4 ms·

Living in South America all my life, and I know this is anecdotal, ecology is always second to economic progress. You can't go to a [settlement] (https://sfo2.

Living in South America all my life, and I know this is anecdotal, ecology is always second to economic progress. You can't go to a [settlement] (https://sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/elpaiscr/2019/09/Asentamientos-precarios-en-Chile.-Redes-599x330.png https://sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/elpaiscr/2019/09/Asentam...) and tell them not to use certain tools because they might not be ecological. I'm not discarding your concern though, I understand its impact is not known, I just wanted to say it likely won't be a factor in the decision-making of those that use this tech.

robbedpeter 5y ago
There's a well known correlation between economic progress and ecological protection. The wealthier a community, the better it can make good long term decisions about maintaining the ecosystems around it. When people are struggling, they use whatever they can to survive. They'll burn wood indoors, and strip the wooded areas of all trees, use up as much groundwater through wells as possible, and so on... Get rid of the do-or-die hard scrabble for survival and people can start being better stewards. It's the largely invisible, widespread, and long term effects, like leaded gas and co2 impacts on climate that require nation state intervention through science based policy. For highly empowering things like this, the upshot is likely that even though the tech is not likely to be as clean and efficient as we'd want, it will enable individuals and communities to thrive and better their lives to the point that they can start affording long term ecological preservation.
- Shorel 5y ago
  That seems extremely recent, like last century only. The correlation I see is the longer civilization has been in some place, the more arid that place becomes. Applies to Africa, Middle East, Brazil, and so on.

4 ms·

Living in South America all my life, and I know this is anecdotal, ecology is always second to economic progress. You can't go to a [settlement] (https://sfo2.

by brezelgoring 5y ago

robbedpeter 5y ago
There's a well known correlation between economic progress and ecological protection. The wealthier a community, the better it can make good long term decisions about maintaining the ecosystems around it. When people are struggling, they use whatever they can to survive. They'll burn wood indoors, and strip the wooded areas of all trees, use up as much groundwater through wells as possible, and so on... Get rid of the do-or-die hard scrabble for survival and people can start being better stewards. It's the largely invisible, widespread, and long term effects, like leaded gas and co2 impacts on climate that require nation state intervention through science based policy. For highly empowering things like this, the upshot is likely that even though the tech is not likely to be as clean and efficient as we'd want, it will enable individuals and communities to thrive and better their lives to the point that they can start affording long term ecological preservation.
- Shorel 5y ago
  That seems extremely recent, like last century only. The correlation I see is the longer civilization has been in some place, the more arid that place becomes. Applies to Africa, Middle East, Brazil, and so on.