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Comment by lunarboy | Hacker News Reader

This is something I struggle with profoundly daily. Yes, my "individual" action as a 1 in 8 billion people, or 1 in 300 million Americans isn't going to move the needle. Large scale governmental and corporate action is needed. But how do you expect that to happen if not enough people want it and show they want it?

I see people near me casually flying to Europe for a ski, raving about A5 Wagyu or Uni from Japan or some shit, etc. All of these are undoubtedly adding to the demand, so why would the companies stop? (Of course its because they fail to factor in the long-term cost of there will be less customers if humans can't live on this planet anymore)

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Could there a be a future where consumption is met with equal parts restoration and environmental investment by the companies themselves? I'd like a progressive system where whole foods nutrition, clean water, shelter, and medical care is subsidized below cost, but then everything else requires us to pony up when purchasing.

That's the only system that will work. Environmental impacts need to be in the product price and the company on the hook for disposal.

But because that would increase costs the lobbyists forbid it. Plus you would probably need a tarrif system on top to prevent cheap dirty foreign goods from replacing all your domestic manufacture.

Money,societal status, denial, just don’t give a shit are all reasons why nothing gets done. Pretty sad. It will only change when something like India or some other hot country has a wet bulb massive human and animal die off.

I doubt even an event like that will honestly change much.

It will only change once people lose money and freedom. Once climate change impacts the economy negatively enough.

Ministry for the Future? I found that book to be scarily plausible.

Yup, another thing these first world countries don't seem to get: they have dropping birthrates, while other places with lower standards of living don't seem to be slowing down. When these regions get too hot or unpredictable to live, where would the refugees want to go?

Westerners will say they care about these things but I don't think a million people dying in a heatwave in Bangladesh or India will do anything to curb their behavior or drive them to action.

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