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0 pointsericmay5y ago0 comments

Sure, but I’d argue that the replacement rate itself is at an unsustainable level.

Climate change and the loss of species and such is one manifestation of overpopulation. Covid-19 could be viewed as another, in my opinion.

Obviously this is all rich coming from an American living in the suburbs (I don’t really see what my alternatives are), but I can’t help but think we can only sustain around a billion people without destroying the planet (speculation).

We live in a golden age of cheap energy and consumption. People get in gasoline powered cars and drive a mile down the road to get a snack. That’s impossible to maintain. Not only do we have overpopulation, but we built unsustainable cities, predicated on infinite cheap energy ($2.50 gas). Electric cars won’t fix this, although they’ll help.

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TulliusCicero5y ago

> Sure, but I’d argue that the replacement rate itself is at an unsustainable level.

...I don't know what that even means. Or do you just mean, "we already have too many people, the population needs to go down"?

Probably the biggest thing you could do, I'd say, would be to politically support pro-environment measures. There's a lot of "yes, but..." Americans who only support 'green' regulations and whatnot when it will not cause the slightest inconvenience to them. E.g.

"Yes I support bike lanes, but this +0.25% sales tax increase to build them is just too much, taxes are already too high."

"Yes I support mass transit, but I don't support redirecting any money from roads for cars to them because I drive a lot."

"Yes I support higher density housing, but I don't want to hurt my neighborhood's character."

You get the picture. From a practical perspective, America would easily make strong progress on reduced energy consumption, but the political will there is weak.

ericmayOP5y ago

> ...I don't know what that even means. Or do you just mean, "we already have too many people, the population needs to go down"?

Hey there. Sorry for the poor choice of words. That's pretty much what I mean. I see comments where people mention a replacement rate for a country, and that maybe a country might be just at or slightly below the replacement rate. I believe that even at current levels we're far and away in excess of where we should be. So... when someone says "but Country N is now at the replacement rate" - I just think that the population at that level is beyond where it should be.

> You get the picture. From a practical perspective, America would easily make strong progress on reduced energy consumption, but the political will there is weak.

Completely agree, and include myself as one who is guilty here (to some extent). I try to minimize a lot of things, but ultimately it's hard when the environment we live in itself is very geared toward doing the opposite.

TulliusCicero5y ago

Personally, I don't focus on individual/free choices for the day-to-day at all, just policy. E.g. moralistic arguments about how people should ride bikes more are ineffective, you need actual on the ground changes in bike infrastructure to get real change for that sub-area. People trying to guilt each other constantly is just a distraction imo.

I had a car in the states and don't have one now in Munich. Did my values change? No, not really, I just moved somewhere where a car was much less necessary.

Now, I did still bike a fair bit in the states, but I didn't beat myself up over also driving a lot, because I recognized that the environment was not well set up for it in most places, which is how I got hit by cars twice the last year before I moved.

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0 pointsericmay5y ago0 comments

Sure, but I’d argue that the replacement rate itself is at an unsustainable level.

Climate change and the loss of species and such is one manifestation of overpopulation. Covid-19 could be viewed as another, in my opinion.

0 comments

TulliusCicero5y ago

> Sure, but I’d argue that the replacement rate itself is at an unsustainable level.

...I don't know what that even means. Or do you just mean, "we already have too many people, the population needs to go down"?

"Yes I support bike lanes, but this +0.25% sales tax increase to build them is just too much, taxes are already too high."

"Yes I support mass transit, but I don't support redirecting any money from roads for cars to them because I drive a lot."

"Yes I support higher density housing, but I don't want to hurt my neighborhood's character."

You get the picture. From a practical perspective, America would easily make strong progress on reduced energy consumption, but the political will there is weak.

ericmayOP5y ago

> ...I don't know what that even means. Or do you just mean, "we already have too many people, the population needs to go down"?

> You get the picture. From a practical perspective, America would easily make strong progress on reduced energy consumption, but the political will there is weak.

TulliusCicero5y ago

I had a car in the states and don't have one now in Munich. Did my values change? No, not really, I just moved somewhere where a car was much less necessary.

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