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Because of the worrying picture titlesâŚ
A paper published yesterday in the journal Environment and Urbanization shows that the places where population has been growing fastest are those in which carbon dioxide has been growing most slowly, and vice versa. Between 1980 and 2005, for example, Sub-Saharan Africa produced 18.5% of the worldâs population growth and just 2.4% of the growth in CO2. North America turned out 4% of the extra people, but 14% of the extra emissions. Sixty-three per cent of the worldâs population growth happened in places with very low emissions(2).
Even this does not capture it. The paper points out that around one sixth of the worldâs population is so poor that it produces no significant emissions at all. This is also the group whose growth rate is likely to be highest. Households in India earning less than 3,000 rupees a month use a fifth of the electricity per head and one seventh of the transport fuel of households earning Rs30,000 or more. Street sleepers use almost nothing. Those who live by processing waste (a large part of the urban underclass) often save more greenhouse gases than they produce.
While thereâs a weak correlation between global warming and population growth, thereâs a strong correlation between global warming and wealth. Iâve been taking a look at a few superyachts, as Iâll need somewhere to entertain Labour ministers in the style to which theyâre accustomed. First I went through the plans for Royal Falcon Fleetâs RFF135, but when I discovered that it burns only 750 litres of fuel per hour(5) I realised that it wasnât going to impress Lord Mandelson. I might raise half an eyebrow in Brighton with the Overmarine Mangusta 105, which sucks up 850 l/hr(6). But the raft thatâs really caught my eye is made by Wally Yachts in Monaco. The WallyPower 118 (which gives total wallies a sensation of power) consumes 3400 l/hr when travelling at 60 knots(7). Thatâs nearly one litre per second. Another way of putting it is 31 litres per kilometre.
Of course to make a real splash Iâll have to shell out on teak and mahogany fittings, carry a few jet skis and a mini-submarine, ferry my guests to the marina by private plane and helicopter, offer them bluefin tuna sushi and beluga caviar and drive the beast so fast that I mash up half the marine life of the Mediterranean. As the owner of one of these yachts Iâll do more damage to the biosphere in ten minutes than most Africans inflict in a lifetime. Now weâre burning, baby.
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Thank you.
I agree with you, especially on the empowering wimmin (including increasing literacy and numeracy) as a well-proven path to lower birthrates.
I pulled these offa some dang interwebs article a while back, and did not rename the image files.
Ecofascism is a thing. I have had to push hard against it here in my own neighborhood, where âperfectly normalâ white folks with college degrees and kids and jobs and stuff say things that are waaaaaaaaaay deep into overpopulation tropes territory. As a child of two immigrants from two very different countries, I feel it is on me to push back.
Thanks again.
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Written in 2018. It ainât better in 2022. Some of the stuff that got criminalized (sharing food indoors, to name but one) is just plain anti-human. Just wow:
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[âŚ]
Auxin Solarâs petition prompted the department to launch a probe into whether US solar companies are skirting decade-old tariffs on Chinese solar imports. Solar installers, which compose much of the US industry, are threatened with tariffs up to 250%.
Critically, levies may be imposed retroactively on installersâ purchases â a possibility that is grinding the American solar industry to a halt.
[âŚ]
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Finally, the fish will be healthy! 
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Bonefish off the coast of Florida have tested positive for a cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs
They used to be called âlimpfishâ before the Viagra.
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My doctor has been telling me to eat more fishâŚ
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Lucky you, having a doctor whoâs found a way to keep your prescription costs down.
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