Prosperity comes at 'devastating' cost to nature

The enlightened caveman, after whacking some other poor guy upside the head with a big club: "My hope is to use this food I took from you to develop new medical technologies to fix your shattered skull. This is more of a loan than a grant."

Nature will survive. Plants might not, humans definitely won't, but given the extremes at which we've found life on Earth it's obvious something will, even if it's just bacterial colonies in hydrothermal vents deep under the ocean.

Life... uh.. finds a way.

The most impactful thing you could do is refrain from reproducing, but that's generally not a popular suggestion.

I mean, one of the interesting changes that's soon happening is the transition from ICE to electric cars. I think the core issue is the concept of cars themselves. Storing them all over the road (they are everywhere!), people using them for very short journeys, their accessibility/cheapness to practically anyone and how much our society relies on them each and every day, even at the cost of the beloved hedgehogs which are being squished day in, day out (or badgers/roadkill I see frequently, they just can't compete with our death machines).

Electric cars will rapidly slow the pace of life down; with them taking longer to charge, adaptions will be required since you can't fill them in in 2 minutes like an ICE car.

Yet, I am not convinced shifting the burden to electricity completely solves the equation; the demand for battery production and development, the depletion of the batteries and mining for lithium itself is just shifting the problem elsewhere.

Humans need to drive less, consume less and expect less. Yet the global economy is based on consumption; as I write this comment on my computer consuming internet/electricity, buying food (relying on transport for that!) etc etc.

8 billion humans is not compatible with "nature", we've overtaken nature. Our species must be limited to a maximum population and the rest be culled; we did it with the minks due to Covid-19.

Then again, suggesting we cull humans is seen as barbaric but cutting the heads off billions of chickens is okay, apparently, so people can drive to McDonald's and get their 5 nuggets because "capitalism". McDonald's should be illegal if we are to take nature seriously, yet no human wants to make sacrifices "for the greater good".

Maybe we deserve to be the chickens for once.

Well, if any government was serious about this, they could easily create new rules for corporations to follow - given that corporations are by the cause of destroying nature.

Instead, corporations are 'socialising' the cost of their actions. As if the consumers have any real options, when doing a daily shop, buying a phone, etc. Consumers are being 'guilted' for the actions of another.

Governments are beholden to corporations - it is governments job to put the costs on to citizens, while allowing corporations to act as they want.

I wish people would stop saying 'we' or 'our' as if corporate action to increase their profit is my fault. As if government is not complicit in the shifting the expense and costs on to those who they purport to represent but have no power to change the direction of discussion and law-making.

The solution is a/ not to fall for this shallow tactic where you are personally held liable for the actions of another, and b/ not to look to the government to help manage this situation.

Despite what you are told, you are not a citizen of a country - you are an autonomous individual. An accident of birth does not mean you need to support the tyrannical structure you find. It is illegal to use your legal name - it says so on your birth certificate. To do so is to be in dishonour, and in dishonour you are manipulated by the system.