If it gives you any hope those tough, hardworking, better educated people you mentioned are coming up with a ton of potential solutions to climate change - better renewables, better batteries, more efficient tech and more efficient systems. Even without international cooperation scientists around the world are dragging us off the precipice of a climate catastrophe.

Which is not to say the climate won’t change, or that people won’t be harmed during this process, but it is being mitigated. As a fantastic cherry on top the United States passed an enormous climate change hill that has already inspired huge investments in the green revolution. The world tends to follow American trends, and with only a few exceptions voters around the world are demanding their politicians take part in the solution.

Though I do foresee the possibility of great and terrible times ahead, I do not think they are inevitable, probable or even likely unless we let some of these bad actors use law and politics to wipe away our gains (aka Americans can fuck it up if they give too much power to Republicans, as that party is currently constituted). Humanity is pushing forward through these stormy times. Try not to despair, that which is good in this word is not yet lost, not nearly, and billions of your fellow humans are fighting to keep it, improve it and thrive.