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First we pretend to care about global warming and make bold promises about how in some distant future we'll cut emissions to a more reasonable level. Everybody
by dchyrdvh 7y ago
First we pretend to care about global warming and make bold promises about how in some distant future we'll cut emissions to a more reasonable level. Everybody understands that the emissions come from the growing economy and that the only real solution is to slow down the economy.
So the virus slows down the economy for us. Exactly what we wanted, right? Emissions are down, folks in India can even see Himalayan mountains. Everybody should celebrate this, but no, our only concern is how to restart the economy and get to the new heights of pollution asap.
- satyrnein 7y agoWe're supposed to be celebrating a global pandemic, because (if we weren't forced to shelter in place) we might see the mountains? Hardly. Hopefully, technology will offer other options to decrease emissions than simply slowing economic growth, because that has real human costs.
- dchyrdvh 7y agoI think you illustrate my point well: people are bought into the climate change talk, but when it comes to actions, they do what they really believe in.
- cthalupa 7y agoMany of us are bought in to actions that don’t include the death of millions of people.
- dchyrdvh 7y agoActions like switching to paper straws?
- yetihehe 7y agoYeah, people don't want to be inconvenienced. "Yeah, I've driven several miles today with my gas gurgling vehicle to see some nice view and destress a little, I would do it in electric car, but it's too expensive to buy, I'd rather do some small damage to environment". Avoiding small inconceniences multiplied by millions of people is what gives us the situation we have now. People want change but don't want to change. I see I am part of this problem too, but the big problem is that I'm only a very small part of a problem. If only I change, I make my life worse for negligible benefit of others. How to change this? I still have no idea, but I believe this is THE source of our problems with environment. Every other problem loops back to tragedy of commons.
- dchyrdvh 7y agoAir pollution isn't good for health: cancer, heart diseases are the leading causes of death. The virus kills a few, mostly old and sick and mostly males, but saves many, as people can finally see how clear air looks. So yeah, restarting the dirty economy machine is what going to kill millions, not the virus.