4 ms·

I'm not sure I like this trend. Who really wants to carry around an empty coffee cup wherever he goes? Or a metal straw? Or re-useable bags? Utensils will b

• wutbrodo 7y ago
  Pretending to be ignorant of externalities doesn't mean they stop existing
  • pishpash 7y ago
    The solution is to create better conveniences, not to ban them like luddites and go back to the 18th century. Also, first world problems. Also, despite first world problems, first world has other more important problems that should be solved, like drug addicts, homelessness, and crime, maybe the people's council should focus on that instead of this?
    • freehunter 7y ago
      That's the solution, yes. But without an incentive, we'll never get there. The first step towards creating an incentive is to make it economically unfeasible to not have an incentive. It's not like people will stop drinking coffee, they'll demand an alternative and one will be created. If a plastic cup costs $0.17 and a biodegradable cup costs $0.18, businesses and consumers will choose plastic. Making plastic slightly more expensive than the healthier alternative creates that pressure so the market will come up with better options. Cleaning up waste costs money, money that the maker of the cup doesn't pay. Money that Starbucks doesn't pay. Money that the consumer doesn't pay. It's only cheaper at the cost of the person who has to clean up the waste. Plastic is heavily subsidized by not having to pay for its own cleanup.
    • wutbrodo 7y ago
      I don't see how any of your comment is relevant to any of mine, which was a pushback against the GP comment's recommendation to focus on local cost/benefit and feign ignorance of externalities