Reply #10: Breathe. Relax. He was making a joke.

[Bucky]

His larger point was that we could go the way of the Mayans, which only a fool would dispute. But if you're familiar with Diamond and his theses about civilizations, you'll know he's hardly a doomsayer or a nihilist or a determinist. Citing "fifty years" was a stab at humor. The things that could hurt are society are all variables that we as a nation and as a civilization control by our policy choices.

The point here is to get involved, not to panic or start drinking up all those vintage wine bottles you've been saving.