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In the abstract what you wrote is fine, but my impression is that "enjoy what we have here and now" means "keep polluting" to most people. I think people can ma

In the abstract what you wrote is fine, but my impression is that "enjoy what we have here and now" means "keep polluting" to most people. I think people can maintain or even improve their own happiness while decreasing their pollution. At least this could make humanity last longer. I'm a transportation cyclist. I mostly ride to save money and improve my physical fitness. The environmental benefits seem to depend on one's diet (mine is about half vegetarian), but seem pretty clear. When talking with some drivers they seem to have the implicit belief that transportation cycling is a "sacrifice" I make for the environment, as if I believe that driving is obviously better. They seem pretty surprised when I tell them that I'd still ride even without the environmental benefits because I enjoy being fit and can put the money to better use. It's not a sacrifice, it's a preference. One I think many folks would agree with if they gave cycling a chance. I think there are quite a few things that people would consider to be massive sacrifices but actually end up being fine.

kaplun 9y ago
I always thought about cycling to work, but that would mean more than doubling the amount of time commuting and thus complicating the family organization (basically my wife, who is also having a full-time job, would need to take care of everything, while I am polluting less). So far I haven't found a definite solution to how, in the modern world, work at least 8-10 hours per day, possibly far from home, while having a family, and not polluting.
- btrettel 9y ago
  Try cycling once and see how you like it. It's a small investment, and you really don't know how it will go until you try it. It's not uncommon either to commute by bike one day a week if you like it but can't do it every day. I think most people are far too pessimistic about how possible cycling is. Though I do agree that cycling is practically impossible for many people, consider this: Just like most people consider their driving commute when choosing where to live, a cyclist needs to consider their cycling commute when choosing where to live. If you optimize for driving, don't expect cycling to be easy. The same applies for jobs: many people won't take a job if they expect the traffic to be a pain. I won't take any jobs that make cycling impossible or even hard. Exact same logic.

kaplun 9y ago

I always thought about cycling to work, but that would mean more than doubling the amount of time commuting and thus complicating the family organization (basically my wife, who is also having a full-time job, would need to take care of everything, while I am polluting less). So far I haven't found a definite solution to how, in the modern world, work at least 8-10 hours per day, possibly far from home, while having a family, and not polluting.

btrettel 9y ago
Try cycling once and see how you like it. It's a small investment, and you really don't know how it will go until you try it. It's not uncommon either to commute by bike one day a week if you like it but can't do it every day. I think most people are far too pessimistic about how possible cycling is. Though I do agree that cycling is practically impossible for many people, consider this: Just like most people consider their driving commute when choosing where to live, a cyclist needs to consider their cycling commute when choosing where to live. If you optimize for driving, don't expect cycling to be easy. The same applies for jobs: many people won't take a job if they expect the traffic to be a pain. I won't take any jobs that make cycling impossible or even hard. Exact same logic.