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Are you accounting for population collapse? Increased energy consumption corollates to wealth correlates to below-replacement birthrates. If that doesn’t solve
by philwelch 5y ago
Are you accounting for population collapse? Increased energy consumption corollates to wealth correlates to below-replacement birthrates.
If that doesn’t solve the problem, a culture capable of generating and using that much energy will just build space colonies, which solves the problem too.
- kuschku 5y agoThat’s the only potential way out, yes. We’ll need lower population on earth, but to continue our current speed of scientific progress we’ll need the same or an even larger population overall, so we’ll have to move into space (the final frontier, these are the voyages…)
- philwelch 5y agoI don’t think our current earth population is unsustainable though.
- kuschku 5y agoIt’s not sustainable with our current consumption standards, especially considering AC usage, space usage for single-family homes, and meat consumption. If everyone was a vegetarian living a dutch lifestyle we’d have no issue, that’s true.
- philwelch 5y agoI’m not even sure that’s true. Energy abundance solves most of these problems.
- imtringued 5y agoWe don't have energy abundance. We are burning our ancestors (hyperbole for fossil fuels) to stay alive.
- philwelch 5y agoWe're capable of developing and building out abundant energy production over the next century if we want to, and doing so is going to be a far preferable option to deliberate material deprivation.