Are We Too Stupid to Manage the Planet? (Podcast)
Are human beings too stupid to manage the planet? Just asking the question invokes some misplaced conceit; we’ve wreaked havoc on the Earth largely because of our assumption that Earth is all about us. The truth is, we have no business trying to “manage” the planet. But, the scale of the human enterprise has become so gargantuan, that – in many respects – we ARE managing the planet (managing it into oblivion).
In the newest episode of the GrowthBusters podcast, we discuss a Raw Story interview with the great, great grandson of Charles Darwin. One of Chris Darwin’s thoughts is that we are poorly equipped to manage the planet. Of course he is right. Chris has launched an app called Darwin Challenge (link below). He’s also focusing a lot of attention on the destructive, unsustainable nature of our appetite for meat.
Listen to this episode of the podcast and find out what the GrowthBusters team thinks about managing the planet, the importance of veganism, and the role of human numbers in the sustainability of human civilization. In the process you’ll learn about a few cool apps, plus the role of batteries, cell phones and air conditioning in achieving a sustainable lifestyle.
Share Your Opinion: I’d like to find out what you think we’re doing right on this podcast, and I’d like to know what bugs you, what you wish we’d do, or what you think we could do better. I invite you to join a one-time listener focus group, to share your thoughts. If you’d be willing to give us your opinion, please send me an email and I’ll send you details on how you can participate.
LINKS:
Go Green & Celebrate Nature With These 5 Apps
Tags: podcast, sustainability, Transition, veganism
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Dave Gardner
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Interesting followup to Kaitlyn’s mention of air conditioning in our Lightening the Load segment: The World Wants Air-Conditioning. That Could Warm the World. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/climate/air-conditioning.html
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Brian Sanderson
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Hey, “We need a great leader… but (s)he won’t be a politician”. What nonsense. We have Justin Trudeau! And he says “Sunny ways”. And everyone swooned. And all is well…
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Brian Sanderson
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It does not matter how smart you are: “You cannot manage a planet”. It’s nothing to do with intelligence. It’s everything to do with nonlinear dynamical systems. It is important to understand the mathematics and physics.
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Brian Sanderson
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Regarding the rapid growth rate on USA population: it is entirely due to immigration. USA fertility rate is below replacement and has been for some time. Indeed, migrants are a factor that prevents USA fertility rate from being even lower! When viewed in a quantitative way, Donald Trump (anti-abortion and anti-immigration) causes less population growth than Obama (pro immigration)!
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Renée Neumann
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Our generation needs more Edward Abbey’s, people who are willing to take somewhat more extreme steps to get across the message to the masses how crucial it is that we all reduce/recycle/refuse to save our planet. Also, education is the key along with legislation: plastic bags are not polluting the oceans and killing sea life; it is those who are dumping them who are causing that particular problem. Also, I’ve been taking a thermos with me to work and in my car daily, filled with cold water. Why can’t everyone do the same and not only save money but eliminate the disposal problem of those godawful plastic “disposable” bottles? My final comment is: Please stop wasting all our time talking about living without air conditioning. Yes, all homes and offices should use the fan function in central air to save on energy, and in one’s home it’s often feasible to use well-placed fans around the home instead of A/C if it’s not too hot. But so many people now live in dry areas where it is over 95 degrees F for much of the year, or wetter areas over 85F and humid, so when anyone brings up the idea of living without air conditioning, I and many others automatically tune them out. And, Dave, you have to keep your car engine running with the A/C on whenever you’re in your car because it’s too damn hot outside in much/most of the country much/most of the year to do otherwise! We need to find realistic solutions, and I’ve suggested several here. Thanks for everything that Growthbusters is doing.
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Dave Gardner
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Thanks so much for the feedback, Renée. I know there are indeed situations where staying in a car for 5 minutes w/o the A/C running would be miserable. But there are so many parts of the world and so many months of the year where/when it is not that hot, yet people just idle away. Makes me crazy!
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Renée Neumann
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Thanks to everyone involved in getting these podcasts out there this past year! They are helpful, useful and much appreciated.
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