely, most of our losses are effectively permanent. Extinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/no-successes-we-might-have-are-guaranteed-to-last-as-long-as/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“The ultimate goal of the resistance movement is a planet not just living, but in recovery, growing more alive and more diverse year after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-resistance-movement-is-a-planet-not-just/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“Further, any way of life based on the importation of resources is also functionally based on violence, because if your way of life requires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/further-any-way-of-life-based-on-the-importation-of-resources-is-also/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) [Explore all 6 Aric McBay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) ## More Anti-civ quotes > [“Even if we're among the lucky few who benefit from civilization, we find ourselves curiously unsatisfied, plagued by stress, worry, and conflict... Like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-carter/even-if-we-re-among-the-lucky-few-who-benefit-from-civilization-we/) Michael Carter > [“So while this is a book about fighting back, in the end this is a book about love. The songbirds and the salmon need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/so-while-this-is-a-book-about-fighting-back-in-the-end-this-is-a-book/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“Humans are only one species of millions. To kill millions of species for the benefit of one is insane, just as killing millions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/humans-are-only-one-species-of-millions-to-kill-millions-of-species/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“No successes we might have are guaranteed to last as long as industrial civilization stands. Conversely, most of our losses are effectively permanent. Extinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/no-successes-we-might-have-are-guaranteed-to-last-as-long-as/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“This culture destroys landbases. That's what it does. When you think of Iraq, is the first thing that comes to mind cedar forests so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/this-culture-destroys-landbases-that-s-what-it-does-when-you-think-of/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“The ultimate goal of the resistance movement is a planet not just living, but in recovery, growing more alive and more diverse year after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-resistance-movement-is-a-planet-not-just/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“Someone once told me his idea for surviving a crash of civilization was to be a lone wolf, heading for the hills, with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-carter/someone-once-told-me-his-idea-for-surviving-a-crash-of-civilization/) Michael Carter > [“If we can't love our one and only home, what can we love? If we're unwilling to defend what we love, then what are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-carter/if-we-can-t-love-our-one-and-only-home-what-can-we-love-if-we-re/) Michael Carter > [“The role of smart, radical activists is to encourage, protract, organize, and multiply the chipping away not only at the mythology of presumed supremacy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-carter/the-role-of-smart-radical-activists-is-to-encourage-protract-organize/) Michael Carter > [“Further, any way of life based on the importation of resources is also functionally based on violence, because if your way of life requires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/further-any-way-of-life-based-on-the-importation-of-resources-is-also/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“Our best hope will never lie in individual survivalism. Nor does it lie in small groups doing their best to prepare for the worst.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/our-best-hope-will-never-lie-in-individual-survivalism-nor-does-it/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) [Browse all 12 Anti-civ quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-civ/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Humans aren’t going to do anything in time to prevent the planet from being destroyed wholesale. Poor people are too preoccupied by primary emergencies, rich people benefit from the status quo, and the middle class are too obsessed with their own entitlement and the technological spectacle to do anything. The risk of runaway global warming is immediate. 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