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The point is that overall demand for many specific resources has peaked. Feel free to argue with the book's research, but here's the thesis: ------- "In recen

The point is that overall demand for many specific resources has peaked. Feel free to argue with the book's research, but here's the thesis: ------- "In recent years we’ve seen a different pattern emerge: the pattern of more from less. In America—a large, rich country that accounts for about 25 percent of the global economy—we’re now generally using less of most resources year after year, even as our economy and population continue to grow. What’s more, we’re also polluting the air and water less, emitting fewer greenhouse gases, and seeing population increases in many animals that had almost vanished. America, in short, is post-peak in its exploitation of the earth. The situation is similar in many other rich countries, and even developing countries such as China are now taking better care of the planet in important ways."

lm28469 6y ago
Peaked for who ? Wait for India and Africa to catch up with US lifestyle, that's when things will start getting interesting. We over polluted for the last 100+ years, even if we start plateauing we're still in for a bad time (and we're not even plateauing) It's easy to save a few grams of metal here and there and ban plastic straw when we already live like kings while the rest of the world is barely starting to access the lifestyles we had in the 60s.
- planet-and-halo 6y ago
  Peaked for the United States, which represents something like 25% of world economic activity. That's also accounted for the in the book. You're right about certain long-lived problems like CO2 because of how long it takes them to clear from the environment, but that doesn't mean that it isn't good news that we've decreased our consumption/pollution of a particular resource. It's certainly better than continuing to increase demand. The farmland one is a great example: I defy you to explain to me how it isn't good news that the amount of farmland in the United States has decreased by an area equivalent in size to the state of Washington. Blind optimism is indeed stupid, but willful pessimism is equally stupid.
  - lm28469 6y ago
    > I defy you to explain to me how it isn't good news that the amount of farmland in the United States has decreased by an area equivalent in size to the state of Washington. It's not bad per say but it's a drop in the bucket, they import and export more than every before, which means insane amount of pollution due to the shipping industry, this alone would defeat everything else they attempt: https://container-xchange.com/blog/shipping-emissions/ https://container-xchange.com/blog/shipping-emissions/ Out of sight out of mind I guess... Zoom out, look at the big picture, we shouldn't stop at borders but look at the global scale. France banning plastic bags when China builds so many coal power plants is no more than virtue signalling. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-coal-idUSKBN2A308U https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-coal-idUSKBN2A308U

lm28469 6y ago

Peaked for who ? Wait for India and Africa to catch up with US lifestyle, that's when things will start getting interesting. We over polluted for the last 100+ years, even if we start plateauing we're still in for a bad time (and we're not even plateauing) It's easy to save a few grams of metal here and there and ban plastic straw when we already live like kings while the rest of the world is barely starting to access the lifestyles we had in the 60s.

planet-and-halo 6y ago
Peaked for the United States, which represents something like 25% of world economic activity. That's also accounted for the in the book. You're right about certain long-lived problems like CO2 because of how long it takes them to clear from the environment, but that doesn't mean that it isn't good news that we've decreased our consumption/pollution of a particular resource. It's certainly better than continuing to increase demand. The farmland one is a great example: I defy you to explain to me how it isn't good news that the amount of farmland in the United States has decreased by an area equivalent in size to the state of Washington. Blind optimism is indeed stupid, but willful pessimism is equally stupid.
- lm28469 6y ago
  > I defy you to explain to me how it isn't good news that the amount of farmland in the United States has decreased by an area equivalent in size to the state of Washington. It's not bad per say but it's a drop in the bucket, they import and export more than every before, which means insane amount of pollution due to the shipping industry, this alone would defeat everything else they attempt: https://container-xchange.com/blog/shipping-emissions/ https://container-xchange.com/blog/shipping-emissions/ Out of sight out of mind I guess... Zoom out, look at the big picture, we shouldn't stop at borders but look at the global scale. France banning plastic bags when China builds so many coal power plants is no more than virtue signalling. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-coal-idUSKBN2A308U https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-coal-idUSKBN2A308U