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The U.S. and Europe can't actually do much about this though. Look at this chart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas_emissions_by_the_United_States#/m

The U.S. and Europe can't actually do much about this though. Look at this chart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas_emissions_by_the_United_States#/media/File:CO2_emission_pie_chart.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas_emissions_by_th... If everyone in the US and Europe dropped dead, that would be about a 24% decrease in global GHG emissions. Said emissions need to be 40% to 70% lower by 2050, according to the IPCC (https://www.climatecentral.org/news/major-greenhouse-gas-reductions-needed-to-curtail-climate-change-ipcc-17300 https://www.climatecentral.org/news/major-greenhouse-gas-red...). Bottom line, you're not getting anywhere without a truly formidable effort by China, and likely Central/South America and Africa as well.

TearsInTheRain 7y ago
Is there any progress being made on carbon sequestration so that we dont have to revert to killing people?
zackmorris 7y ago
This is only true because the US didn't lead 40 years ago when environmental impacts were well-studied but conservative politicians like Ronald Reagan began doubling down on anti-environment policies. Then China and India cargo culted our "western" lifestyle and the rest is history. The only inspiration I find in all of this is that many developing countries are rejecting rat race capitalism for basic sustainability. Many of them have better/cheaper internet connectivity than we do, and are adopting solar and wind projects in place of coal power plants. If they invest in automated community gardens (similar to our lettuce greenhouses), there is a chance that they will go around us within a generation. I think that explains a lot of US interventionism in Africa and South America. They see this sort of futurism as socialism or communism and do everything possible to shut it down at every turn.
perfunctory 7y ago
> If everyone in the US and Europe dropped dead, that would be about a 24% decrease in global GHG emissions That's not quite right. A lot of that pollution by China and Other is due to exports for US and European consumption. We just outsourced our pollution. So it depends on how one does the accounting.
- Aromasin 7y ago
  Same applies to our trash/garbage/rubbish. Time and time again I hear the words "but all of our stuff gets recycled - China/India/Malaysia/[insert] is the problem". Little do they realise that we ship massive amounts of it away.

TearsInTheRain 7y ago

Is there any progress being made on carbon sequestration so that we dont have to revert to killing people?

zackmorris 7y ago

This is only true because the US didn't lead 40 years ago when environmental impacts were well-studied but conservative politicians like Ronald Reagan began doubling down on anti-environment policies. Then China and India cargo culted our "western" lifestyle and the rest is history. The only inspiration I find in all of this is that many developing countries are rejecting rat race capitalism for basic sustainability. Many of them have better/cheaper internet connectivity than we do, and are adopting solar and wind projects in place of coal power plants. If they invest in automated community gardens (similar to our lettuce greenhouses), there is a chance that they will go around us within a generation. I think that explains a lot of US interventionism in Africa and South America. They see this sort of futurism as socialism or communism and do everything possible to shut it down at every turn.

perfunctory 7y ago

> If everyone in the US and Europe dropped dead, that would be about a 24% decrease in global GHG emissions That's not quite right. A lot of that pollution by China and Other is due to exports for US and European consumption. We just outsourced our pollution. So it depends on how one does the accounting.

Aromasin 7y ago
Same applies to our trash/garbage/rubbish. Time and time again I hear the words "but all of our stuff gets recycled - China/India/Malaysia/[insert] is the problem". Little do they realise that we ship massive amounts of it away.