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Protester shot in chest by live police round during Hong Kong protests

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628 points nodea2345 | 7 comments | 01 Oct 19 11:19 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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loquor ◴[01 Oct 19 16:03 UTC] No.21126953[source]▶
This might sound alarmist, but do you think China is the biggest upcoming global problem after climate change? For two reasons:

1. China has a totalitarian ruling system. They intend to realize George Orwell's 1984.

2. Present-day China essentially has no ethics. Take the US in comparison. No matter how perverse the people in power become and even if they do messed up things, the US has some founding morals and principles they do not forget. China, in comparison, systematically rooted out these values since the Great Leap Forward. The happenings at Hong Kong and Xinjiang epitomize that.

I do think China's expansionist policy bodes poorly for all of humanity.

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new2628 ◴[01 Oct 19 16:51 UTC] No.21127627[source]▶
> biggest upcoming global problem after climate change?

maybe, but climate change is around number 20 in that list for me.

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uoaei ◴[01 Oct 19 17:02 UTC] No.21127748[source]▶
You're lucky you get to die soon enough for that to be appropriate.
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new2628 ◴[01 Oct 19 17:12 UTC] No.21127877[source]▶
Not sure what you are trying to say here.
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1. orthecreedence ◴[01 Oct 19 17:25 UTC] No.21128034[source]▶
He's saying you don't have to worry because by the time it gets really bad, it will be someone else's problem. Which is exactly how we got into this mess in the first place.
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2. uoaei ◴[01 Oct 19 17:34 UTC] No.21128164[source]▶
The reticence of politicians to address climate change is strongly correlated with their age.

Of course there are outliers but it seems clear that "I'm not going to be alive when the shit hits the fan" does a lot to assuage existential anxieties related to climate change.

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3. new2628 ◴[01 Oct 19 17:42 UTC] No.21128281[source]▶
Blaming the elderly here seems misguided to me.

I suspect the lifestyle of an average 20-year-old today puts much more burden on the environment/climate than the lifestyle of their parents in their twenties.

ADD: The amount of time each spends _talking_ about climate change is a different matter of course.

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4. uoaei ◴[01 Oct 19 18:54 UTC] No.21129205{3}[source]▶
Comparing the behavior of people now to people 20-40 years ago seems dishonest. Many new technologies have prevailed since then, and cultures around consumption have rapidly shifted.

We should consider instead the current consumption habits of both cohorts for an appropriate comparison.

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5. philipkglass ◴[01 Oct 19 19:11 UTC] No.21129382{3}[source]▶
At least with regard to Americans, your suspicion is incorrect.

American CO2 emissions per capita reached their highest level in the 1970s and declined later:

https://knoema.com/atlas/United-States-of-America/CO2-emissi...

6. new2628 ◴[01 Oct 19 19:12 UTC] No.21129389{4}[source]▶
I don't think the climate cares much about our technologies and cohorts. A ton of CO2 is a ton of CO2. Since you claimed I was arguing dishonestly, I withdraw from the discussion.
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7. uoaei ◴[01 Oct 19 22:18 UTC] No.21131393{5}[source]▶
Different technologies emit CO2 at different rates. Different technologies are prevalent in society at different times. That's my only point.

Didn't mean to make it sound so harsh, "dishonest" wasn't meant to be a reflection of your intention. I chose the wrong word.