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I think the majority's preferences as a society is clear. I also believe there is a substantial minority that would prefer a more sustainable approach to many
by AFNobody 9y ago
I think the majority's preferences as a society is clear.
I also believe there is a substantial minority that would prefer a more sustainable approach to many things in the interest of long term sustainability.
The reality is our level of infrastructure spending, to the way we produce power, to the condition of the majority of the arable land is fundamentally unsustainable for more than another 50 years without substantial technological change. This does not even get into climate change related impacts on agriculture.
- QAPereo 9y agoAbsolutely, we are all very screwed, but that still won’t empower a minority to save the majority from itself.
- JumpCrisscross 9y agoA good first step would involve avoiding (a) casting these events as species- or civilisation-ending events (they’re not) and (b) condescension towards the majority.
- WalterBright 9y agoWe've historically often engaged in unsustainable practices, like: 1. hunting whales for lamp oil 2. cutting down trees for fuel to make glass and build ships 3. using natural rubber 4. no sanitation in the cities 5. using horses for transportation 6. using well water in cities As these became unsustainable, alternatives were discovered and developed.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- QAPereo 9y agoHistorically we engaged in major conflict between equal powers, such as the two World Wars. Then... nukes. Tech doesn’t always magically resolve itself, sometimes it’s just an apocalypse in waiting.
- taejo 9y agoI'd say rather that as alternatives were discovered and developed, these became unprofitable.
- WalterBright 9y agoIncreasing unsustainability leads to price increases, which encourages the development of cheaper alternatives, and then they become unprofitable. The development of synthetic rubber was a direct result of high prices and inability to increase natural rubber production.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- tarsinge 9y ago> Increasing unsustainability leads to price increases Not if there is nobody alive anymore to raise prices. This theory works well for progressive change but doesn't hold for long-term brutal changes, e.g. maybe historically if people dried the only well in their village there was no price increase (or there was an instantaneous price increase to infinity if you prefer) because the village was doomed.
- WalterBright 9y agoSoil depletion is not going to be an abrupt change.
- TeMPOraL 9y ago