Some say the future is already predetermined, as a result of our short-sightedness, with water full of toxic waste and maybe even combative robots who see humans as a scourge on the tiny blue planet that we share.
But that sentiment, maybe polite skepticism is a better way to put it, is commonplace in the tiny coal towns where many of the jobs have disappeared, and whatever is said now is judged alongside the many past promises that help was on the way.