Ok, so what I’m hearing is that you’re agreeing with me that it’s a silly argument, but for a different reason - that volcano’s are devastating and we shouldn’t settle for just “less than devastating”. Is that right?

It initially seemed like you were arguing that volcanoes are bigger that I was aware of, and therefore might be more impactful than humans on the environment. But that’s probably because people always argue online 😅

Ya this isn’t the argument the person I replied to was making

Ya this isn’t the argument the person I replied to was making

I’m aware. Do you have something more to say?

Explain why globally we cut back on nuclear power please? How does this fit into your argument?

Sorry, I don’t really check for notifications here. Yeah, I suppose America might have a different culture. Most other “1st world” (i.e. white) countries are relatively similar though in my experience. There seems to be plenty of diverse non-bigoted people around, even if there is a definite shift that way in the average mindset.

Rich people make the decisions though, and they earned the right to decide how the world economy runs because their ancestors worked hard (owned slaves)!

Yeah, I wholeheartedly encourage constructive debate and skepticism. However, it doesn’t excuse repeating shitty arguments without doing anything thinking or research just because it makes you feel less bad and lets you not do anything.

One example that particularly bothers me was “humans affect on the climate is less than a single volcanic eruption”. There are a lot of things you could not trust about scientific reporting, but the base premise of 8 billion people flying around the world using decomposed dinosaur mass is at least an order-of magnitude larger in scale compared to a single volcanic eruption. At that point, you’d have to believe that there isn’t really 8 billion people or that oil is actually from somewhere else.

In summary I agree, I just want to add nuance that this doesn’t excuse people acting in bad faith. It’s important that everyone, not just scientists, recognize their emotions and bias and challenge their own arguments against these (I.e. am I just making this argument because I feel defensive?)

You’ve got to keep in mind that everyone doesn’t feel the same. I personally feel gross having anything to do with leather because I can’t shake the feeling it’s a corpse’s skin. It would be the same to me if it was a dead human’s skin.

I’m not asking for understanding on how I feel, but more just understanding that maybe natural leather is the best option for most people right now in terms of environmental impact - but it’s important we develop other solutions too and try to make them more environmentally over time, because not everyone is the same.

Yeah this drives me crazy. I grew up where the old white men loved boating and fishing in the rivers, bringing the family out to enjoy nature. Now that it’s all getting contaminated and turning gross, even the dumbest person who actually valued ‘conserving’ would realise we actually have to do something.

Instead, we’ve got billboards up and down the country trashing the Paris agreement and the old white men are only interested in attacking the other tribe. Not a hint of concern for the environment. They’re not interested in conserving anything other than their social status and corresponding power.

Sure! Big cities can be super isolating, especially if you:

• don’t drink
• don’t enjoy clubbing
• don’t drink coffee
• don’t play or enjoy sports
• live in one of the ‘less desirable’ areas, due to living costs or proximity to work.

Even when some of these weren’t true for me, people who are well established in large cities generally have well established social groups and, although they might be lovely people and very welcoming, aren’t really in the market for proper friendships. Those who are also new to the city like you are very prone to move on themselves within a year or so.

Conversely, people in rural areas are simply desperate for friends. Within 2 months of moving to the country, we had different 2 couples who made it clear they wanted to give being friends a proper go - simply because they are desperate and we seem like we’re on a similar vibe. There’s definitely much less variety in sports, especially high level stuff, but conversely (as you said) we now have much easier access to great hikes/day walks. People here are also significantly more likely to be interested in gardening, pickling, jam making, bread making - all the self-sufficiency stuff. Much less of a “grindset” which can be super exhausting. Oh! People in rural areas also seem to be more likely to like board games, which my partner loves.

Don’t get me wrong, I love big cities - the amazing food, the great public transport (I LOATHE driving), the culture and events. Everything has pros and cons though.

Love this. Where is this? I’m trying to convince local people that we can develop less car-centric spaces in rural areas and I’d love more examples to use

I’ve lived in 4 of the biggest cities in the world and I’ve just hit 30 and moved rural - smaller cities are best for socialising, but depending on your hobbies rural can be better than big cities. Completely agree that walkability is key, just adding nuance that I don’t agree that cities in general are great like I used to - it can be very hard to live a nice life in a major city

I agree with everything you said apart from the last bit. “even rich people can be idiots” implies that they are less likely to be idiots than your average Joe.

You’re assuming that jobs are allocated to people/AI based on merit or competence or some other logical metric.

Just like the correlation between the cost of a product and it’s quality, these used to be true, but have become increasingly decoupled or even inversely correlated as marketing and sales tactics (or more simply, propoganda) have become more and more effective.

Edit : my bad, I didn’t read your entire comment properly. Yeah, I think companies that hire people and only use AI sparingly will survive better. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the majority of the global economy to collapse beforehand though

Yeah that’s true

Yeah it is insane how many of them have no higher education, or conversely simply got a PhD and have never worked in industry before

I mean, yes, but not nearly as much

Na they’re long - they’re sitting 2 rows back /s

Don’t worry buddy, I get it. I feel the same way about USA