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It's really only an issue for you once there's already an impending disaster, and even then the responsibility doesn't lie with those that did the damage?! Tha

It's really only an issue for you once there's already an impending disaster, and even then the responsibility doesn't lie with those that did the damage?! That's hard to swallow, for me. Do people have no moral obligations, in your view? Is life only about the power to push back against something one doesn't like, rather than some deeper commitment to what is right and good?

koboll 8y ago
>and even then the responsibility doesn't lie with those that did the damage?! Doesn't responsibility for a rising teen birthrate lie with the teens? Doesn't responsibility for an opioid epidemic lie with users and traffickers? Doesn't responsibility for gridlock lie with drivers? In a sense, yes, but realistically, this kind of collective action problem can only be solved at scale by governments. Telling Americans "STOP TRAVELING" will be about as effective as telling drug lords "STOP TRAFFICKING".
- GavinMcG 8y ago
  I agree that the collective action problem is solved by government, and that these problems are of that sort. It's just that the language of "but... the burden falls on local governments" makes it sound as though that pragmatic reality replaces individual moral responsibility. Especially if the problem would be even worse when we stop trying to reinforce each other's good actions, then throwing up your hands and saying "well, it's the government's problem" isn't good enough.
- isostatic 8y ago
  In some states fewer than 1 in 5 people have a passport. Overall it's under half. As in the UK, those that don't travel correlate with low education and populism.
hueving 8y ago
As a tourist it's very difficult to know what activities are damaging when it's long-term damage over decades. The difference between harmful and safe activities often come down to the caretakers of the place you are visiting and what they've done to setup safe visits.
trevor-e 8y ago
You can argue that the local population caused the damage by not cutting back on tourism since they control the area and should know it best. People will consume services that are provided to them. A lot of the problems described in the article are death by a thousand cuts and occur over a long period of time.

koboll 8y ago

>and even then the responsibility doesn't lie with those that did the damage?! Doesn't responsibility for a rising teen birthrate lie with the teens? Doesn't responsibility for an opioid epidemic lie with users and traffickers? Doesn't responsibility for gridlock lie with drivers? In a sense, yes, but realistically, this kind of collective action problem can only be solved at scale by governments. Telling Americans "STOP TRAVELING" will be about as effective as telling drug lords "STOP TRAFFICKING".

GavinMcG 8y ago
I agree that the collective action problem is solved by government, and that these problems are of that sort. It's just that the language of "but... the burden falls on local governments" makes it sound as though that pragmatic reality replaces individual moral responsibility. Especially if the problem would be even worse when we stop trying to reinforce each other's good actions, then throwing up your hands and saying "well, it's the government's problem" isn't good enough.
isostatic 8y ago
In some states fewer than 1 in 5 people have a passport. Overall it's under half. As in the UK, those that don't travel correlate with low education and populism.

hueving 8y ago

As a tourist it's very difficult to know what activities are damaging when it's long-term damage over decades. The difference between harmful and safe activities often come down to the caretakers of the place you are visiting and what they've done to setup safe visits.

trevor-e 8y ago

You can argue that the local population caused the damage by not cutting back on tourism since they control the area and should know it best. People will consume services that are provided to them. A lot of the problems described in the article are death by a thousand cuts and occur over a long period of time.