I find, as usual, that Maximum Progress is offering a hubristic take. Yes, plastics now are superior to ivory for any purpose aside from signalling wealth. But

I find, as usual, that Maximum Progress is offering a hubristic take. Yes, plastics now are superior to ivory for any purpose aside from signalling wealth. But guess what, that last purpose is enough that ivory poaching remains a perpetual problem and elephants would probably have been wiped out by now if not for the dedicated efforts of governments and non-profits to combat poaching and to lock down the ivory trade. Yes, solar power is getting very cheap, but it's a little early to declare the carbon emissions externality solved. Fossil fuel companies are still investing in infrastructure (pipelines, refineries, etc) with multi-decade payback times, so I expect we'll still have a long time yet to wait. And carbon emissions are a problem with a deadline. Aquaculture is a growing source of fish, but overfishing remains a major unsolved problem, and there are also concerns about aquaculture itself having negative impacts on wild fish populations.