We humans have had a good run, haven't we?
It takes a long time to kill something strong--Sears still has nine stores left, even though it's been dying for 50 years (since before e-commerce!)
As for we humans, #COVID19 continues to mutate, bird flu is gaining traction, global warming is accelerating, billionaires are threatening democracy to increase their wealth, nationalism is rising, and Russia expanded its bioweapon labs. I wonder how long we have--it could be centuries, but maybe not.
@augieray
It could be centuries, in some form. But I believe we are guaranteed to see a collapse of society within the next two generations. Whatever the timescale, in the broad scale of things, overshoot is happening now.
I don't believe at all that means we shouldn't do anything about it; trying to arrest the rate of change is always worth the effort. But I think it's wise to be realistic before you can be genuinely optimistic about the adaptability and survivability of our species.