JimD
I have had the pleasure of meeting good guys - lots of them.
Perhaps your standards are higher than mine.
Any possibility of global co-operation re. global warming went out the window after the opposition got organized following the Montreal Protocols. What must follow will be the short, brutal, destruction of civilization. I strongly doubt that any entity we know of will be left standing.
If a "hot war" develops, and nukes fly, it's probably the end of our species. If not, our civilization ends, but individuals survive. Those beating the drums at an ever more feverish pace need to be silenced.
While I share your fondness for humanity, I'm not sure that I care too much how or when we bottom out, although later is always better 8>) We won't leave much for the future regardless & what we have used may be of some value as salvage. It will be easier to pull down some electrical wiring than to mine and smelt more copper. Besides, with the population implosion that I'm afraid is inevitable, our scrap will provide material for some generations going forward.
I don't see past collapses as comparable to what's coming, with the possible exception of Rapa Nui. The others AFAIK all had some neighboring culture to fall back on, at least on the fringes. We will have none of that. Our largest, wealthiest cultures are the most fragile. When they go their populations will sweep the others out of existence.
I live in a very fecund valley once settled by Mennonite farmers who even today rely little on modern accouterments. Unfortunately we're within a few days walk of Toronto. The local farmers have no history of defending their farms and granaries and would object strongly to anyone using force even in defence of their own foodstuffs.
Other farming methods increasingly rely on fuel, transportation, fertilization and now on non-replicating seeds. This can't survive even a severe downturn, let alone a collapse. Bruce and others have put a lot of sweat & thought into zero emissions farming, and this is huge. But without an army to secure the crops they will be lost. An army will of course eat the crops so it's hard to pick a winner here.
Others have envisaged sailing off and avoiding everyone in an attempt to remain alive. This may work on an individual family level, but it does nothing to prolong civilization. A hidden valley, Shangri La, hidden from strangers by impassable mountains, hidden from reality by melting glaciers and truculent weather.
I see no way out my friend. I see no reason to worry about how the exit is made, (but keep the bastards away from the button). Remember Einstein's admonition that WW IV will be fought with clubs and stones.
Terry