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> Sure, but I’d argue that the replacement rate itself is at an unsustainable level. ...I don't know what that even means. Or do you just mean, "we already hav

> Sure, but I’d argue that the replacement rate itself is at an unsustainable level. ...I don't know what that even means. Or do you just mean, "we already have too many people, the population needs to go down"? Probably the biggest thing you could do, I'd say, would be to politically support pro-environment measures. There's a lot of "yes, but..." Americans who only support 'green' regulations and whatnot when it will not cause the slightest inconvenience to them. E.g. "Yes I support bike lanes, but this +0.25% sales tax increase to build them is just too much, taxes are already too high." "Yes I support mass transit, but I don't support redirecting any money from roads for cars to them because I drive a lot." "Yes I support higher density housing, but I don't want to hurt my neighborhood's character." You get the picture. From a practical perspective, America would easily make strong progress on reduced energy consumption, but the political will there is weak.

ericmay 6y ago
> ...I don't know what that even means. Or do you just mean, "we already have too many people, the population needs to go down"? Hey there. Sorry for the poor choice of words. That's pretty much what I mean. I see comments where people mention a replacement rate for a country, and that maybe a country might be just at or slightly below the replacement rate. I believe that even at current levels we're far and away in excess of where we should be. So... when someone says "but Country N is now at the replacement rate" - I just think that the population at that level is beyond where it should be. > You get the picture. From a practical perspective, America would easily make strong progress on reduced energy consumption, but the political will there is weak. Completely agree, and include myself as one who is guilty here (to some extent). I try to minimize a lot of things, but ultimately it's hard when the environment we live in itself is very geared toward doing the opposite.
- TulliusCicero 6y ago
  Personally, I don't focus on individual/free choices for the day-to-day at all, just policy. E.g. moralistic arguments about how people should ride bikes more are ineffective, you need actual on the ground changes in bike infrastructure to get real change for that sub-area. People trying to guilt each other constantly is just a distraction imo. I had a car in the states and don't have one now in Munich. Did my values change? No, not really, I just moved somewhere where a car was much less necessary. Now, I did still bike a fair bit in the states, but I didn't beat myself up over also driving a lot, because I recognized that the environment was not well set up for it in most places, which is how I got hit by cars twice the last year before I moved.

ericmay 6y ago

> ...I don't know what that even means. Or do you just mean, "we already have too many people, the population needs to go down"? Hey there. Sorry for the poor choice of words. That's pretty much what I mean. I see comments where people mention a replacement rate for a country, and that maybe a country might be just at or slightly below the replacement rate. I believe that even at current levels we're far and away in excess of where we should be. So... when someone says "but Country N is now at the replacement rate" - I just think that the population at that level is beyond where it should be. > You get the picture. From a practical perspective, America would easily make strong progress on reduced energy consumption, but the political will there is weak. Completely agree, and include myself as one who is guilty here (to some extent). I try to minimize a lot of things, but ultimately it's hard when the environment we live in itself is very geared toward doing the opposite.

TulliusCicero 6y ago
Personally, I don't focus on individual/free choices for the day-to-day at all, just policy. E.g. moralistic arguments about how people should ride bikes more are ineffective, you need actual on the ground changes in bike infrastructure to get real change for that sub-area. People trying to guilt each other constantly is just a distraction imo. I had a car in the states and don't have one now in Munich. Did my values change? No, not really, I just moved somewhere where a car was much less necessary. Now, I did still bike a fair bit in the states, but I didn't beat myself up over also driving a lot, because I recognized that the environment was not well set up for it in most places, which is how I got hit by cars twice the last year before I moved.