Discuss here or in the Lame Jokes thread....?

[Johnny Yuma]

From a letter to the Editor in NYT recently: "We are addicted to fossil fuels, de-forestation and over population. Addressing global warming via technology...is like asking a bartender to help with alcoholism"

So...mods, need to move it to the correct thread section ?

 

[russ_watters]

If you want to discuss it at all, you're going to have to provide a question to answer or thesis to debate.

 

[Johnny Yuma]

So, my education topped out as graduating from high school in 1958 with a C average.

This is probably not a thesis...but maybe a thesicle...? The question would be...is the comparison valid... or does anyone else consider this a joke... as nothing will ever be done to fix the problem.

 

[russ_watters]

The question would be...is the comparison valid... or does anyone else consider this a joke... as nothing will ever be done to fix the problem.

I don't think it's a joke. And since bartenders are in fact required by law to address and prevent overconsumption of alcohol, I don't think it leads to the conclusion the writer intended. It's catchy but mis-applied.

More specific to the problem; technology obviously does provide solutions to the problems humans created with it.

P.S. The only entrance qualification to PF is the ability to write in English. We don't check resumes.

 

[jack action]

And since bartenders are in fact required by law to address and prevent overconsumption of alcohol, I don't think it leads to the conclusion the writer intended.

It's not because it is required by law that it is an efficient solution.

We are addicted to fossil fuels, de-forestation and over population.

More specific to the problem; technology obviously does provide solutions to the problems humans created with it.

For the problem at hand, I think the dangerous addiction is the one to work. People cannot stop working and therefore the level of resource spending never decreases, no matter how efficient the work is. You made an engine more fuel-efficient or a light bulb wasting less energy for the same luminosity? Instead of enjoying the economy and working less, people continue working as hard they used to and get "more" for their money. They might have more, but they still haven't reduced their resource consumption. Thinking that there is some magic power source that will balance itself and forever be renewable on a grand scale is, in my honest opinion, wishful thinking.

Accepting to work less and accepting to live within the level of comfort it gives us is probably the only way we can resolve such problems as global warming. It all starts with how much you work.

 

[fxstsb]

If you want to discuss it at all, you're going to have to provide a question to answer or thesis to debate.

what has three sides and two endpoints?

 

[Bandersnatch]

what has three sides and two endpoints?

A ménage à trois?

 

[JesseProbst]

I have no tangency between your last 2 messages and the idea of deforestation and overpopulation.

 

[fxstsb]

A ménage à trois?

That was humorous

 

[fxstsb]

So, my education topped out as graduating from high school in 1958 with a C average.

This is probably not a thesis...but maybe a thesicle...? The question would be...is the comparison valid... or does anyone else consider this a joke... as nothing will ever be done to fix the problem.

A ridiculous comparison is often the most interesting.

 

[JesseProbst]

Uhm, thanks, I got it!

 

[DaveC426913]

"We are addicted to fossil fuels, de-forestation and over population. Addressing global warming via technology...is like asking a bartender to help with alcoholism"

"Technology" does not simply mean "energy-consuming, smoke-belching machines".

A lot of 21st century technology is being developed expressly to

• wean us off fossil fuels,
• develop sustainable building materials,
• provide education and quality of life to developing nations (which is shown to help reduce population growth), and
• sequester carbon

I see the future of technology to be filled with micro-powered, invisible, ubiquitous devices that directly help peoples of developing nations (by purifying water sources, fending off diseases in humans and foods, eye health, tooth health, etc.)

eg. Someone made a cheap, disposable glasses-like device for improving vision that costs pennies by designing it to be made on local low-tech equipment, saving on shipping and replacement costs.
(IIRC it's like a template - printable on scrap cardboard - that is made into a pair of glasses.)

 

[JesseProbst]

I like and agree with whachu say. However, I'm afraid that not everybody thinks so and votes for eco-friendly solutions. Moreover, I read different sources and statistics and concluded that the population growth consists of untaught communities (for example, African areas). They don't know what dangers represent climate change because of all these problems with environmental issues, consumption and conservation of natural resources, fossil fuels...

 

[JesseProbst]

Don't you agree with me that the population growth concentrates on "untaught communities"?