MOST progressives, including UN chief António Guterres and his climate experts, rate the outcomes of so many national elections happening this year as crucial to whether present climate and ecological catastrophes recede or explode.

Whether modern lifestyle’s habitual consumerism will continue its present pathway of irreversible acceleration towards “sixth extinction” of most life on Earth (80% of it at least, and probably this century looking-up previous five extinctions) or takes sufficient urgent action to save ourselves in the next 18 months?

Before answering, do bear in mind we are evolution’s latest arrivals (on December 31  in Earth’s living creatures’ history, spread over a calendar year – according to David Attenborough) and sadly fall foul of nature’s nasty extinction law of “last in, first out” ! 

Even more sadly, in present greed-driven capitalist lifestyle - favouring private to public, wealth and business – there’s no way that “more of the same” can ever hope to solve what is essentially an unsustainable, excess population, consumerist extinction.

As I’ve said many times, only substantial continuous and carefully planned reduction in shopping and working (de-growth’s just ‘being’ rather than forever  ’having and doing’) can save us. Maybe then, we can provide our great grandchildren with real hopes of survival, even continued modern longevity. Obviously new technology could help in some ways, but by far the most must come from “system change”.

In this, three further big things must be sorted: first, the rapid running-out of scarce resources, particularly food or water, having to slow down depletion so usage lasts longer; second, keeping measured results of all climate change’s ill-effects, same time as trying to  control  these and minimise permanent environmental damage; third, sharing with fellow citizens in all possible ways and levels, with big dropping of customary privacy as big part of all future individual and social well-being, using new minimalist, communal self-sufficient localism as basic tools – neighbourhood forever friendship!