3 ms·

> we can only become truly responsible for ourselves when we fully realize what is at stake We are a long way away from that. People are living their lives as

> we can only become truly responsible for ourselves when we fully realize what is at stake We are a long way away from that. People are living their lives as if it's only theirs that matter - while still having kids. The cognitive dissonance is quite impressive. I'd welcome the establishment of an annihilation watch that monitored the world for extinction level dangers. They could then rate, classify them and have governments take action.

lordnacho 6y ago
A hardcoded desire to eat and make kids is pretty much why we're even here to contemplate anything. Many of us who have the means cannot even stop ourselves from overeating. Several leading causes of death are simply connected to people not being able to stop eating. How do you expect people to take responsibility for the planet's health when so many cannot even stop themselves from harming themselves?
dmm 6y ago
> while still having kids Are they? Birth rates are below replacement everywhere outside of handful of places like Afghanistan. Even with lots of immigration the US faces a Japanese style demographic crisis. Large populations may be a big problem but shrinking them through low birthrates definitely causes its own problems. The workers-per-retiree is going to fall from 3 today to 2 by 2030. That's a 50% increased retirement tax burden.
drivebycomment 6y ago
> People are living their lives as if it's only theirs that matter - while still having kids. This suggests you have a Malthusian worldview which is not backed by evidence. Please check http://gapminder.org/ http://gapminder.org/ - I highly recommend taking https://forms.gapminder.org/s3/test-2018 https://forms.gapminder.org/s3/test-2018 and see how much you actually know. The population growth of the humanity is a consequence of the societies transitioning out of the poverty: https://www.gapminder.org/videos/population-growth-explained-with-ikea-boxes/ https://www.gapminder.org/videos/population-growth-explained... and the only morally justified answer is to continue and accelerate this transition.
- RealityVoid 6y ago
  I read it another way - that de believes it's unfair to our children to not care what we leave behind.
  - drivebycomment 6y ago
    That interpretation certainly makes sense. If that's indeed the intention, my response has completely missed the mark and that's my fault for misunderstanding.
  - LockAndLol 6y ago
    You are right, it's what I meant. I don't believe the world is "overpopulated", but I also don't believe that falling below the replacement rate is a negative thing. We were fewer before and we can be fewer again.

lordnacho 6y ago

A hardcoded desire to eat and make kids is pretty much why we're even here to contemplate anything. Many of us who have the means cannot even stop ourselves from overeating. Several leading causes of death are simply connected to people not being able to stop eating. How do you expect people to take responsibility for the planet's health when so many cannot even stop themselves from harming themselves?

dmm 6y ago

> while still having kids Are they? Birth rates are below replacement everywhere outside of handful of places like Afghanistan. Even with lots of immigration the US faces a Japanese style demographic crisis. Large populations may be a big problem but shrinking them through low birthrates definitely causes its own problems. The workers-per-retiree is going to fall from 3 today to 2 by 2030. That's a 50% increased retirement tax burden.

drivebycomment 6y ago

> People are living their lives as if it's only theirs that matter - while still having kids. This suggests you have a Malthusian worldview which is not backed by evidence. Please check http://gapminder.org/ http://gapminder.org/ - I highly recommend taking https://forms.gapminder.org/s3/test-2018 https://forms.gapminder.org/s3/test-2018 and see how much you actually know. The population growth of the humanity is a consequence of the societies transitioning out of the poverty: https://www.gapminder.org/videos/population-growth-explained-with-ikea-boxes/ https://www.gapminder.org/videos/population-growth-explained... and the only morally justified answer is to continue and accelerate this transition.

RealityVoid 6y ago
I read it another way - that de believes it's unfair to our children to not care what we leave behind.
- drivebycomment 6y ago
  That interpretation certainly makes sense. If that's indeed the intention, my response has completely missed the mark and that's my fault for misunderstanding.
- LockAndLol 6y ago
  You are right, it's what I meant. I don't believe the world is "overpopulated", but I also don't believe that falling below the replacement rate is a negative thing. We were fewer before and we can be fewer again.