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> Today’s widespread middle class living standard is the result of several one-time events for the planet, such as mass migration into cities, the movement of w
by danans 5y ago
> Today’s widespread middle class living standard is the result of several one-time events for the planet, such as mass migration into cities, the movement of women into the formal working economy, and pervasive automation of labor.
He forgot a big one: Massive use of fossil fuels, whose long term effects are, depending on where you live, threatening to undermine that very standard of living.
The challenge of this generation will be trying to figure out how to improve and that standard of living while undoing it's fossil fuel dependency. That may in turn require redefining what a high standard of living is.
- lamontcg 5y agoSolar and Wind beat fossil fuels now. There's no need to compromise on standards of living, that's a toxic and false narrative that we need to suffer in order to fix things.
- somewhereoutth 5y agoOh indeed. We just need to send a large majority of the human race back to the stone age. The entirety of South America, Africa, the Indian sub continent, most of South East Asia and the Middle East. Then you can have your SUV.
- lonelyPM 5y agoNuclear.
- lamontcg 5y agoWhich is too expensive to compete, another false narrative that we can't do it without nuclear (or that it is all hopeless without carbon capture or geoengineering). We just have to use the tools that we have today (plus efficiency improvements).
- danans 5y agoI agree completely, but convincing the broader population to get on board to switch to renewables and a renewably powered electric lifestyle is challenging, especially in places like the US where use of fossil fuels is a cultural identity issue for many. Redefining a high standard of living doesn't mean having a low standard of living, but it often means living differently than we have in recent decades. For example, you can live a luxurious lifestyle in an energy efficient way by living in a smaller and efficient house. If it's an all electric house your standard of living can even increase due to better indoor air quality. Multifamily and village style walkable neighborhoods, whether in rural or urban areas, and where people make fewer long drives for work and groceries, can also improve quality of life. But unfortunately those kinds of lifestyles are not very attainable, and rarely affordable in places in the US.
- snowwindwaves 5y agoIt becomes an easy decision to get an electric f150 when gas costs $8 a gallon because of carbon taxes and a full charge is only a couple bucks
- danans 5y agoIn the state of MI today, off-peak electricity is 11c/kWh and gas today costs $3/gal. The Mustang Mach E uses 190wH per mile, so each mile costs ~2c. The Mustang Mach 1 ICE car gets 20mpg, so each mile costs 15c. So today in MI, the energy cost of the electric is already 1/7 of the ICE. Nonetheless, you will find far more EVs per capita in California, where the EV energy cost advantage is far lower due to high electricity prices. The difference is cultural. Maybe it will change and MI will be an EV buying state, lets see. Alas, Biden has thrown the auto industry a bit of a softball with vehicle efficiency (far less aggressive than what he campaigned on), out of a practical need to bolster his support in the industrial and largely gas powered Midwest. As a result, I don't suspect you will see a national carbon tax in the US anytime soon. That's the unfortunate reality that we have to work with.
- Gravityloss 5y agoIt will not be cost free. It's like working for your salary or just living off your inheritance and leaving nothing to your kids.
- b7bfcdeaab33 5y ago> trying to figure out how to improve and that standard I don't understand what you're saying.
- SerLava 5y agoHe also forgot to mention the looming threat of violent revolution exterminating the ruling class, which drove countless concessions to the average person.