colorless green ideas

population and climate control

jeffzie:

abbyjean:

Thomas Wire of the London School of Economics published a study concluding that improved family planning is one of the most effective methods of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions we’ve got. This is something that sustainable-growth advocates have realized for a long time, but the actual numbers are startling: Reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies out there—calculated on the basis of “unmet need,” or women who want contraception but currently don’t have access —is roughly five times as cost-effective as deploying low-carbon technologies like wind, solar, and carbon sequestration. (Lydia DePillis via yglesias)

the problem isn’t that we don’t have the technology to meet and resolve many of today’s social problem’s — the problem is we live in a democracy where the vast majority of people seem to take great pride in being dumb as fuck (look at the health care debate in the states. need i say more?). so technology, or lack of technology, in my mind, isn’t the real problem.  the real problem is ignorance.