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If I go on a diet and lose weight, is that also a trick because the average weight of the population goes up? Just because someone else does something else to
by benj111 4y ago
If I go on a diet and lose weight, is that also a trick because the average weight of the population goes up?
Just because someone else does something else to negate the net effect of something doesn't mean you haven't done the thing.
If we hadn't done anything emissions would be even higher. It isn't as if we have to burn a certain quota of coal and gas.
This isn't an argument for doing less, it's an argument for doing more.
- wazoox 4y ago> If I go on a diet and lose weight, is that also a trick because the average weight of the population goes up? The keyword here is "imported emissions". When you reduce your consumption because you're closing a factory to import the same stuff made in worse (environmental, social) conditions elsewhere, the gain is only apparent. So following your analogy, if what you're after is the global population health, if you lose weight but everyone else gains more than what you lost, than the result is indeed a net loss overall.
- benj111 4y agoI'll repeat my metaphor. If I go on a diet... In the metaphor 'I' mirrors green technologies. 'global population health' mirrors total global emissions. If I go on a diet and lost weight, that is no trick. I have lost weight. That isn't invalidated by the rest of the world getting fatter. If I put solar panels on my roof I will lower my co2 emissions. That isn't invalidated by you rolling coal. I agree it's bad that co2 emissions are increasing but that doesn't mean that the proposed solution is a trick.