Bear poops in woods, some observers say

Posted by David Roberts at 5:33 PM on 10 Mar 2008

Read more about: climate | climate equity | greenhouse-gas emissions

Check out the "story highlights" on top of this CNN piece:

• World's poor are disproportionately affected by climate change, analysts say
• Low-income groups have comparatively little influence on public policy
• Burden of climate change rests with wealthy individuals, some observers say

Interesting that "some observers" are the only support for that third bullet.

What if you added a first premise: "Wealthy individuals are responsible for a disproportionate amount of total greenhouse gas emissions." (Princeton's Stephen Pacala says the world's richest 7% are responsible for 50% of GHGs.) Then doesn't the last bullet follow from simple deductive reasoning? No observers necessary.

For story: Bear poops in woods, some observers say
7 Comments | Post a Comment

Bear In the Woods, consumption and emissions

Good post; it hits the nail on the head. I am fully convinced that the world's affluent (which probably includes most all of us on the Internet) are creating the most emissions. So I cultivate a relatively low-consumption lifestyle . . . . and am one of the happiest people I know. That is the focus of my blog, in fact, called Diamond-Cut Life. Come visit at http://alison97215.wordpress.com and add your voice.

best regards,
Alison Wiley
Portland, Oregon

by Alison Wiley at 8:46 PM on 10 Mar 2008

The "wealthy"

The incontrovertible logic of this post self-evidently militates that mankind needs a new concept regarding the accumulation of "wealth"; something very different from the prevailing debasement of the concept "freedom", which demeans what should be a purely spiritual, intellectual concept into a gutter material money-grubbing one.
Anyone who cares about mankind has to recognize that:
1.The globe must radically decrease its co2 ems.
2.Many in the developing world are still in the state of -need-, and therefore must increase their impacts.
3.By contrast, the 1st world, and especially America, is hideously bloated beyond any sane measure of needs. It exists in an insane world of desire which can never be sated, which only feeds upon itself.
Therefore: 4.If sanity is to exist, it can begin only with a radical anti-materialist program starting right here in Gomorrah.

That's why I advocate cleaning America's house first.

by Russ at 5:46 AM on 11 Mar 2008

Much as I agree with Russ --

I must suggest that there's something wrong with this conception of life:

2.Many in the developing world are still in the state of -need-, and therefore must increase their impacts.

First off, "many in the developing world" start to look like ideological pawns, first off, when we recall that this "development" that we once thought was such a good thing for the "developing world" is actually that force which is wiping out their ecosystems.

Secondly, "the state of -need-" was in fact imposed upon the incipient working classes in China, India, Africa, South America and elsewhere. They were cut off from their traditional means of subsistence and obliged to live in slums adjoining big cities where their actual means of subsistence vary from slim to none. Manila, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, you name it -- check out Jeremy Seabrook's ethnographic gloss titled Victims of Development or Mike Davis' Planet of Slums if you want this presented in human terms.

The vast bulk of present-day increases in human population goes on in these slums. Future societies will have to transition quickly back to a subsistence perspective befitting a subsistence way of life. This will mean less, and not more, impact, and this will apply to practically everyone. There's a whole ton of "impact" in having UNICEF feed people that can be reduced by granting them the resources to feed themselves.

http://www.dailykos.com/User/Cassiodorus

by LegumeSam at 6:42 AM on 11 Mar 2008
[ Parent ]

clarification

I was unclear when I referred to the developing world in my previous post, as legumesam pointed out. I was referring to actual needs of enough food, clean water, decent housing, adequate inexpensive medicine, and most of all self-control of the people over their own destiny.
I wasn't for a moment suggesting they should achieve the sodomite western lifestyle. On the contrary, I want the sin city scaled DOWN.

by Russ at 7:01 AM on 11 Mar 2008

If no one smells it?

Mass media delusion covers it all up. Most people do not notice the effects of GHG climate change.

So the denialist propaganda says, it needs more study. And it is too expensive to fix, dealing with the eventual effects, if any, is much less disruptive to the economy.

So just ignore it, but try not to step in it. Stay inside in the air conditioning, in your bunker, safe from the 300 mph tornados. On high ground, away from the coasts. hoarding canned goods, ammunition, and gold. No problem.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 8:14 AM on 11 Mar 2008

Rules for the slacker journalist

The lazy news producer's rule: If you want to put out something you think is fact but don't want to bother coming up with an actual source, just make up an attribution like "supporters say" or "critics say" (or in this case, "observers say").

Join the discussion on global warming, recycling, and organic beer at The Green Miles!

by TheGreenMiles at 9:11 AM on 11 Mar 2008

City Slums

Dear LegumeSam,

The conditions of the poor, while not ideal, are not the same in China as in other developing nations.

We should also be clear about what we mean about subsistence. Most poor people are looking for decent shelter, a steady food supply (breaking the cycle of famine), education, health care, electricity, clean water and reliable transportation.

All of which will require more energy than they currently have access to. Off course, there are many models for achieving this. (smile).

patrick in Beijing

by bookerly at 8:58 PM on 15 Mar 2008

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