7 ms·

https://archive.is/09tK8 https://archive.is/09tK8 The (600 page) report, including 100 page abriged version that appears highly readable at a glance: https://w

https://archive.is/09tK8 https://archive.is/09tK8 The (600 page) report, including 100 page abriged version that appears highly readable at a glance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-the-economics-of-biodiversity-the-dasgupta-review https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-the-... It’s a shame this is getting posted in the middle of the night for much of the western world. IMO this is one of the most crucial things our society must address currently. The inability to properly value natural capitol is a root cause of so many problems. If this report gives a framework for (among other things) properly assessing negative externalities than we can’t afford to ignore it.

thewarrior 6y ago
I first realized this while walking through Yosemite national park. I don’t think you can recreate that even if you had a trillion dollars. These sights and areas are literally priceless. The stark fact is that economic growth as we know it today will come to an end at some point on a finite planet like ours. For those who want an extremely meticulous and data driven analysis of the same I recommend reading Vaclav Smils work. I’m just sharing what I learned. There are many websites that calculate your “earth footprint”. Ie how many earths are needed if everyone lived the same as you. My earth footprint was 4 earths ! All 8 billion of us cannot live like Americans or even Europeans. And then there is climate change. There’s no known cheap energy substitutes on the horizon. Tesla’s are for now completely coal powered. The amount hydro carbons consumed is still increasing every year. For things like making steel, fertilizer or cement we cannot even begin to design good scalable solar powered methods. Solar plants have a very low load factor. It often only generates 30 % of its installed capacity. So you need to over build by 3x of what you need. Assuming we also need solar power for cars we are talking about building 10x the capacity of all existing energy infrastructure and not to talk about storage. The existing energy grid is crumbling in many places and we are talking about trillions of dollars in spending to build new high voltage DC transmission to make solar scalable. The world population will be 10-12 billion by 2100. Its hard to imagine how everyone will have a first world lifestyle without completely trashing the planet.
- ttt0 6y ago
  > There are many websites that calculate your “earth footprint”. Ie how many earths are needed if everyone lived the same as you. My earth footprint was 4 earths ! What kind of metric even is that? What does it even mean, Google doesn't say anything.
  - ttt0 6y ago
    Found this cutesy site ( https://www.footprintcalculator.org https://www.footprintcalculator.org ), did the test and apparently just because I eat a decent amount of meat and heat my house so I don't freeze to death, I'm using two point something Earths (whatever that means). Everything else is way below average. When I clicked on "How do you feel" about my Earth footprint, it presents me only with the choices: Shocked, Inspired, Helpless, Intrigued, Worried, Embarrassed and Confused. Nice propaganda, but I feel okay about myself. If this is in any way accurate and what I'm doing is too much for the climate to handle then I officially don't care about the climate. I'm not going to just roll over and die for the greater good, sorry. As a bonus, I throw in a recently fired MA official, saying that most emissions come from residential heating and they need to "break our will" for doing that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muxVGmgykA4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muxVGmgykA4
    - thewarrior 6y ago
      I’m not judging anyone’s choices. But I think it’s difficult to think about the kind of world we maybe leaving behind for our grandchildren. If your lifestyle needs 2 earths that point will be hit for the whole earth pretty soon. Wars are the most likely outcome. The first world will have to maintain their living standards by force and keep out the climate refugees.
      - ttt0 6y ago
        I already live a minimalist lifestyle, not because of the climate, but because I simply prefer it that way. If this is not enough, then the climate will be the least of concerns for our grandchildren. > Wars are the most likely outcome. Yes, that should go without saying. Not cooperation, but endless wars between nations over scarce resources. Or being subjegated by the world elites and basically soviet style communism. Millions starved to death, because one commissar decided that one particular country eats too much and it's bad for the climate. Assuming any of this is true, which I'm told it is.
amelius 6y ago
Yes. But of course it will be swept under the carpet, as the interests of people in power are not aligned with those of the rest of the world, as always.

thewarrior 6y ago

I first realized this while walking through Yosemite national park. I don’t think you can recreate that even if you had a trillion dollars. These sights and areas are literally priceless. The stark fact is that economic growth as we know it today will come to an end at some point on a finite planet like ours. For those who want an extremely meticulous and data driven analysis of the same I recommend reading Vaclav Smils work. I’m just sharing what I learned. There are many websites that calculate your “earth footprint”. Ie how many earths are needed if everyone lived the same as you. My earth footprint was 4 earths ! All 8 billion of us cannot live like Americans or even Europeans. And then there is climate change. There’s no known cheap energy substitutes on the horizon. Tesla’s are for now completely coal powered. The amount hydro carbons consumed is still increasing every year. For things like making steel, fertilizer or cement we cannot even begin to design good scalable solar powered methods. Solar plants have a very low load factor. It often only generates 30 % of its installed capacity. So you need to over build by 3x of what you need. Assuming we also need solar power for cars we are talking about building 10x the capacity of all existing energy infrastructure and not to talk about storage. The existing energy grid is crumbling in many places and we are talking about trillions of dollars in spending to build new high voltage DC transmission to make solar scalable. The world population will be 10-12 billion by 2100. Its hard to imagine how everyone will have a first world lifestyle without completely trashing the planet.

ttt0 6y ago
> There are many websites that calculate your “earth footprint”. Ie how many earths are needed if everyone lived the same as you. My earth footprint was 4 earths ! What kind of metric even is that? What does it even mean, Google doesn't say anything.
- ttt0 6y ago
  Found this cutesy site ( https://www.footprintcalculator.org https://www.footprintcalculator.org ), did the test and apparently just because I eat a decent amount of meat and heat my house so I don't freeze to death, I'm using two point something Earths (whatever that means). Everything else is way below average. When I clicked on "How do you feel" about my Earth footprint, it presents me only with the choices: Shocked, Inspired, Helpless, Intrigued, Worried, Embarrassed and Confused. Nice propaganda, but I feel okay about myself. If this is in any way accurate and what I'm doing is too much for the climate to handle then I officially don't care about the climate. I'm not going to just roll over and die for the greater good, sorry. As a bonus, I throw in a recently fired MA official, saying that most emissions come from residential heating and they need to "break our will" for doing that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muxVGmgykA4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muxVGmgykA4
  - thewarrior 6y ago
    I’m not judging anyone’s choices. But I think it’s difficult to think about the kind of world we maybe leaving behind for our grandchildren. If your lifestyle needs 2 earths that point will be hit for the whole earth pretty soon. Wars are the most likely outcome. The first world will have to maintain their living standards by force and keep out the climate refugees.
    - ttt0 6y ago
      I already live a minimalist lifestyle, not because of the climate, but because I simply prefer it that way. If this is not enough, then the climate will be the least of concerns for our grandchildren. > Wars are the most likely outcome. Yes, that should go without saying. Not cooperation, but endless wars between nations over scarce resources. Or being subjegated by the world elites and basically soviet style communism. Millions starved to death, because one commissar decided that one particular country eats too much and it's bad for the climate. Assuming any of this is true, which I'm told it is.

amelius 6y ago

Yes. But of course it will be swept under the carpet, as the interests of people in power are not aligned with those of the rest of the world, as always.