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> “The biggest problem we face in the world right now isn't terrorism or world war. It's climate change,” he says. I really like seeing this quote from a Chine

by donkeyd 11y ago

> “The biggest problem we face in the world right now isn't terrorism or world war. It's climate change,” he says. I really like seeing this quote from a Chinese business man.

zhte415 11y ago
There's more, but a small personal anecdote: I have a boss with similar, if somewhat more relaxed, thinking. "Why stay in the Shangri-La when a [200 Yuan per night] Motel 168 or HomeInn is perfectly clean, safe and more convenient." or "Have a laptop and a standing desk if you like, it saves more than having you unhappy or leave." or "50 Yuan per day travel bonus, enjoy the local food." It is not penny pinching (the opposite, he'll spend where it is needed), it is a true conviction that things should be done differently (from the status quo). When it encroaches on personal things such as the size of a family (below, from the article's Zhang Yue) I do not like it - work is work and life is life - but there is a deep dislike of the way things are done by the moneyed by a lot of business people (and women are far more represented in this grouping than in large companies operating in China, including multinationals or traditional government backed companies) than a lot of people outside China are aware of. Further quotes: > “Don't buy things you only use once, such as newspapers.” > “Grow your own vegetables.” > “Most importantly, have only one child, to allow the population of the world to return to a level it can bear.” > Another company handbook urges staff to brush their teeth twice a day, and to share cars. > His hair is greying. Dyeing your hair is bad for the environment, he says. > I have to set an example. My staff imitate me, and they then influence those around them. That's how we influence society.”
- kayoone 11y ago
  Great quotes, the "only one child" quote is only meant for certain countries i guess. In Germany we have a problem with the population growing older and older because young people get less and less kids. That taxes the health care system and skews politics towards the old among other things.
  - ido 11y ago
    Fortunately Germany has high net migration, and the world's population is not shrinking.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  > When it encroaches on personal things such as the size of a family (below, from the article's Zhang Yue) I do not like it Not having a child is the most environmentally responsible act one can do. For each child you don't have, you offset tens of thousands of tons of CO2 emissions, millions of gallons of water used, tons of trash produced, etc. I've been kicking around starting a non-profit that pays people not to have children, with the funding coming from carbon credits. "By first year itself an American toddler would have generated more Carbon dioxide emission than an average person in Tanzania will generate in a life time." http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/14/g68/HumanFootprint.pdf http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/14/g68/... http://www.greencontributor.com/index.php/human-foot-print.html http://www.greencontributor.com/index.php/human-foot-print.h...
  - godzilla82 11y ago
    It is really riduculous that we now start evaluating human life by the amount of carbon emission one generates. Sorry, but that is just nonsense. Wont killing yourself achieve your goals? Also, you should start a non-profit that pays family members if they commit suicide.
    - toomuchtodo 11y ago
      There's a difference between firing someone in a company and simply removing the position through attrition when someone leaves. This is no different than the later. Should we continue to overwhelm a physical system we require to survive? I don't advocate killing people whatsoever; I advocate incentivizing people to have less children (or no children, if they prefer). What's wrong with that?
      - godzilla82 11y ago
        I am not arguing against birth control. What I felt wrong about your view was that, you are basing life's worth on carbon emissions. There are better ways of reducing carbon emissions. >There's a difference between firing someone in a company and simply removing the position through attrition when someone leaves. This is no different than the later. The difference is that in your company, you know you dont need the position. How do you know that a couple wants to have a kid or not?
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
mikeash 11y ago
It's probably easier to think that way when the effects of pollution are so apparent. When your boogers turn black after a day outside, you can't deny that something is happening. On the other hand, if you live in a country where pollution controls have turned it largely invisible, and the worst pollution you experience is smelling a bit of diesel exhaust when you got too close to a bus, it's probably a lot easier to say that human activity is insignificant.
nate_meurer 11y ago
Yes this Zhang Yue guy is my new hero. Talking about his new building, > "It has huge benefits for future generations. If you tear it down 500 years from now it will leave a steel skeleton which is a resource for them, not just a load of rubbish. That’s what this is about." I can't express how grateful and refreshed I am to hear a builder say such a thing. Especially coming as I am from the U.S., where we seem to specialize in building shit designed for obsolescence without a thought toward maintainability or recycling. There may be a bit of light appearing at the end of the American tunnel; New York's "B2" building, built by developer Forest City Ratner (FCS), is 32 stories of stacked modular apartments. Hope this catches on
- eastbayjake 11y ago
  > There may be a bit of light appearing at the end of the American tunnel ... Hope this catches on I hope it catches on in San Francisco and Oakland. There was a previous HN thread about B2 (can anyone find it?) and the potential to quickly add thousands of units at a higher density than currently exists would have enormous environmental, humanitarian, and economic benefits for the entire region.
asgard1024 11y ago
I appreciate the attitude, but other than that, he is a real control freak. It fascinates me that people on the right often praise entrepreneurs as champions of personal freedom while they are often being very authoritative against their employees.

by donkeyd 11y ago

> “The biggest problem we face in the world right now isn't terrorism or world war. It's climate change,” he says. I really like seeing this quote from a Chinese business man.

zhte415 11y ago

There's more, but a small personal anecdote: I have a boss with similar, if somewhat more relaxed, thinking. "Why stay in the Shangri-La when a [200 Yuan per night] Motel 168 or HomeInn is perfectly clean, safe and more convenient." or "Have a laptop and a standing desk if you like, it saves more than having you unhappy or leave." or "50 Yuan per day travel bonus, enjoy the local food." It is not penny pinching (the opposite, he'll spend where it is needed), it is a true conviction that things should be done differently (from the status quo). When it encroaches on personal things such as the size of a family (below, from the article's Zhang Yue) I do not like it - work is work and life is life - but there is a deep dislike of the way things are done by the moneyed by a lot of business people (and women are far more represented in this grouping than in large companies operating in China, including multinationals or traditional government backed companies) than a lot of people outside China are aware of. Further quotes: > “Don't buy things you only use once, such as newspapers.” > “Grow your own vegetables.” > “Most importantly, have only one child, to allow the population of the world to return to a level it can bear.” > Another company handbook urges staff to brush their teeth twice a day, and to share cars. > His hair is greying. Dyeing your hair is bad for the environment, he says. > I have to set an example. My staff imitate me, and they then influence those around them. That's how we influence society.”

kayoone 11y ago
Great quotes, the "only one child" quote is only meant for certain countries i guess. In Germany we have a problem with the population growing older and older because young people get less and less kids. That taxes the health care system and skews politics towards the old among other things.
- ido 11y ago
  Fortunately Germany has high net migration, and the world's population is not shrinking.
toomuchtodo 11y ago
> When it encroaches on personal things such as the size of a family (below, from the article's Zhang Yue) I do not like it Not having a child is the most environmentally responsible act one can do. For each child you don't have, you offset tens of thousands of tons of CO2 emissions, millions of gallons of water used, tons of trash produced, etc. I've been kicking around starting a non-profit that pays people not to have children, with the funding coming from carbon credits. "By first year itself an American toddler would have generated more Carbon dioxide emission than an average person in Tanzania will generate in a life time." http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/14/g68/HumanFootprint.pdf http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/14/g68/... http://www.greencontributor.com/index.php/human-foot-print.html http://www.greencontributor.com/index.php/human-foot-print.h...
- godzilla82 11y ago
  It is really riduculous that we now start evaluating human life by the amount of carbon emission one generates. Sorry, but that is just nonsense. Wont killing yourself achieve your goals? Also, you should start a non-profit that pays family members if they commit suicide.
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    There's a difference between firing someone in a company and simply removing the position through attrition when someone leaves. This is no different than the later. Should we continue to overwhelm a physical system we require to survive? I don't advocate killing people whatsoever; I advocate incentivizing people to have less children (or no children, if they prefer). What's wrong with that?
    - godzilla82 11y ago
      I am not arguing against birth control. What I felt wrong about your view was that, you are basing life's worth on carbon emissions. There are better ways of reducing carbon emissions. >There's a difference between firing someone in a company and simply removing the position through attrition when someone leaves. This is no different than the later. The difference is that in your company, you know you dont need the position. How do you know that a couple wants to have a kid or not?

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

mikeash 11y ago

It's probably easier to think that way when the effects of pollution are so apparent. When your boogers turn black after a day outside, you can't deny that something is happening. On the other hand, if you live in a country where pollution controls have turned it largely invisible, and the worst pollution you experience is smelling a bit of diesel exhaust when you got too close to a bus, it's probably a lot easier to say that human activity is insignificant.

nate_meurer 11y ago

Yes this Zhang Yue guy is my new hero. Talking about his new building, > "It has huge benefits for future generations. If you tear it down 500 years from now it will leave a steel skeleton which is a resource for them, not just a load of rubbish. That’s what this is about." I can't express how grateful and refreshed I am to hear a builder say such a thing. Especially coming as I am from the U.S., where we seem to specialize in building shit designed for obsolescence without a thought toward maintainability or recycling. There may be a bit of light appearing at the end of the American tunnel; New York's "B2" building, built by developer Forest City Ratner (FCS), is 32 stories of stacked modular apartments. Hope this catches on

eastbayjake 11y ago
> There may be a bit of light appearing at the end of the American tunnel ... Hope this catches on I hope it catches on in San Francisco and Oakland. There was a previous HN thread about B2 (can anyone find it?) and the potential to quickly add thousands of units at a higher density than currently exists would have enormous environmental, humanitarian, and economic benefits for the entire region.

asgard1024 11y ago

I appreciate the attitude, but other than that, he is a real control freak. It fascinates me that people on the right often praise entrepreneurs as champions of personal freedom while they are often being very authoritative against their employees.