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Originally Posted by redpoint5

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with children working... it's the dangerous working conditions or trading long term benefits like education for short term ones like cash now, that are the issue. Unfortunately Congo needs the cash now more than it needs to know trigonometry. It may even need the cash more than it needs working conditions we would perceive as acceptable. Things like education and better working conditions are luxuries to pursue once you've solved how you're going to eat in the short to medium term, and how to keep a roof over your head.

In my utopia, we'd send over civil and environmental engineers to plan resource extraction, and we'd send over healthcare OSHA professionals to minimize undue suffering, but the fact is that Congo is an independent nation, and we don't have the authority to dictate minimum health, wage, and working conditions. They are responsible for that. Despite their suboptimal situation (to put it lightly), they still benefit more by selling the fruits of their labor than if there was no market for it.

I wish GDP and CO2 production were not tightly linked, and I expect that to slowly decouple over time, but we're just not there yet. My best guess as to the next 50 years involves an expansion of nuclear power. The philanthropist Bill Gates is pursuing that, and he's no dummy.

Correct.

Well.. on everything except 50 years, we can do better than that..