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Surely you can think of some more alternatives.

If the alternatives had broader appeal, they would be more popular. However at this juncture, they don't. Ads mean free stuff. Ad blockers mean better free stuff. Academic arguments about externalities will be brushed away because "free stuff".

What you're looking for is a regulatory solution. E.g. people will not individually choose a lower carbon lifestyle in sufficient numbers to reverse/slow climate change. You need to actively discourage it by policy.

I find the mainstream ads far more offensive than the ones that are accurately targeted towards me.

Hint: the alternatives don't involve ads.

YouTube has a paid option and even here on HN, the mecca of anti-ad sentiment, people openly admit to using ad blockers there instead even though that means the creators they're watching do not get paid.

Hint: People are cheap. They want free stuff, not paid alternatives.

I agree it's challenging, but that doesn't stop me wishing for a world where stalking everybody on the planet, publishing outrage-bait, and spreading conspiracy theories is not a massively profitable business.

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