Numbered Days: An Interview with Conservation Biologist Guy McPherson
- Tawanda Jazz
- 9 hours ago
- 4 min read
"Our days are numbered. Passionately pursue a life of excellence"
—Guy McPherson
After discovering The Limits to Growth nearly a decade ago and watching how the effects of climate change have drastically changed our world, I have come to accept that the collapse of civilization due to the damage that humans have caused had begun. What was it that first woke you up in this respect?
After taking a couple of college courses in biology, I realized Earth had too many people on a finite planet. In 1979, when I was 19 years old, I decided not to have children. Since then, I have pursued a life focused on educating others. Because I chose this path, I also chose a path characterized by relatively little money.
Do you believe that there is connection between consumerism and denial of climate change? What are your thoughts on this subject?
Absolutely! I’ve met plenty of people who deny anthropogenic climate change. Nearly all of them love to “shop ’til they drop.” Less materialistic people, on the other hand, seem to be drawn to reason. I left active service at the University of Arizona because the university and its many departments were driven by money. I was surprised at the overwhelming importance of money in a top-ranked scholastic institution.
You coined the term Near Term Human Extinction (NTHE). Can you explain that theory?
Near-term human extinction refers to the forthcoming extinction of our species, Homo sapiens. When that occurs, the rapid rate of environmental change in our wake will lead to the extinction of all life on Earth, as indicated by peer-reviewed literature.
The most recent iteration of The Limits to Growth shows a drastic downturn in quality of life, availability of resources, and population numbers starting in 2020, with things beginning to get much worse by 2028. Is that in line with your research, and if so, how do you see this manifesting now?
Access to materials is clearly declining. Many people in the Global North are facing a lack of access to food and water. Everything is much worse in the Global South, of course. Corporate media outlets, politicians, and paid climate scientists generally ignore or dismiss Limits to Growth, and also the renowned publication published more than 50 years ago.
It seems as though the denial of science, scientific facts, and previously proven theories has become dangerously commonplace in the last decade or so. What do you think is behind this?
Most people are poorly educated. Science education is especially horrific. It seems most people and institutions in the Global North are focused primarily on the acquisition of money.
“If you really think that the environment is less important than the economy, try holding your breath while you count your money.” ― Dr. Guy McPherson
What is your definition of "hopium"?
First, the Merriam-Webster online definition of hope: “to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true.” I want a lot of things to “happen or be true.” Wanting (i.e., wishing) doesn’t make them so.
Hopium is simply a desire to make “something to happen or be true.” However, use of the word hopium makes the wishful part of the definition quite obvious, [implying a strong addiction to this wishful thinking, often to the point of delusion].
Many people who hear scientists sounding the alarm about the climate emergency equate it with “the end of the world”. But is it, really? If the effects of climate change were bad enough that it killed off all or most of humanity and life on earth, is there a chance that (over a very long period) the Earth would be able to rebuild itself, without the human problem getting in the way?
I shared this perspective for a long time. Then, on 13 November 2018, Strona and Bradshaw published an important, peer-reviewed paper in the renowned Nature series of journals (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-35068-1). It indicated that “life could survive in peculiar habitats such as hydrothermal vents, and a rogue, seemingly desert Earth wandering across the Universe could still have some tiny chance of blooming again under some lucky — and unlikely — circumstances.” This was sufficient to convince me that the odds against life surviving are long.
What advice do you have for people who are aware of the unavoidable trajectory our planet and civilization are on? We still need to pay the bills, conquer the small challenges of our days, go to work. How do we attend to business as usual, when things are seemingly falling apart around us?
This is a difficult challenge for those who are aware of our future. Most of us need to work to survive, and there is no way out of this workaholic future. I recommend working only as much as needed to support a minimalist lifestyle. Life is short, even if I’m incorrect about near-term human extinction. As a result, I recommend living fully with the cards we’ve been dealt.
PROF. DR. GUY R. MCPHERSON
CONSERVATION BIOLOGIST, SOCIAL CRITIC, THOUGHT LEADER
Guy McPherson is a scientist and professor emeritus of natural resources and ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona. He has appeared before countless audiences to speak about the two primary consequences of our fossil-fuel addiction: global climate change and energy decline. Because these phenomena impact every aspect of life on Earth, his talks reach a wide variety of audiences such as universities, associations, nonprofits, and numerous educational and scientific symposia and conferences. Selected presentations are available at McPherson’s YouTube channel or, more recently, Nature Bats Last’s YouTube channel.
Guy taught and conducted research for more than twenty award-winning years at Texas A&M University, University of Arizona, University of California (Berkeley), Southern Utah University, and Grinnell College (in chronological order). His scholarly work, which has for many years focused on conservation of biological diversity, has produced more than a dozen books and hundreds of articles.
McPherson is asked nearly every day for advice about living. He recommends living where you feel most alive and, simultaneously, where you feel most useful. He recommends living fully. He recommends living with intention. He recommends living urgently, with death in mind. He recommends the pursuit of excellence. He recommends the pursuit of love. In light of the short time remaining in your life, and his own, McPherson recommends all of the above, louder than before. More fully than you can imagine. To the limits of this restrictive culture, and beyond. For you. For me. For us. For here. For now. Live large. Be you, and bolder than you’ve ever been. Live as though you’re dying.