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Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

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Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#41

Post by bricemo »

fasteddie31003 wrote: post #35

I'm no fan of the deforestation that is being shown here, but for a Westerner to tell people in the Global South to not deforest is hypocritical and economically deceitful. Look at pretty much all of Europe and the Eastern United States. It has almost been all deforested and replaced with farmland at some point. Agriculture is an important step in a county's economic stability and progress. Some trees need to be cut…

Bill Gates covers this extensively in his recent excellent book: How to Avoid a Climate Disaster. Even if all the rich world countries went to emissions zero, that wouldn’t be enough, because the developing world needs to continue to develop. This is a good thing but it is a problem of progress, and underscores how complicated the solution is

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#43

Post by dint »

Spooky23 wrote: post #22
_qwfv wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that we're doing things that harm the planet, but I downvoted you because it's more complicated than just "there are too many people", and "We're cutting down forests". If you look at the advanced countries, they are often the ones who exploited their resources and grew in size early. Britain, for instance, slashed their forests generations ago to get ahead. The US used to shoot herds of bison from trains. No…

The overpopulation crowd is like a meta-NIMBY. People with high income, “concern” for various problems, and who are amused by their toys and aren’t family oriented usually fall into that position. Of course, like all NIMBY types, their consumption of air and Brazilian hardwoods is just fine.

This is a straw man. There are absolutely people who are concerned about both overpopulation, and individual overconsumption.

I am one. I limit my personal carbon footprint. I do not own a car (and hopefully never will). I rarely eat meat. I live in a cheap, inefficient apartment because I'm living on a student income, but I keep the heat low to try to limit my energy consumption.

I probably won't have kids, because it wouldn't be consistent with my concerns about climate change to bring another high-consuming American into the world.

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#44

Post by SamBam »

fasteddie31003 wrote: post #35

I'm no fan of the deforestation that is being shown here, but for a Westerner to tell people in the Global South to not deforest is hypocritical and economically deceitful. Look at pretty much all of Europe and the Eastern United States. It has almost been all deforested and replaced with farmland at some point. Agriculture is an important step in a county's economic stability and progress. Some trees need to be cut…

Are the 200,000 acres of rainforest being cut down each day being cut down by "poor framers supporting growing families" or by mega-corporations?

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#45

Post by varispeed »

fasteddie31003 wrote: post #35

I'm no fan of the deforestation that is being shown here, but for a Westerner to tell people in the Global South to not deforest is hypocritical and economically deceitful. Look at pretty much all of Europe and the Eastern United States. It has almost been all deforested and replaced with farmland at some point. Agriculture is an important step in a county's economic stability and progress. Some trees need to be cut…

> and having rich white people telling you you're a bad person.

While their predecessors done exactly the same.

Rich people become gatekeepers. If everyone could be rich, then they wouldn't be so special anymore. That's why they lobby for high taxes (with appropriate loopholes, so they don't pay them, but anyone who starts from 0 won't get rich), excessive regulation (so that poor man's company will never be able to compete) and other measures to keep population "in check".

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#46

Post by jeffbee »

fasteddie31003 wrote: post #35

I'm no fan of the deforestation that is being shown here, but for a Westerner to tell people in the Global South to not deforest is hypocritical and economically deceitful. Look at pretty much all of Europe and the Eastern United States. It has almost been all deforested and replaced with farmland at some point. Agriculture is an important step in a county's economic stability and progress. Some trees need to be cut…

This is why we need a plan to build enough cities in the United States for a billion citizens and swap land in the “global south” for a free home and prompt citizenship. We can’t just let the world’s lungs be cut down by the logic that we made the same mistake 200 years ago.

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#49

Post by varispeed »

bricemo wrote: post #41
fasteddie31003 wrote: post #35

I'm no fan of the deforestation that is being shown here, but for a Westerner to tell people in the Global South to not deforest is hypocritical and economically deceitful. Look at pretty much all of Europe and the Eastern United States. It has almost been all deforested and replaced with farmland at some point. Agriculture is an important step in a county's economic stability and progress. Some trees need to be cut…

Bill Gates covers this extensively in his recent excellent book: How to Avoid a Climate Disaster. Even if all the rich world countries went to emissions zero, that wouldn’t be enough, because the developing world needs to continue to develop. This is a good thing but it is a problem of progress, and underscores how complicated the solution is

He is one of those do as I say, not as I do type of toxic people (e.g. tells everyone to cut emissions while himself enjoying private jet flights). I don't feel that he is genuine, but for entertainment value could be worth a try.

Re: Time flies in Google Earth’s biggest update in years

#50

Post by SamBam »

Rompect wrote: post #19
daemoens wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Overpopulation isn't really a problem currently.

Underpopulation is actually the problem in most Western countries.

Not really sure how you can call it underpopulation. Was underpopulation also a problem in the preceding 30,000 years or so of human civilization in Europe leading up to today, when the population has always been always smaller?

The population in Europe is larger than it has ever been in any point in history.

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