I'm sorry, MaryE, the point of your post is, what?
Since nothing we do will in any way affect a neutron star in the Pegasus galaxy, it doesn't matter if we let 30,000 children starve to death every day.
Since nothing I do will in any way affect the dark matter and energy which makes up maybe 90% of the mass of the universe, it really doesn't matter if I beat up my wife, and rape my daughters.
Strangely enough, I find yours a rather empty philosophy.
Oliver, thanks for the link. My analogy was 3% out.

Grim, your answers have all pretty well been figured out by
evolutionary psychology.

At the end of the day, you will act in the self interest of
you and your family. Whilst resources are plentiful, you won't
mind sharing them, but if the crunch comes, and it is you
and your family or them, you will choose your family.

Ummm Grim, I could not possibly think of a more twisted, invalid, inaccurate reading of a post than your reading of my post. You seem to strangely "imply" that because I realise we are inconsequential to the totality of the universe, that it therefore follows that I don't care if "30,000 children starve to death every day" or if you "beat up your wife or rape your daughters". That implication is soooooooooo utterly offensive and ignorant that I won't give it the worth of a detailed reply ....... because it doesn't deserve it.

The philosophy you mentioned is not 'philosophy', it's FACT. Please look up the two words in a dictionary, it might help you.

Grim, I don’t think our great great grandchildren will have any more of an issue with us than we had with ours. We can look harshly at almost every nation over the past 3,000 years of written history, and we can be critical from modern perspectives. In the end we must accept that good, bad and indifferent things were done through every period in our history, with the 20-20 hindsight of course.

IMO, the problems we have today are less to do with the word “problem” and more to do with “quantified”.

I use your case as an example. The case you make is basically that the depletion of non-renewables will leave future generations without them, and the lack of focus on non-renewables will leave us exposed to criticism by future generations. I agree it is both a problem and a concern, the question is, how big a concern.

As history shows, it is quantifiable risk that forces us to “engineer” the problem away. We might not know precisely what those solutions might be, but they will be developed long before we exhaust natural resources.

We do not even know that future generations (100 to 200 years out) will need fossil fuels, they may well criticize us for using them, most likely will laugh at us the same way we laugh at our forebears’ wooden ships and steam trains.

As for renewable power generation? I think this is a very dangerous distraction from the real energy solution. In a UK study on this subject, the maximum feasible contribution from “all” renewable resources is 12kw per person per day. The baseline requirement is 127 kw p.p/day. Less then 10% renewable contribution, so why do I suggest it is a dangerous distraction? Because in Australia we are about to legislate 20% in the MRET, totally unrealistic but is makes us “feel good”. If we allow the feel good to stop us developing a realistic low carbon future, then that really is something we will be held accountable for

This Article Is A Topic That Relates To The Forgotten Australians

as This Is A Part Of Our History That The Goverment Has Finally Come To Acknowledge,

Mr Rudd Yesterday 30th August Through Jenny Macklin On Sky News And In The News Papers ,Said Mr Rudd Will Apologize To The Forgotten Australians

Victims Who Were Abused And Suffered Some Of The Most Horriffisc Crimes Against Children While In The States And Territories Institutions,Of Australia ,

These Are Orphanages ,Girls Homes , Boys Homes , Remand Centres , State Ward Homes , Foster Homes , Out Of Home Care, Holding Cells , State Church Run Homes ,Of Which We Are Still Waiting For The Catholic Church And The Uniting Church And The Church Of England To acknowledge us Victims ,

So Mr Rudd Should Be Putting The Pressure Now On The Churches To Apologize To The Forgotten Australians

We Are Real Victims Of The System That Abused Us We Will No Longer Be forgotten Anymore

Our Apology Has Been Noted And Will Be Given Sometime Soon

By Our Prime Minister

Houellebecq“'What would happen if a handful of individuals (say 5%) tried to monopolise 50% of the island's resources, and allowed the other 95% of islanders, to share the rest?'

Not much if they had big enough guns.

Delusions of grandeur. Every generation thinks they are living in the most 'stand out' period. The tide will wash your sand castles away like all those before you.”

Ha ha (Barbara - have I seen your show?) you crack me up.. and you are getting better at it LOL… I have been particularly heartened and agree with many of your recent posts.

Of course it was Lenin who wrote
“One man with a gun can control 100 without one. “

That is the politics which Grim espouses…. Deny the natural processes of libertarian capitalism, replace them with the oppressive yoke of collectivism, by whatever name it is called.

What Grims theories deny is: the planning and initiative exercised by the 5% is what feeds the 95% in the first place, collectivism will see the 95% kill the 5% and proceed to starve one another to death helped by politicians like Lenin and the other putrid swill…

It is all in the history books, look up: Lenin, Kulaks and mass starvation, Russia 1920’s
http://economics.gmu.edu/bcaplan/museum/his1g.htm

Of course, Lenin is also quoted as inventing the phrase
“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”

The objective of collectivism, socialism or communism (call it what you will) is the oppression of the individual for the benefit of the state and through that process they reduce life to mere existence, innovation to indolence and human progress thrown into regression.

Just look at Cambodia, destroy the educated, turn off the clock and pretend nothing existed before the Khymer Rouge because any comparison would reveal them as despicable murderers.

And we have Grim complaining about his lot in the land of “Cornucopia”.