4 ms·

I just find it amusing that the very source of the problem (humans) are themselves positing that they are also part of the solution. Why kid ourselves? 8+ bil

I just find it amusing that the very source of the problem (humans) are themselves positing that they are also part of the solution. Why kid ourselves? 8+ billion humans are going to consume, and keep consuming, endlessly. The ONLY actual solution that involves humans is expansion. We either expand to another planet / galaxy, or we ride this one out to its (and our) death. That's why we should prioritize science more as a collective. We need more Elon Musks with giant aspirations to really move the needle.

JackFr 6y ago
The so-called problem is only a problem because humans deem it such. Does the earth differentiate between malaria and kelp forests? No. Humans differentiate between them, actively trying to eliminate one and wringing our hands and trying to prevent the destruction of the other. To call it “a problem” is to implicitly assert dominion over the land, sky and sea while pretending that you are not.
- ubertoop 6y ago
  A very good point indeed.
tsimionescu 6y ago
That's quite deluded. Elon Musk has done less than nothing to make moving to another planet feasible, despite all his grandomania dreams. We are thousands of years away from any notion of expansion beyond Earth. Even if he were to magically get a handful of people living on Mars (he won't) that is not going to bring us even an inch closer to something like a sustainable Mars colony. And no, human beings do not naturally "consume and consume endlessly". In fact, the vast majority of those 8 billion people (say, 7.9 billion of them, or maybe 7.5 billion if you want) are consuming a fraction of the total resources. The vast majority of climate change is due to the richest ~10-20% in the richest countries on Earth. One way or another, this state of affairs will end in the next 50 years at most. Hopefully it will end in a more egalitarian society that respects the environment.

JackFr 6y ago

The so-called problem is only a problem because humans deem it such. Does the earth differentiate between malaria and kelp forests? No. Humans differentiate between them, actively trying to eliminate one and wringing our hands and trying to prevent the destruction of the other. To call it “a problem” is to implicitly assert dominion over the land, sky and sea while pretending that you are not.

ubertoop 6y ago
A very good point indeed.

tsimionescu 6y ago

That's quite deluded. Elon Musk has done less than nothing to make moving to another planet feasible, despite all his grandomania dreams. We are thousands of years away from any notion of expansion beyond Earth. Even if he were to magically get a handful of people living on Mars (he won't) that is not going to bring us even an inch closer to something like a sustainable Mars colony. And no, human beings do not naturally "consume and consume endlessly". In fact, the vast majority of those 8 billion people (say, 7.9 billion of them, or maybe 7.5 billion if you want) are consuming a fraction of the total resources. The vast majority of climate change is due to the richest ~10-20% in the richest countries on Earth. One way or another, this state of affairs will end in the next 50 years at most. Hopefully it will end in a more egalitarian society that respects the environment.