Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
A crime against humanity would be to have a great resource, and keep it locked away.
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This has been on my mind for quite some time. If the use of the great resource means that the happiness of all of humanity in the future is jeopardized, does that justify its use? Those who, like yourself, believe that technology will progress sufficiently in the future to overcome any of the associated problems that could arise from burning fossil fuels as our primary energy source will probably answer "yes" (I think?). I vacillate between "yes" and "no" depending what mood I'm in--sometimes I think there are too many unknowns to arrive at a satisfactory answer to that question; sometimes I think it's quite clear what the trends in our planetary environment will be in the future given our activities now, but with no certainty of timescale; occasionally I wonder if we could have some sort of technological breakthrough or sea change in the near future that will change the game entirely; most of the time, I realize that my individual actions today make not one bit of difference either way.
But, it's fun to listen to the rest of you argue, so keep on. Although I don't think any of you are changing anyone else's mind here.