Are we haggling over the wrong things?

[Hunting Wife]

This came through my inbox at work today, and it sort of articulated a thought that’s been brewing in the back of my mind as I watch us argue ad nauseum about the minutiae of why there aren’t more deer, why there is low social tolerance for elk, why there is poor habitat on public land, why aren’t agencies doing more to fix all these problems, climate change isn’t real, green energy is going to save us.

What if it all boils down to one problem, and that problem is us? Interesting article.

https://theintercept.com/2022/12/03/climate-biodiversity-green-energy/

 

[FI460]

This came through my inbox at work today, and it sort of articulated a thought that’s been brewing in the back of my mind as I watch us argue ad nauseum about the minutiae of why there aren’t more deer, why there is low social tolerance for elk, why there is poor habitat on public land, why aren’t agencies doing more to fix all these problems, climate change isn’t real, green energy is going to save us.

What if it all boils down to one problem, and that problem is us? Interesting article.

https://theintercept.com/2022/12/03/climate-biodiversity-green-energy/

Good article. This has been a hot topic of discussion in my circle for a number of years. Reduce, reuse, recycle has been around my entire life, but people often forego the first R of the triangle and focus on the second and third. That's easier and it feels like you've done something. At the end of the day it's more of us consuming more. If we're honest with ourselves we know that.

 

[ignorethefringes]

I'm sorry for the humour on your serious post. And I promise to read the article as punishment for any derail. But the first thing I thought of when reading your post were these "we are the virus" memes that popped up during the pandemic lol.







Of course, there was some actual benefit too which I think prompted the whole thing.



All that being said, @wllm posted this picture a while back in this thread which is probably relevant to this discussion.

 

[Big Fin]

I read that article on Saturday while in the middle of a "metropolis in denial;" that being Vegas and its rapid race to deplete all useable water before the next person might grab some of it. After reading that article, I told my wife, "It's nice to know I'm not the only person resolved to the idea that homo sapiens will breed themselves out of a habitable landscape and someday those landscapes will again be reclaimed by the more resilient and less arrogant species of the planet."

She looked at me as if I have too much time to think about things. Then realizing I have hardly any spare time and concerned of my mental well being, she Googled "Psychologists Near Me."

All the climate issues, all the habitat issues, all the (insert here) are heavily (mostly) impacted by the denial of humans that we are subject to the same habitat constraints of every other species on this planet. We cannot continue to breed and populate to the Nth degree and think the planet can sustain. We can't and the planet can't.

And as such, we will have more wars, religious arguments, more diseases, and other ancillary activities trying to justify/claim the share of resources and habitat we feel we are owed/deserve. It is the greatest example of "Tragedy of the Commons" that our planet ever has experienced

It's not just humans and governments that are in denial. It is also our lazy media. Everyone wants to make it about the changing climate without any connection to the fact that too many people with too many demands is what changes the climate; cause v. effect. It's far easier, lazier, and safer to talk about abstract ideas of climate change. Heaven forbid we talk about issues causing climates to change, such as having ten kids, coming to the rescue of every country that has overpopulated the carrying capacity of their land, trying to grow cities in deserts, fishing the oceans to the last minnow, and on and on and on.

I know, I've lost my marbles. Excuse me while I go look for those marbles.

Coming soon to the Fresh Tracks merch store - Men's T-shirts, "Save the planet; keep your dick in your pants."

 

[Hunting Wife]

I'm sorry for the humour on your serious post. And I promise to read the article as punishment for any derail. But the first thing I thought of when reading your post were these "we are the virus" memes that popped up during the pandemic lol.

View attachment 254031

View attachment 254032

View attachment 254033

Of course, there was some actual benefit too which I think prompted the whole thing.

View attachment 254034

All that being said, @wllm posted this picture a while back in this thread which is probably relevant to this discussion.

View attachment 254035

Just for that, you hafta read it twice

 

[FI460]

I read that article on Saturday while in the middle of a "metropolis in denial;" that being Vegas and its rapid race to deplete all useable water before the next person might grab some of it. After reading that article, I told my wife, "It's nice to know I'm not the only person resolved to the idea that homo sapiens will breed themselves out of a habitable landscape and someday those landscapes will again be reclaimed by the more resilient and less arrogant species of the planet."

She looked at me as if I have too much time to think about things. Then realizing I have hardly any spare time and concerned of my mental well being, she Googled "Psychologists Near Me."

All the climate issues, all the habitat issues, all the (insert here) are heavily (mostly) impacted by the denial of humans that we are subject to the same habitat constraints of every other species on this planet. We cannot continue to breed and populate to the Nth degree and think the planet can sustain. We can't and the planet can't.

And as such, we will have more wars, religious arguments, more diseases, and other ancillary activities trying to justify/claim the share of resources and habitat we feel we are owed/deserve. It is the greatest example of "Tragedy of the Commons" that our planet ever has experienced

It's not just humans and governments that are in denial. It is also our lazy media. Everyone wants to make it about the changing climate without any connection to the fact that too many people with too many demands is what changes the climate; cause v. effect. It's far easier, lazier, and safer to talk about abstract ideas of climate change. Heaven forbid we talk about issues causing climates to change, such as having ten kids, coming to the rescue of every country that has overpopulated the carrying capacity of their land, trying to grow cities in deserts, fishing the oceans to the last minnow, and on and on and on.

I know, I've lost my marbles. Excuse me while I go look for those marbles.

Coming soon to the Fresh Tracks merch store - Men's T-shirts, "Save the planet; keep your dick in your pants."

If you produce that shirt I'll buy a dozen of them for Christmas gifts the second they're available.

 

[huntnpack]

"The planet will be here, we'll be long gone; just another failed mutation; just another closed-end biological mistake; an evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas, a surface nuisance."-George Carlin

 

[BirdManMike]

Good article. I have these thoughts often. Do I really need X, Y, or Z. At least I never spawned any spawn so Im not perpetuating as per @wllm's graph above.

 

[seeth07]

I feel great about having zero kids right now...might buy a plane ticket to Europe or something just to help boost my carbon footprint since having a kid is so much larger!

 

[Big Fin]

If you produce that shirt I'll buy a dozen of them for Christmas gifts the second they're available.

Ok. I just inquired of our guy who designs and makes the T-shirts. Men's sizes/styles only. I'll keep you updated.

 

[Irrelevant]

What if it all boils down to one problem, and that problem is us?

Of course! Was there ever any doubt?

 

[Dougfirtree]

Yup. This has been the quiet voice in the background, in all discussions about 'saving the world' for a long time. Very few people want to hear it.

 

[seeth07]

basically same concept brought up by Jefferies about our race and the planet

 

[Dougfirtree]

Ok. I just inquired of our guy who designs and makes the T-shirts. Men's sizes/styles only. I'll keep you updated.

I believe title 9 requires that you print a women's version as well (V neck, of course).

 

[Nameless Range]

There are too many of us, and yet, we are held hostage by ourselves.

Plenty of economists will tell you, that sudden drops in generational populations can be a very bad thing. Nothing would be worse for the environment, some of the "worse" being irreversible, than a collapse or even partial collapse of civilization at current population levels. It's an uncomfortable thing: if society fell apart, every big game animal in North America would be extinct within years - many fish too. We are in a car going too fast, but the answer isn't to stop suddenly by running into a wall. The slowdown to something sustainable will be the walk of a tightrope. We are the stewards of this earth whether we like it or not. We don't get to back out of our situation and the only thing that would make the consequences inevitable would be doing so.

On a side note, something I see in the environmental community that I now think Catholics come by honestly, is a reveling in disdain-for-self. It's something deep within us, and it's not clear to me if it is useful.

 

[Bullbrl]

Coming soon to the Fresh Tracks merch store - Men's T-shirts, "Save the planet; keep your dick in your pants."

isn’t this going against the “reduce” mantra

 

[steveshuntn1]

I’ve been thinking we are the problem for a while now…I’m figuring that one of these days a bacteria or virus will creep out from under some rock and all the preventative shots and mask we can come up with won’t do shit to stop it.
If you look at what humans have done with the gorgeous and unbelievable planet we inhabit we probably deserve it!

 

[CycleFishHunt]

I also feel like there is train of thought that goes something the following.

Making lifestyle choices is a waste of time, so just keep on doing what you do. This is a societal problem and needs to be solved at the societal level, e.g. creating a decarbonized energy grid, other this or that policy. This is often reinforced on a cultural level by ridiculing those who make radically different choices in order to reduce their ecological footprint.

Ultimately it's both. Top down decisions are needed, but only go so far. As others said above, we need to make different and better personal choices from the bottom up: personal, then family, community, city, on up.

 

[Irrelevant]

Coming soon to the Fresh Tracks merch store - Men's T-shirts, "Save the planet; keep your dick in your pants."

Whoa whoa whoa... that last thing we need is for more teenage males to be "pent up". It's that was just caused the storming of the capital?

Wrapped yes.

If I wasn't at work, there is actually a fair amount of research into the benefits to society when young males don't keep it in their pants.

 

[Bullbrl]

Whoa whoa whoa... that last thing we need is for more teenage males to be "pent up". It's that was just caused the storming of the capital?

Wrapped yes.

If I wasn't at work, there is actually a fair amount of research into the benefits to society when young males don't keep it in their pants.

Does it only apply to “young males”?

Asking for a friend