Thorsten
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Actually, I think casting this into the alternative 'either we have computers or we become hunter-gatherers sitting in caves' is nothing but a cheap rhethorical device to ridicule the others' position and not have to seriously discuss anything.
Reality is nothing like this, because it provides lots of other options.
To give an example from forestry: It is not true that we only have the options to leave the forest untouched and do hunting/gathering or to cut it down wholesale.
In reality, there's things called sustainable forest management which are designed to be close to how nature works. You do like nature does and just pull out a few trees every year. You keep a mixed tree population that way - both in terms of species and age cohort. You leave it to the trees to find which spot they grow and thrive rather than planting.
In reality, counted over a few decades, that leads to higher harvests than old-school managed forest with cutting down the whole lot and planting fast-growing monocultures supplied with fertilizer. Evolution knows pretty well how to make a well-working forest, and by staying close to that solution, you benefit in the long run. Trees grow better when they're sheltered by older trees. Disease doesn't spread so easily because different species grow adjacent to each other.
Similarly, just because I believe we don't have to mindlessly apply every bit of technology because we can doesn't mean I propose to forsake all technology.
And because some parts of the planet are only suitable for hunting/gathering/low level grazing and turn to desert if you try intensive farming doesn't mean I believe this for the whole planet.
We all have the tendency to want some things to be true and technology is great for each of us individually, so we want it to be okay continue to do what we're doing - I know that quite well.
But well, sometimes that blinds us to the facts. Making jokes, however funny, doesn't change that.
P.S.: I do grow and gather a sizable fraction of what I eat myself in a sustainable setup - getting better at this every year.
Reality is nothing like this, because it provides lots of other options.
To give an example from forestry: It is not true that we only have the options to leave the forest untouched and do hunting/gathering or to cut it down wholesale.
In reality, there's things called sustainable forest management which are designed to be close to how nature works. You do like nature does and just pull out a few trees every year. You keep a mixed tree population that way - both in terms of species and age cohort. You leave it to the trees to find which spot they grow and thrive rather than planting.
In reality, counted over a few decades, that leads to higher harvests than old-school managed forest with cutting down the whole lot and planting fast-growing monocultures supplied with fertilizer. Evolution knows pretty well how to make a well-working forest, and by staying close to that solution, you benefit in the long run. Trees grow better when they're sheltered by older trees. Disease doesn't spread so easily because different species grow adjacent to each other.
Similarly, just because I believe we don't have to mindlessly apply every bit of technology because we can doesn't mean I propose to forsake all technology.
And because some parts of the planet are only suitable for hunting/gathering/low level grazing and turn to desert if you try intensive farming doesn't mean I believe this for the whole planet.
We all have the tendency to want some things to be true and technology is great for each of us individually, so we want it to be okay continue to do what we're doing - I know that quite well.
But well, sometimes that blinds us to the facts. Making jokes, however funny, doesn't change that.
P.S.: I do grow and gather a sizable fraction of what I eat myself in a sustainable setup - getting better at this every year.