You want to know when the western civilization took the downturn? You can pinpoint that easily:
7th of December 1972 was the last time humans landed on the moon.
It was the last time we looked out there, and instead we became a cancer on this planet, ever consuming. Like Buzz Aldrin said: "they promised me Mars, but they gave me Facebook".
Bleh... I'm done with this stupid planet.
Karl R
in reply to Eugenia L • • •That's an astute choice for an inflection point.
However, the "mankind must expand into space" narrative also has the cancerous behavior baked in.