3 ms·

I will: per-capita is a terrible and compromised metric to use because it bears no relationship to the environmental cost of carbon, and it creates perverse inc

I will: per-capita is a terrible and compromised metric to use because it bears no relationship to the environmental cost of carbon, and it creates perverse incentives for regimes to maximize population and reduce living standards in order to maintain and increase their carbon emissions. China's per-capita emissions aren't even great. Worse than many advanced economies.

mandmandam 3y ago
Didn't think I really needed to spell this out... It's hypocritical of Americans to complain about China's emissions, while spewing almost twice as much per person. It's disingenuous to complain that per capita emissions are irrelevant, as if every 8 Americans deserve to emit as much as fourteen Chinese people. That's the actual ratio. And all this bluster, while China exports nearly twice as many manufactured goods. If we're talking about countries environmental cost, then we'll have to talk about America's role sabotaging climate accords, or selling the world on PFAs, or the petrodollar, or our relationship with dictators that have lots of oil, or invading countries and then securing the oil fields within days, and so on, etc. Let's try to keep our feet on the ground here, even if we've no leg to stand on.
- throwawaylinux 3y ago
  That didn't address what I wrote even if I was American, which I'm not. While we're off on this wild tangent though, do you feel the same way about the hypocrisy of the ruling class. Do you think Barack Obama, Al Gore, Bill Gates, et al have "no right to complain" about emissions generated by us commoners? Would that be a reasonable response for everybody, whenever a politician or elite says emissions need to be reduced? Stamp their feet and say no, because we deserve to emit as much as you do?
- foverzar 3y ago
  I'll upvote this. So tired of western folk (as usual) being so full of themselves only because they had pushed almost all of the nasty production outside of their countries and get to flex stats how supposedly good they are. How about instead we maybe count individual carbon footprint by the consumption? (Oops)

mandmandam 3y ago

Didn't think I really needed to spell this out... It's hypocritical of Americans to complain about China's emissions, while spewing almost twice as much per person. It's disingenuous to complain that per capita emissions are irrelevant, as if every 8 Americans deserve to emit as much as fourteen Chinese people. That's the actual ratio. And all this bluster, while China exports nearly twice as many manufactured goods. If we're talking about countries environmental cost, then we'll have to talk about America's role sabotaging climate accords, or selling the world on PFAs, or the petrodollar, or our relationship with dictators that have lots of oil, or invading countries and then securing the oil fields within days, and so on, etc. Let's try to keep our feet on the ground here, even if we've no leg to stand on.

throwawaylinux 3y ago
That didn't address what I wrote even if I was American, which I'm not. While we're off on this wild tangent though, do you feel the same way about the hypocrisy of the ruling class. Do you think Barack Obama, Al Gore, Bill Gates, et al have "no right to complain" about emissions generated by us commoners? Would that be a reasonable response for everybody, whenever a politician or elite says emissions need to be reduced? Stamp their feet and say no, because we deserve to emit as much as you do?
foverzar 3y ago
I'll upvote this. So tired of western folk (as usual) being so full of themselves only because they had pushed almost all of the nasty production outside of their countries and get to flex stats how supposedly good they are. How about instead we maybe count individual carbon footprint by the consumption? (Oops)