Downloading” of Human Brains Into Computers
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Statistical Analysis of Human Overpopulation and Its Impact on Sustainability
Statistical Analysis of Human Overpopulation and its Impact on Sustainability Susanne Bradley Abstract In this project, I examine the relationship between population size and resource use, with particular emphasis on carbon emissions. I use a combination of time series methods and regression analysis to obtain forecasts for global carbon emissions and energy use to the year 2060, taking into account population growth and economic development. In general, my predictions are consistent with predictions already made by different experts, though mine tend to be slightly more pessimistic. I end by addressing some potential ways to decrease population growth rates. 1 Introduction In the twentieth century, human population nearly quadrupled from 1.6 billion to 6.1 billion. Over that same period of time, global carbon consumption increased by a factor of twelve [1]. Population growth has begun to slow, especially in developed countries, but global population is not expected to reach peak levels for at least thirty years [2][3]. In light of these trends, a natural question to ask is whether the Earth can support these kinds of increases in both population and per capita consumption. The population aspect of this is important because if we assume that available resources are finite, then a smaller population size may not solve the problem of overconsumption but it will slow demand for resources and give us more time to develop sustainable long-term solutions. Despite the intuitively clear relationship between population and resource consumption, the issue of overpopulation is one that has been largely ignored in scientific circles since the 1970s [4]. -
'Ángeles O Robots', Una Ambiciosa Re Exión De Jordi Pigem Sobre La
20/11/2018 'Ángeles o robots', una ambiciosa reflexión de Jordi Pigem sobre la condición humana contemporánea | Mallorcactual.com mallorcactual.com Sábado, 03 de Noviembre de 2018 Libros 'Ángeles o robots', una ambiciosa reexión de Jordi Pigem sobre la condición humana contemporánea ¿Adónde nos está llevando la eclosión de nuevas tecnologías? ¿Siempre hacia el progreso, o a veces hacia un laberinto crecientemente deshumanizador? A estas dos preguntas intenta responder Ángeles o robots: La interioridad humana en la sociedad hipertecnológica, el nuevo libro del lósofo de la ciencia Jordi Pigem, que sale a la venta hoy mismo y que se presenta en Madrid el próximo 7 de noviembre. Ángeles o robots es una ambiciosa reexión sobre la condición humana contemporánea bajo el impacto de la crisis ecológica, de la crisis de los horizontes tradicionales de progreso y del impacto de las nuevas tecnologías en nuestra experiencia cotidiana. Una reexión que parte de la perspectiva de varias tradiciones espirituales (y muy especialmente de la encíclica Laudato si’), de las perspectivas de diversos lósofos (Guardini, Panikkar, Heidegger, Illich, Dreyfus, Taylor) y de distintas perspectivas tecnológicas y cientícas. De todo ello emerge un lúcido análisis de las tendencias que laten en el fondo del mundo de hoy. https://mallorcactual.com/art/17590/angeles-o-robots-una-ambiciosa-reflexion-de-jordi-pigem-sobre-la-condicion-humana-contemporanea 1/3 20/11/2018 'Ángeles o robots', una ambiciosa reflexión de Jordi Pigem sobre la condición humana contemporánea | Mallorcactual.com Ángeles o robots se divide en cuatro grandes apartados y un epílogo que, asimismo, se desglosan en varios capítulos. -
An Essay on the Ecological and Socio-Economic Effects of the Current and Future Global Human Population Size
An essay on the ecological and socio-economic effects of the current and future global human population size “The global human population is and will probably remain too large to allow for a sustainable use of the earth’s resources and an acceptable distribution of welfare” MSc Thesis By Jasper A.J. Eikelboom Supervised by dr. M. van Kuijk and prof. ir. N.D. van Egmond Utrecht University 27-09-2013 Abstract Since the dawn of civilization the world population has grown very slowly, but since the Industrial Revolution in 1750 and especially the Green Revolution around 1950 the growth rate increased dramatically. At the moment there are 7 billion people and in 2100 it is expected that there will be between 8.5 and 12 billion people. Currently we already overshoot the earth’s carrying capacity and this problem will become even larger in the future. Because of the global overpopulation many negative ecological and socio-economic effects occur at the moment. Land-use change, climate change, biodiversity loss, risk of epidemics, poor welfare distribution, resource scarcity and subsequent indirect effects such as factory farming and armed struggles for resources are caused by overpopulation. All these effects are long-lasting and many are irreversible. The longer we overshoot the carrying capacity of the earth and the larger the human population becomes, the worse the effects will be. It can thus be concluded that the global human population is and will probably remain too large to allow for a sustainable use of the earth’s resources and an equal distribution of the use of these resources. -
Political Concepts Committee on Concepts and Methods Working Paper Series
Political Concepts Committee on Concepts and Methods Working Paper Series 54 December 2011 The Concept of Nature in Libertarianism Marcel Wissenburg Radboud University Nijmegen ([email protected]) C&M The Committee on Concepts and Methods www.concepts-methods.org IPSA International Political Science Association www.ipsa.org CIDE Research and Teaching in the Social Sciences www.cide.edu Editor The C&M working paper series are published by the Committee on Concepts and Methods Andreas Schedler (CIDE, Mexico City) (C&M), the Research Committee No. 1 of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), hosted at CIDE in Mexico City. C&M Editorial Board working papers are meant to share work in progress in a timely way before formal José Antonio Cheibub, University of Illinois at publication. Authors bear full responsibility for Urbana-Champaign the content of their contributions. All rights reserved. David Collier, University of California, Berkeley The Committee on Concepts and Methods Michael Coppedge, University of Notre Dame (C&M) promotes conceptual and methodological discussion in political science. It provides a forum of debate between John Gerring, Boston University methodological schools who otherwise tend to conduct their deliberations at separate tables. It Russell Hardin, New York University publishes two series of working papers: “Political Concepts” and “Political Methodology.” Evelyne Huber, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Political Concepts contains work of excellence on political concepts and political language. It James Johnson, University of Rochester seeks to include innovative contributions to concept analysis, language usage, concept operationalization, and measurement. Gary King, Harvard University Political Methodology contains work of Bernhard Kittel, University of Oldenburg excellence on methods and methodology in the study of politics. -
A Response to the Libertarian Critics of Open-Borders Libertarianism
LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW __________________________________ VOLUME 4 FALL 2016 ISSUE 1 ____________________________________ A RESPONSE TO THE LIBERTARIAN CRITICS OF OPEN-BORDERS LIBERTARIANISM Walter E. Block, Ph.D. Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics Joseph A. Butt, S.J. College of Business I. INTRODUCTION Libertarians may be unique in many regards, but their views on immigration do not qualify. They are as divided as is the rest of the population on this issue. Some favor open borders, and others oppose such a legal milieu. The present paper may be placed in the former category. It will outline both sides of this debate in sections II and III. Section IV is devoted to some additional arrows in the quiver of the closed border libertarians, and to a refutation of them. We conclude in section V. A RESPONSE TO THE LIBERTARIAN CRITICS OF OPEN-BORDERS LIBERTARIANISM 143 II. ANTI OPEN BORDERS The libertarian opposition to free immigration is straightforward and even elegant.1 It notes, first, a curious bifurcation in international economic relations. In the case of both trade and investment, there must necessarily be two2 parties who agree to the commercial interaction. In the former case, there must be an importer and an exporter; both are necessary. Without the consent of both parties, the transaction cannot take place. A similar situation arises concerning foreign investment. The entrepreneur who wishes to set up shop abroad must obtain the willing acquiescence of the domestic partner for the purchase of land and raw materials. And the same occurs with financial transactions that take place across 1 Peter Brimelow, ALIEN NATION: COMMON SENSE ABOUT AMERICA’S IMMIGRATION DISASTER (1995); Jesús Huerta De Soto, A Libertarian Theory of Free Immigration, 13 J. -
Department of Economics August 2021 Georgia State University PO Box 3992 Atlanta, GA 30302 (404) 413-0252 [email protected]
H. Spencer Banzhaf Department of Economics August 2021 Georgia State University PO Box 3992 Atlanta, GA 30302 (404) 413-0252 [email protected] Education Ph.D., 2001, Economics, Duke University, Durham, NC. M.A., 1997, Economics, Duke University, Durham, NC. B.A., 1992, cum laude with distinction, Economics, Duke University, Durham, NC. Primary Appointments 2013— Professor, Department of Economics, Georgia State University. 2006 - 2013 Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Georgia State University. 2001 - 2006 Fellow, Resources for the Future, Washington, DC. 1992 - 1995 Economist, Triangle Economic Research, Durham, NC (1994-5) and Research Triangle Institute, RTP, NC (1992-4). Summer consultant, 1995-8. Secondary Appointments 2010— Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) —Faculty Research Fellow, 2009-2010 2015— Senior Fellow, Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) —Senior Research Fellow, 2010-15 2017— Faculty Affiliate, Urban Studies Institute, GSU —Previously, Council for the Progress of Cities 2011-15 (chair, 2012-14) 2018— Faculty Affiliate and economics coordinator, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) program, GSU 2018— Faculty Affiliate, Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics, GSU Dept. of Philosophy 2008 - 15 Faculty Affiliate, Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth, GSU College of Law 2005 - 2006 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Georgetown Public Policy Institute. 2003 - 2004 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Georgetown Dept. of Economics. Fellowships, Honors and Awards R. Musgrave prize for best paper in the National Tax Journal (with W. Oates), 2013. Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award, Georgia State University, 2011. "Best article" prize, History of Economics Society, 2010. Julian Simon Fellow (Property and Environment Research Center [PERC]), 2007. David C. Lincoln Fellowship (Lincoln Institute of Land Policy), 2007. -
Success Through the Selection and Design of Local Referenda H
The Conservation Movement: Success Through the Selection and Design of Local Referenda H. Spencer Banzhaf, Wallace E. Oates, and James Sanchirico © 2007 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Working Paper The findings and conclusions of this paper are not subject to detailed review and do not necessarily reflect the official views and policies of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Please do not photocopy without permission of the Institute. Contact the Institute directly with all questions or requests for permission. [email protected] Lincoln Institute Product Code: WP07SB1 Abstract The American electorate demands more conservation. From 1998 to 2006 there were over 1,550 state, county, or municipality ballot measures targeting open-space, wetlands, and forest conservation, of which almost 80% were successful. We analyze which local jurisdictions are most likely to place land-preservation initiatives on the ballot, as a function of local demographics, land uses, and political factors. In addition, we analyze the outcomes of these initiatives, again as a function of these factors as well as initiative- specific details such as financing mechanisms. Our model controls for the selective nature of the sample, both in terms of which communities hold referenda and in terms of which types of referenda they vote on. To do so, we employ a polychotomous sample selection estimator not previously used in this literature. We find that more educated communities, with fewer children, and voting democratic in presidential elections are more likely to hold and/or vote in favor of open space referenda. We also find that communities are more likely to support referenda financed with bonds, even after controlling for the self-selection of financial mechanisms. -
Matthew A. Turner October, 2018
Matthew A. Turner October, 2018 Department of Economics [email protected] Box B 401-863-9331 Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Education: Ph.D., Economics, 1995, Brown University. A.M., Economics, 1992, Brown University B.A., Majors in mathematics and English, 1987, University of California at Berkeley Employment: Professor of Economics and Director of Graduate Studies, Brown University, 2017- Professor of Economics, Brown University, 2014-6 Professor of Economics, University of Toronto, 2007-2014 Associate Professor of Economics, University of Toronto, 2001-2007 Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Toronto, 1995-2001. Marine Policy and Ocean Management Postdoctoral Fellow, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1994-5 High School Teacher, Landmark School, 1989-90 Computer Programmer, Wells Fargo Bank, 1987-89 Affiliations: Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge MA, 2017-; Research Affiliate, International Growth Center, London, 2016-;Senior Research Fellow, Property and Environment Research Center, Bozeman MT, 2015-; Status only Professor of Economics, University of Toronto, 2014-19; Faculty Associate, Population Studies Training Center, Brown University, 2014-; Faculty Associate, S4, Brown University, 2014-. Short visits: Cowles Foundation (2018), London School of Economics (2001, 2016), IEB Urban Economics Summer School, Barcelona (2016); Property and Environment Research Center (2010-15,2017); Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank (2009, 2016, 2019); New York Federal Reserve Bank (2009, -
30 Visions of Sustainability
RICHARD HEINBERG | JAMES GREYSON A New Historical Paradigm The Need for a Systemic Change HEINER BENKING | RAMON FOLCH A Complex Approach on Sustainability Analysis and Critique THE MAIN CHALLENGE OF OUR TIME STEPHEN MORSE | WILLIAM E.REES Indicators The Ecological Footprint ED GROARK | CHRIS MORAN Monitoring World Resources Mining and Sustainability MEASURING SUSTAINABILITY PEDRO SANCHEZ | MARIANO MARZO Present and Future of Food Fossil Fuels and Energy Trends MICHAEL BRAUNGART | SYLVIA LOREK Cradle to Cradle Dematerialization THE RESOURCES ISSUE #30 VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY OF #30 VISIONS MICHAEL SHUMAN | JOSEP MARIA GALÍ The Value of Local Economy Post-Consumerism JEROEN VAN DEN BERG | CARLO RATTI The Myth of Growth Smart Cities TOWARDS A NEW ECONOMY FEDERICO DEMARIA | WALTER STAHEL De-growth Circular Economy DIRK GLAESSER | ZULMA BOLIVAR BUILDING BETTER CITIES The Case of Tourism Cities in the Developing World SALVADOR RUEDA | ANTONIO LUCIO The Key to Urban Sustainability Transportation Management ANUPAMA KUNDOO | FRAUKE FISCHER INITIATIVES FOR CHANGE Architecture for the People Electromobility DIMITRI ROUSSOPOULOS | JORDI PIGEM Communities and Participation Rethinking Western Vision DOMINGO JIMÉNEZ BELTRÁN The Limits of National Policies VALUES FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD MARYLIN MEHLMAN | ARJEN HOEKSTRA International Action Water JORGE RIECHMANN The Philosophy of Limits OF VISIONS #30 SUSTAINABILITY 1 #30 VISIONS OF KNAUF 30 VISIONS ON SUSTAINABILITY SUS TAINABILITY ALBERT PUNSOLA —Idea and interviews SERGIO FERNÁNDEZ —Idea and coordination -
Discussing Population Concepts: Overpopulation Is a Necessary Word and an Inconvenient Truth
1 Discussing population concepts: Overpopulation is a necessary word and an inconvenient truth Frank Götmark*, Jane O’Sullivan, Philip Cafaro F.G., Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, SE-40530 Göteborg, Sweden. * Corresponding author, e-mail [email protected], phone +46702309315 J.O., School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia., e- mail [email protected] P.C., School of Global Environmental Sustainability, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA 80523, e-mail [email protected] Abstract In science, in the media, and in international communication by organizations such as the UN, the term ‘overpopulation’ is rarely used. Here we argue that it is an accurate description of our current reality, well backed up by scientific evidence. While the threshold defining human overpopulation will always be contested, overpopulation unequivocally exists where 1) people are displacing wild species so thoroughly, either locally or globally, that they are helping create a global mass extinction event; and where 2) people are so thoroughly degrading ecosystems that provide essential environmental services, that future human generations likely will have a hard time living decent lives. These conditions exist today in most countries around the world, and in the world as a whole. Humanity’s inability to recognize the role population growth has played in creating our environmental problems and the role population decrease could play in helping us solve them is a tremendous brake on environmental progress. While reducing excessive populations is not a panacea, it is necessary to create ecologically sustainable societies. -
The Bet: Paul Ehrlich, Julian Simon, and Our Gamble Over Earth’S Future
23-215-MILLER_FINAL 5.13.14 5/13/2014 12:40 PM THE BET: PAUL EHRLICH, JULIAN SIMON, AND OUR GAMBLE OVER EARTH’S FUTURE By Paul Sabin, Yale University Press 2013 Reviewed by Richard B. Miller* It seems a matter of common sense that infinite resources do not exist, and we should, therefore, use our resources carefully. But it is a mistake to understate the impact of human ingenuity and market economics on the demand for resources we are inclined to think of as essential. This more complex truth was well understood by the Saudi Arabian oil minister, Sheikh Zaki Yamani, who famously stated that “[the] Stone Age did not end for lack of stone, and the Oil Age will end long before the world runs out of oil.”1 The story of this more complex truth about resource scarcity and its relationship to the modern environmental movement is well told by Paul Sabin in The Bet.2 The Bet has lessons for today’s debate over climate change and should serve as a cautionary tale for activists on either side. The Bet recounts the rivalry between Paul Ehrlich, the biologist who wrote The Population Bomb3 in 1968, and Julian Simon, an economist who wrote The Ultimate Resource4 in 1981. Ehrlich warned of the dangers of overpopulation and the destruction of the planet while Simon celebrated population growth and the ingenuity that enables humans to adapt to changing circumstances. Ehrlich relied on the simple logic that resources are finite, claiming that increased population would lead to mass starvation. Notwithstanding his doomsday message, he was immensely popular -
Is Population Growth an Environmental Problem? Teachers’ Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Including It in Their Teaching
sustainability Article Is Population Growth an Environmental Problem? Teachers’ Perceptions and Attitudes towards Including It in Their Teaching Iris Alkaher 1,2,* and Nurit Carmi 2 1 Faculty of Science, Kibbutzim College of Education Technology and the Arts, Tel Aviv 6250769, Israel 2 Department of Environmental Sciences, Tel-Hai Academic College, Upper Galilee 1220800, Israel; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 14 March 2019; Accepted: 28 March 2019; Published: 3 April 2019 Abstract: Population growth (PG) is one of the drivers of the environmental crisis and underlies almost every environmental problem. Despite its causative role in environmental challenges, it has gained little attention from popular media, public and government agenda, or even from environmental organizations. There is a gap between the gravity of the problem and its relative absence from the public discourse that stems, inter alia, from the fact that the very discussion of the subject raises many sensitive, complex and ethical questions. The education system is a key player in filling this gap, and teachers have an opportunity to facilitate the discussion in this important issue. While educators mostly agree to include controversial environmental topics in school curricula, calls for addressing PG remain rare. This study explores teachers’ perspectives of PG as a problem and their attitudes towards including it in their teaching, focusing on environmental and non-environmental teachers. While perceiving PG as an environmental problem and supporting its inclusion in schools was significantly higher among the environmental-teachers, similar concerns were reported by all the teachers concerning engaging students in discourse around this controversial issue.