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The future can look pretty grim when you start considering how rapidly quality of life can shift upwards even for huge populations, and how many people on earth

The future can look pretty grim when you start considering how rapidly quality of life can shift upwards even for huge populations, and how many people on earth have nowhere to go on that scale but up up up. Population growth historically received a lot of attention, but at this point there's enough queued up people waiting to join the West's way of life it looks to me like that ship has sailed. China promptly overtook the US in co2 emissions as they arrived in the past few decades [0], by a wide margin. What does the world look like when India starts competing with China for that position? They certainly have the headcount for it, at least they're mostly vegetarian right? For how much longer... [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_di...

ctoth 6y ago
> The future can look pretty grim when you start considering how rapidly quality of life can shift upwards even for huge populations, and how many people on earth have nowhere to go on that scale but up up up. The future looks grim. Because life is getting better. for lots of people? Take this anti-humanistic garbage elsewhere. We can solve problems and make a better world without having to decrease, or even slow the increase, of quality of life around the planet. Lab-grown meat. Spacefarms. Whatever. I can think of many ways to increase quality of life universally, and this pessimistic, anti-human sentiment is actively getting in the way. I think at least some of this comes from the new environmental movement, which tends to be much more anti-human than pro-fixes. I just want you to read your first sentence there, and really internalize what you said. How absurd is that?
- sigg3 6y ago
  I think your assessment is more or less spot on, we've faced down civilizational threats before. I want to add that there's a statistical trend to have less offspring once quality of life improves, as well. That being said, civilizations have come and gone before. I believe we must not fall into "tech religion", and wait for magical solutions when we can and should address many things politically rather than technologically. I am also happy we're reaching for the solar system, because a backup mankind seems prudent.
- nitrogen 6y ago
  I think at least some of this comes from the new environmental movement, which tends to be much more anti-human than pro-fixes. It's just another way of pulling up the ladder after climbing it, the same as people like to accuse homeowners of doing when they don't want to be crowded out of their neighborhoods. You can even find both in the same neighborhood/person -- you'll be looked at funny if you don't have a Prius parked in front of your multi-million dollar house right next to a protected forest that only you can access because there is no train and no parking.
- pengaru 6y ago
  Quantity or quality, pick one, or lose both.

ctoth 6y ago

> The future can look pretty grim when you start considering how rapidly quality of life can shift upwards even for huge populations, and how many people on earth have nowhere to go on that scale but up up up. The future looks grim. Because life is getting better. for lots of people? Take this anti-humanistic garbage elsewhere. We can solve problems and make a better world without having to decrease, or even slow the increase, of quality of life around the planet. Lab-grown meat. Spacefarms. Whatever. I can think of many ways to increase quality of life universally, and this pessimistic, anti-human sentiment is actively getting in the way. I think at least some of this comes from the new environmental movement, which tends to be much more anti-human than pro-fixes. I just want you to read your first sentence there, and really internalize what you said. How absurd is that?

sigg3 6y ago
I think your assessment is more or less spot on, we've faced down civilizational threats before. I want to add that there's a statistical trend to have less offspring once quality of life improves, as well. That being said, civilizations have come and gone before. I believe we must not fall into "tech religion", and wait for magical solutions when we can and should address many things politically rather than technologically. I am also happy we're reaching for the solar system, because a backup mankind seems prudent.
nitrogen 6y ago
I think at least some of this comes from the new environmental movement, which tends to be much more anti-human than pro-fixes. It's just another way of pulling up the ladder after climbing it, the same as people like to accuse homeowners of doing when they don't want to be crowded out of their neighborhoods. You can even find both in the same neighborhood/person -- you'll be looked at funny if you don't have a Prius parked in front of your multi-million dollar house right next to a protected forest that only you can access because there is no train and no parking.
pengaru 6y ago
Quantity or quality, pick one, or lose both.