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5) Move to an urban environment Are you serious? If I go and buy an acre of land (or many acres, more likely) and grow my own food, keep a few animals, and tra

5) Move to an urban environment Are you serious? If I go and buy an acre of land (or many acres, more likely) and grow my own food, keep a few animals, and trade with my neighbours, how the hell does "move to an urban environment" make me suddenly more efficient? So I can rely on the supply chain to get all the goods that I could get by walking down the street to another farm?

ohbecause 10y ago
Why is this being downvoted?
- JBReefer 10y ago
  Because there's not 7.5 billion acres of arable land that's also got good, stable water access. Also, because someone living in a major city produces dramatically less carbon due to economies of scale, and your idea would result in an incredibly low density, offsetting any gains to food shipping cost.
detaro 10y ago
That's also an option, but most people living outside core urban areas don't do that, and adopting such a lifestyle probably is the harder choice for many. Instead, they drive a lot, because everything (stores, work) is far away, and the infrastructure created for them is relatively inefficient. Very few people and regions are supplied locally, and not by large-scale, large-distance supply chains, rural or urban.
exergy 10y ago
IF you can buy an acre, please definitely do so. That will do more to help than almost anything else. On the other hand, the typical 2.5 kid family in Suburbia that drives even to the grocery store? They're better off moving to the city.
baddox 10y ago
I would be quite surprised if growing your own food at small scale is more environmentally friendly than living in an urban area and consuming food that was produced and transported at massive scale.
- macawfish 10y ago
  Depends on what kind of growing your doing. There are a lot of agriculture styles that use very little resources and are economically affordable. If you're doing row-style monoculture, then you really can't compete with those economies of scale (and subsidies). But permaculture has huge yields for the amount of input it requires. Cultivating fruit trees and perennials in a plant "guild" can produce resilient, long term food sources with little upkeep. You could easily grow enough food for yourself on an acre.

ohbecause 10y ago

Why is this being downvoted?

JBReefer 10y ago
Because there's not 7.5 billion acres of arable land that's also got good, stable water access. Also, because someone living in a major city produces dramatically less carbon due to economies of scale, and your idea would result in an incredibly low density, offsetting any gains to food shipping cost.

detaro 10y ago

That's also an option, but most people living outside core urban areas don't do that, and adopting such a lifestyle probably is the harder choice for many. Instead, they drive a lot, because everything (stores, work) is far away, and the infrastructure created for them is relatively inefficient. Very few people and regions are supplied locally, and not by large-scale, large-distance supply chains, rural or urban.

exergy 10y ago

IF you can buy an acre, please definitely do so. That will do more to help than almost anything else. On the other hand, the typical 2.5 kid family in Suburbia that drives even to the grocery store? They're better off moving to the city.

baddox 10y ago

I would be quite surprised if growing your own food at small scale is more environmentally friendly than living in an urban area and consuming food that was produced and transported at massive scale.

macawfish 10y ago
Depends on what kind of growing your doing. There are a lot of agriculture styles that use very little resources and are economically affordable. If you're doing row-style monoculture, then you really can't compete with those economies of scale (and subsidies). But permaculture has huge yields for the amount of input it requires. Cultivating fruit trees and perennials in a plant "guild" can produce resilient, long term food sources with little upkeep. You could easily grow enough food for yourself on an acre.