BorgDrone
There is a huge difference between keep existing and breeding like rabbits.
In 1927 there were approximately 2 billion people on earth. In 1975 we went past 4 billion. 48 years to add 2 billion people. 1998 we went over 6 billion, 23 years for another 2 billion. In 2022 we hit 8 billion.
In 100 years we quadrupled the human population. Do you think we’d be having any of the current ecological problems if we kept the population at 2 billion?
The earth is a finite resource. There cannot be unlimited population growth regardless of how well each individual treats the environment. We’re over 8 billion already, when do we stop? 16? 32? 64? How many billion humans can you fit on a planet?
You cannot have a human that has zero environmental footprint. The world population has exploded over the last 100 years. There is no point in lowering your ecological footprint if we’re outbreeding any progress in a few year time.
But if you're going to drive giant trucks powered by oil, eat red meat every day with a glass of milk, use and abuse plastic for everything, and be a massive consumerist, then sure
You misunderstand the scale of the difference. You can do everything in your power to lower your ecological footprint, recycle at your optimum, don’t eat meat, get rid of your car and only use a bike and public transport, etc. etc. If you have 2 kids and teach them to do the same your ecological footprint will still be many times higher than someone who eats steak every day and drives 3 hummers to work while rolling coal and throwing styrofoam pellets out the window. It’s that big of a difference.
A few numbers to illustrate, the savings in tonnes of co2 equivalent per year.
- recycle: 0.21 tonnes
- replace car with hybrid: 0.51 tonnes
- eat a plant-based diet: 0.82 tonnes
- only use green energy: 1.47 tonnes
- live completely car-free: 2.4 tonnes
- have 1 child less: 58.6 tonnes
It’s not just your kids, it’s also your kid’s kids, and your kid’s kid’s kids’s. etc.
Try doing 190 kph on the Autobahn in a car the size of a rollerskate, it’s plenty exciting (i.e. scary as fuck).
Tea for the tillerman is a must have on vinyl.
Walk don’t run , personally I like the cover by Chet Atkins best but the original is by Johnny Smith.
Cloud tax is real.
In astrophotography, when you buy a new piece of equipment you have to pay the cloud tax. That is: after receiving your new gear it will be cloudy so you can’t use it. The number of cloudy days is directly related to the value of the new gear you got. If you buy something expensive it can be months before you can use it.