So let's consider this:
The ocean ecosystems could collapse in 40 years.
There will be nothing left but jelly fish.
Fresh water is getting critically scarce in many parts of the world.
Oil production has peaked and will almost certainly enter into a decline phase within this decade. The water table in the Punjab region of India is dropping as much as 1 meter a year.
CO2 levels in the atmosphere are on track to reach the critical 450 ppm threshold.
The nitrogen cycle has passed the critical threshold where the oceans can no longer absorb the amount of phosphorous run off from industrial agriculture. (think of the dead zone in the gulf of Mexico)
Species extinction has passed the critical threshold.
Industrial agriculture is not so much farming as mining nutrients from the soil. In the long term this is not a sustainable practice. It also requires from 5 to 10 calories of energy (largely fossil fuel) for every calorie of food energy. And this figure is before transport energy inputs.
Critical elements (indium, gallium, platinum etc) have very short depletion horizons. platinum could be depleted in as little as 15 years.
To put this all in focus. We are no longer capable of growing ~33% of our energy that is non-substitutable at scale in primary industry with respect to demand.
With 48% of primary energy (coal and natural gas) we are running out of sinks for waste.
All growth requires energy and produces waste.
The 2nd law of thermodynamics applies to all physical systems.
We have very good data. We have very good models. We have very good time lines. What we don't have is a lot of solutions or political movement on all of the critical issues we are facing.
