Earlier I described the anobis of our use of CFC aerosols.
Had the cause of the problem been the opposite of an anobis – in other words caused externally and not by humans, the probability that we would find a solution would have been less. I call this type of problem an abalia.
Imagine, for example a meteor the size of Iceland heading directly to Earth. We would be doomed to our fate. I imagine that the only ways we could mitigate this abalia would be to store plenty of food (and perhaps weapons and ammunition) and find shelter far enough away from the coastline to avoid tsunami. I am sure that NASA have studied this and have a more scientific form of mitigating solution, but until we can survive years in spacecraft or blow up such a threat from afar, we all would be governed by fate.
This highlights how vulnerable we really are, despite technology. That is unless you believe we, or a select few of us, are special and chosen and as a result destined to survive.
It seems to me that it is useful to separate these two distinct types of problems in our minds, anobis and abalia, because that may alter the way we envisage finding a solution. I have added definitions of these in a separate article.
There may be anobis that we make little effort to solve because we think a solution is impossible. However the fact that it is an anobis most likely means that the solution lies with us. It may require a simple practical solution like the one described above.
Of course the solution may be harder or a bit more complicated. It may require a change in belief or the introduction of a new law or tax which changes our attitudes or behaviour. Anything we do may take years to take effect. It may need countries or disparate groups to work together and agree on and help implement a solution. It may not be easy, but is more likely to be within the realm of possibility.