Nature

Mainstream culture seems to believe the opposite of the following. They're generally systemic effects like that building roads increases traffic in the long run, even though while you're stuck in traffic it feels like more roads would decrease it. Sustainability = Freedom (most people think sustainability means risking reverting to the stone age) Doof impoverishes communities (most people say eating healthy costs more, implying doof saves money) Farmers markets save money and time (most people say farmers markets cost more) Flying decreases exposure to nature and destroys it (most people think of flying as a way to visit natural beauty) Either you're living sustainably or you're hurting people, potentially killing them (cutting out the middle steps makes it sound brutal, but there's no two ways…

I hear people say that things have to get bad enough before people will act on the environment. They're fooling themselves; every time we lower Earth's ability to sustain life, they adjust and say it still has to get worse. For example, I'm sure that most people, if asked in 2019, would say a global pandemic that forced billions of people into house arrest and bitterly divided nations would motivate them to act, not meaning they would not fly because authorities, but of their volition to help. Needless to say, nearly no one did. We manufactured more plastic and pushed to restore flying to pre-pandemic levels as soon as possible. What do you want to save? I've thought about what I want to protect. We've…

Everyone acts shocked and outraged at how much food we waste, where "we" could mean Americans or humans in general. Then they act like I'm weird for eating fruit's peels. Citrus fruit peels contain all the fiber and nearly all the vitamin C of the fruit. They're happy to eat it when slathered with sugar and fat, so they don't have a problem eating it when turned into doof. I'm not saying fruit peels are the biggest source of waste, but how can people point fingers at others so quickly without realizing they are accusing themselves? Did past generations waste so profligately? Maybe I'm just grumpy from how much litter I see and pick up every day, and the mindsets behind the huge numbers of…

Technology builds hospitals, raises the GDP, and does other things people consider progress, improving their lives. It also creates pollution, displaces people from their lands, and is lowering Earth's ability to sustain life. Between the two effects, is what we call progress net improving or deteriorating our quality of life? I'd say it's a judgment call that depends on your values. I'd guess someone in Silicon Valley would answer differently than someone in a favela. I figure from post-WWII to 2000, most people would say progress and technology improved life. The pollution, displacing people from their lands, extinctions, and so on were there to be seen, but I think most people chose not to see them, and who can blame them? Who could expect we…