Plastic bags, climate change, renewable energy,

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
Population has everything to do with it! It's not just rich fuckers or or poor fuckers, it's every one of the eight-ish billion of us on this rock. There is only so much Stuff to go around, not just for us, but every other plant & critter here. The more of us there are here, the more Stuff needs to be dug up/burned/eaten/industrially processed to give an even frugally comfortable existence.

Nothing will improve the long-term health of the planet without a drastic reduction of the human population.

And in case anyone is wondering, no I don't and won't have kids, so I'm doing my bit.
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
Nope, CC is caused by CO2 emissions. If we had the economic, technological & political will, 8 billion people could emit next to no CO2 emissions & carbon sequestration could handle the rest.

You are talking about a different issue - that of consumption of finite resources.
 

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
You are talking about a different issue - that of consumption of finite resources.
But intrinsically related. A huge amount of which leads one way or another to CO2 emissions.

Standard of living at the end of the day means jack shit. The more of us there are here, the more Stuff we're consuming just to stay fed and sheltered, and the more Shit we're emitting. The per capita emission figure might be dropping, but in outright terms it's not.

So the reduction of consumption is very critical. The number of critters - especially human critters - consuming Stuff is extremely critical; the fewer there are, the longer finite resources will last, and the less waste will be produced.
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
Standard of living currently relates to the burning of FF, that's discussed in the James Hansen video. We must move away from that model.

The problem can't be solved through population, it can only be solved through emissions reduction & sequestration.

Can you show me a study where CC success modelled to a specific world population figure?
 

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
As I said, population is the elephant no one want to address, Hansen included. Emissions are only a prolem because they're a waste product of consumption - the more of us there are on this rock, the faster we're going to churn through limited Stuff, even if living frugally.

Even if we all live as efficiently as possible, the more of us there are, the greater the drain on resources. There is more to standard of living than burning dirt, it's the capacity to feed ourselves as wellwithout eliminating the other critters that live here too.

Population capping /reduction is probably some form of taboo despite its logic; therefore it's pretty well impossible to find anything that would advocate eliminating somewhere close to half of the world's human populace..
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Wiping out half the species is about the only thing that will save it.

I have to bite my tongue when I see colleagues spending their careers working on climate change popping out offsprings.. cognitive dissonance FTW.
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
You seem to fail to grasp that it's humans who emit that are the issue - not all humans are created equal. No point arguing any more - your minds seem set. Maybe this is a way you can dismiss the issue as irresolvable?
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
You seem to fail to grasp that it's humans who emit that are the issue - not all humans are created equal. No point arguing any more - your minds seem set. Maybe this is a way you can dismiss the issue as irresolvable?
I still agree with you. I just don’t think anything will change - humans are en masse too driven instinct and self interest. It’s a done deal.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Having said that, I am still pretty annoyed I have a trailer load of carefully separated plastic car parts that I was just turned away from the recycling depot with. Looks like it’s destined for landfill.

That’s on me for assuming recyclable plastics would be accepted for recycling...
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
This planet will not have the resources in the end to sustain higher population numbers, things like dumping waste into the ground and ocean is going to have large consequences one day, it limits the land for farming, water collection, and it damages ecosystems which in turn will have dire consequences. Governments around the world need to stop covering up this type of stuff.


372345
372346
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
In fairness if everyone stopped doing it extinction would be very rapid indeed!
Not rapid enough. Don't forget, we have around a decade to reach CO2 neutrality plus engage massive sequestration - if we desire an 1.5c outcome.

The last time I looked, people lived longer than that.

Here's a video for you to enjoy:

 
Last edited:

silentbutdeadly

has some good things to say
Look - only some humans have put us in this position. The rich fuckers.
That is, of course, us that you are referring to.

Honestly, the only fast and economically familiar (and therefore least disruptive) way to get emissions down from herein is for governments to provide a regulatory and investment pathway that allows the rich to get even richer by making even more money through emission reduction schemes etc...
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
Calling it as it is:


Humanity is waging a “senseless and suicidal” war on nature that is causing human suffering and enormous economic losses while accelerating the destruction of life on Earth, the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has said.

Guterres’s starkest warning to date came at the launch of a UN report setting out the triple emergency the world is in: the climate crisis, the devastation of wildlife and nature, and the pollution that causes many millions of early deaths every year.

Making peace with nature was the defining task of the coming decades, he said, and the key to a prosperous and sustainable future for all people. The report combines recent major UN assessments with the latest research and the solutions available, representing an authoritative scientific blueprint of how to repair the planet.

The report says societies and economies must be transformed by policies such as replacing GDP as an economic measure with one that reflects the true value of nature, as recommended this month by a study commissioned by the UK Treasury.
Yet find someone who actually really truely gives a flying shit.
 
Top