Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could make climate crisis worse

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by FiniteField on Friday August 18, 2023 @03:32PM (#37180916)

To add onto this comment, saying "having children is the worst thing for the climate" is a totally defeatist attitude towards the issue. What people are saying is "human life is incompatible with the Earth so we should stop perpetuating it". We might as well count our living selves alongside hypothetical future children and all kill ourselves now if that's the case. Of course, the people espousing this message are pretty much exclusively talking to western/European people, who are in almost all cases already giving birth at far below-replacement levels.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by convolvatron on Friday August 18, 2023 @03:51PM (#37181179)

none of these arguments are useful if they are all phrased in terms of two absolutes. we could clearly chart a middle course between breeding as much as possible and lying down and dying.

ignoring our apparent inability to do anything at all about anything of course

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by antisthenes on Friday August 18, 2023 @04:07PM (#37181389)

> none of these arguments are useful if they are all phrased in terms of two absolutes. we could clearly chart a middle course between breeding as much as possible and lying down and dying.

That's also primarily an American issue. They tend to view everything through the lens of 2 political camps and "whose side are you on?".

That kind of view is completely antithetical to actually solving problems.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by ilyt on Friday August 18, 2023 @05:42PM (#37182542)

And makes any discussion absolutely obnoxious with the usual "if you don't agree you must be on the other side and be the enemy"

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by cmrdporcupine on Sunday August 20, 2023 @10:33PM (#37204884)

I always wonder if it's related somehow to the deep imprint that organized professional team sports, especially football, seems to have on the US psyche.

Yeah, hockey is popular here in Canada, but it's not nearly on the same level as the NFL in the US. And "college sports" etc. is not even a thing. I feel like the American mindset is ever more leaning towards framing everything in a "my team vs your team" dynamic.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by thefz on Friday August 18, 2023 @04:28PM (#37181657)

> saying "having children is the worst thing for the climate" is a totally defeatist attitude towards the issue

But, spreadsheet at hand, it is.

It's always the parents that get offended by this. We are not judging anyone's lifestyle. Relax.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by olddustytrail on Friday August 18, 2023 @04:45PM (#37181868)

It really isn't though. Spreadsheet at hand, having American children is.

It's always the Americans that get offended by this. Relax. It just happens to be your fault.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by thefz on Friday August 18, 2023 @05:34PM (#37182444)

Not American, sorry.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by olddustytrail on Friday August 18, 2023 @05:35PM (#37182468)

No worries. You're probably only 40% responsible baby.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by truculent on Friday August 18, 2023 @05:13PM (#37182182)

If we're attributing the carbon emissions of children to their parents, then we can pass the buck all the way back up to a handful of apes that decided to descend from the trees.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Dirty downside of 'return to office'; ending WFH could ma... by ilyt on Friday August 18, 2023 @05:41PM (#37182531)

Right. But to many "saving the future" is to have good future for their children.

Saying that basically sounds like saying "don't have children peasants, so our the world is better for our overlord's children"

[ Parent | on HN ]