[Vision2020] Inconvenient Truth -- What WE REALLY HAVE TO DO

[Paul Rumelhart]

Donovan,

I agree with you about the gas-tax idea.  It seems to have helped in 
Europe (from what I understand).  It may work the same way here, too.  
We have a different culture than in Europe, though, so I'm not sure if 
it will work as well or not but it's worth a shot.  Unfortunately, 
though, it's the person living on a limited income that feels it the most.

The best way, according to the numbers, to maintain the human population 
at a given amount (short of shooting people for jaywalking) is for more 
of the human population to become first-world instead of third-world 
citizens.  The US numbers are skewed because of the baby boomers, but I 
believe I read somewhere that the birth-rate now is actually negative 
(more people are dying than are being born each year).  I know that 
Japan is having problems because of their negative birth-rate.  I don't 
know how Europe's doing.

As for thinking BIG, I agree.  Just remember that lots of little numbers 
can add up to a big number, too.

Paul

Donovan Arnold wrote:

> I don't think eating lettuce and carrot sticks is going to save the 
> environment, no matter how many you eat and everyone else. The only 
> way to do it is to raise the price of gasoline and reduce the human 
> population. If the world raises the price of gasoline to $7.50 a 
> gallon over the next 5 years it would force everyone economically to 
> switch to an alternative form of fuel that would be better on the 
> Earth, maybe even reverse the effects.
>
> The second, is to maintain the human population. The Earth cannot 
> sustain 12 billion people for very long, it just cannot--even if they 
> just eat tofu, cabbage and sprouts. The current birth rate of the 
> world it will shortly be 12 billion. There is only three ways to stop 
> overpopulation; mass murder, mass sterilization and abortion, or 
> economic enforcement. I prefer economic enforcement. Making it so 
> expensive to raise a child so that only 1.8 children per fertile woman 
> are born, or zero population growth, is the way to go. Many Western 
> countries are going this route already.  China uses law enforcement 
> and forced abortion to control their population--I don't want to go 
> that route.
>
> You guys are thinking so small, so tiny. It doesn't help save the 
> earth even a day to do these tiny things. If the Earth's environment 
> is going to be saved, it has to be on a HUGE scale, all over the 
> world, and people will have to be forced to do it by economic 
> necessity. Trying to do it politically, socially, educating, or 
> choosing one by one to change and start caring for the world--it ain't 
> gonna happen that way folks. Think BIG for a BIG Problem.
>
> Best,
>
> _DJA
>
> */Nils Peterson <nils_peterson at wsu.edu>/* wrote:
>
>     I'm not too surprised that there was not an outpouring of personal
>     actions
>     to my previous question -- I'm about immobilized by the challenge
>     as well.
>
>     Carbon neutral is an interesting concept, but knowing if something
>     is carbon
>     neutral is hard, and, given that most things include a transportation
>     element, its going to be hard to be neutral.
>
>     Megan's veggie idea, as subsequently modified by other suggestions
>     is one
>     that resonates for me -- eat lower on the carbon input chain,
>     which means
>     eat local. That's something I can work on.
>
>     SO now, I want to move the discussion out a level, what are WE, as
>     Moscow,
>     gonna do?
>
>     I got a piece of good news last night, PCEI has converted a vehicle to
>     bio-diesel and they are talking about how to work with other
>     fleets in town
>     to convert them, and have a local bio-diesel supply. I know a
>     couple other
>     bio-diesel drivers around already and having a supply closer than
>     Lewiston
>     would be welcome news to them.
>
>     The COOP gives a discount for getting there by foot. One of the
>     businesses
>     in Alturas Park (Anatech maybe?) gives employees a financial
>     incentive per
>     mile that they travel to work by foot power. WSU & UI run a bus
>     between the
>     campuses and its free to students and employees (but UI almost cut the
>     service this summer -- sad statement on their green commitment)
>
>     What else can we, in whatever collective groups, begin doing?
>
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