Re: [sudo-discuss] DystopiaNews: Veggie-meat: you don't have to eat bugs.

YOs- "...food embargo..." and "stand up to the systematic starvation of poor cities and countries around the world." Exactly. The world is overpopulated and overconsuming, but the major axis of trouble isn't sheer quantity of food as such, but energy, specifically fossil fuels. Atmospheric CO2 levels just topped 400 ppm in a recent measurement. This is danger-zone territory. And the science on this is conclusive: last year an honest climate skeptic at Cal Berkeley got oil company funding to run the research according to his own methodology, and he also came up with the conclusion that human activity is causing global mean temperature rise and climate change. There are no viable counter-hypotheses at this point. When women have equal rights, birth rates drop to sustainable levels, and economic prosperity occurs. So the solution to the overpopulation part of the equation is global feminism, enforced by "whatever means are necessary." We can't continue to tolerate the oppression and subjugation of women across a large swath of the globe. For moral reasons, and also for reasons of sustainability. Overconsumption is also a tough nut to crack. If China's automobile ownership per capita sought to reach America's, there would not be enough iron ore in the Earth's crust to do the job. Arguably, every human deserves access to a certain minimum material standard of living, that includes safe clean drinking water, sanitation, housing, food, education, medical care, and communication. But we are going to have to make major changes to get from here to there. At a global population of about 1 billion, American lifestyle for all is sustainable. At a global population of 2 - 3 billion, Western European lifestyle. At 4 - 5 billion, Eastern European lifestyle: and that's pretty good, look at Poland. At 6 - 7 billion, the sustainable standard of living is Cuba. Everyone has access to the necessities of life, but luxuries are few and far between, and a strict regime enforces it. So here's a challenge: monitor your energy consumption (electricity, natural gas, petrol) and seek to reduce it as far as reasonably possible. Keep records. Note what works. For group living situations, divide electricity & gas by the number of people to get consumption per person per month. One reasonable goal is to get electricity down to less than 125 KWH per month per person. This is easy enough to monitor via your electric bill (and you don't need a surveillance-enabled "smart" meter to do it). For folks who work from home, it's useful to split out the portion of the bill that's work-related, to clarify what's "personal" and what's "work." Total energy impact from work includes commuting if any, as well as electric power consumption for desk-work or power tools. One thing that's useful for monitoring power consumption of specific devices, is a "Kill-A-Watt" meter. This is a plug-in device that measures kilowatt hours for various devices at the AC power outlet. Cost is about $15 - 20. SudoRoom could buy a couple of these and lend them out to members. But there's one thing the world can't afford. More about that in my next email... -G. ===== On 13-05-16-Thu 12:46 PM, Andrew wrote: