> But cuts as large as Keeling is talking about will take sustained cuts to consumption. I agree. Yesterday, the size of humanity was insignificantly small c

> But cuts as large as Keeling is talking about will take sustained cuts to consumption. I agree. Yesterday, the size of humanity was insignificantly small compared to the size of the earth's environment -- resources available to support a reasonable standard of living were so abundant as to be effectively infinite. Today, after the successful growth throughout the last few centuries, the size of humanity is comparable in some respects to the size of parts of the environment. the environment is no longer infinite, it is finite and will increasingly constrain human activity. Beliefs that are held dear in parts of the rich world (emphasis on individual rights and freedom, consumerism, unregulated population growth, population fueled economic growth to increase the pie rather than reallocating the pie) that were good enough yesterday may no longer be a particularly adaptive way to run society today and tomorrow.