To think Prince William preaching about climate change is another example the monarchy should not exist

[josil]

Is he having a laugh? His wife and him parade around in designer clothes costing thousands of pounds, live on multiple properties, fly around the world often in jets and he is telling US to do our bit?

I had a chat with DH earlier and we thought it would be a good idea for the queen to hand straight to William but now I'm not sure either and just wish the lot of them would go away and cease to exist as a royal family.

They're taking the piss - when will we no longer stand for a monarchy?

@Zilla1 at Uni multiple times… I’ll try and find where they got that from

Suspect it's wrong by orders of magnitude. Not saying humanity isn't exceeding the carrying capacity but 10,000x looks fundamentally ill-conceived though could be wrong.

Totally agree with you OP. If we never had a royal family, nobody on the planet would think it was a bright idea to elevate a random family to almost Gold like status, given them hundreds of millions and a PR team, spend our tax pounds on them, create palaces with gold toilets (probably) for them, pay for them to fly around the world, and then ask them to deliver random talks to the rest of us about how we could be doing things better. In the lost of 'things that would be good to do as a society', that would NOT be on the list, other than as a silly joke.

@Zilla1 yes seeing that myself now done the maths 🙈🙈🙈…. It stuck with me, over a decade ago now… this will pickle me now.

Another article here saying at most Earth can support 1/5 of current population at American standard of living. Not as dramatic a figure but nevertheless the principle remains.

theconversation.com/amp/7-5-billion-and-counting-how-many-humans-can-the-earth-support-98797

Most of the people advocating change are poor examples. They travel the world telling us not to travel. Even the climate friendly ideas are far from friendly when you take into account the resources needed to make them.

Most of the people advocating change are poor examples.

That may be, but we aren't paying these people vast quantities of money from the public purse to do this advocating.

As for the posters going on about obscene wealth and other people not living like real people. Presumably you avoid reading every single other celebrity or richer person than yourself because you object to the wealth disparity?

I have no particular option with anybody being rich and enjoying their obscene wealth - that isn't the issue at all. The problem is when they start preaching to others. I briefly mentioned Jimmy Carr earlier: I'm not a great fan of his, but he did once comment that he (Carr) - who has never claimed to be a paragon of virtue - had been universally condemned for 'arranging his tax affairs' in a way that many people consider immoral, whilst Gary Barlow had been doing pretty much the same and been simultaneously feted by the rich and powerful as an all-round hero.

Objection - not 'option'?!?!

A few years back he was talking about the dangers of overpopulation, now he’s got 3 kids, all will have huge carbon footprints with multiple houses, cars, private planes. I guess the problem is, in order to try and stay relevant he has to find a cause, even if he’s exposed as an out of touch entitled hypocrite

@Robinni you're also right that the carrying capacity depends on the carbon intensity. I think we need c1.5? earths based on the global average consumption. Take Australia or USA and it might be c3-5 earths? The good news is that I think the rate of change in population growth has slowed and the total population is anticipated to top out c10 bn?? with many nations' reproductive rate below replacement as more women are educated and enter the workplace and the unattractiveness of having children in misogynist societies spread.

@Choufleurfromage

"Go and live in a country with a president, or even better, a dictator, then post your incisive and profound thoughts"

Your comment is hilarious - why on earth are you comparing presidents and dictators?? You do realise presidents are democratically elected? Unlike dictators - and, of course, the royals.

Your conflation of the two words is an utter nonsense. What we need in this country is political education - that would turn the nation in to a bunch of republicans overnight which is why the status quo don't suggest it.

@Zilla1 there is literally ZERO proof that the royals bring a single tourist into this country. No one is suggesting demolishing the buildings but the actual people themselves do not have the effect on tourism that they like to pretend - that is Buck House bullshit.

www.republic.org.uk/tourism?msclkid=c7925ad0cfa111ec9a9286f2c3cbec84

Yes, look at all the countries with unelected heads of state and give thanks.

It is indeed. Although I’ve always understood it to have originally denoted an Illegitimate son of.

@Zilla1 I've jut read your comment that "tourism would stop without the RF"

I think that's one of the funniest things i've read on a royals thread ever!

[https://ceoworld.biz/2019/02/18/the-uks-100-most-popular-tourist-attractions/#:~:text=The%20National%20Gallery%2C%20the%20Natural%20History%20Museum%20%28South,and%20Royal%20Museums%20Greenwich%20complete%20the%20top%2010.?msclkid=449a17d3cfa211ec988e88e48894a2b2]

So you think all the places listed above would just close without the royals. What a totally ludicrous argument!

@Zilla1 we HAVE an unelected head of state though?!

Why not aim a bit higher and look at the countries like Ireland that have a successful and popular presidential system?

But our unelected HoS was born to it. Dictators make a hash as they weren't born to it. The Kims are the exception that prove the rule.

@Zilla1 seriously? Exception that prove what rule??

It blindsides me that anyone in the 21st century still believes that someone 'born' into their position is inherently more worthy or capable than someone who chooses that role as their vocation in a democracy (and I'm talking a proper democracy not our FPTP piss poor version of a democracy).

Your forelock must get sore from all the tugging .

Certainly more capable at hand waving, visiting, taking part, greeting, scuba diving, laying wreaths, paying tribute (ceremonially, not financially, let's not get into the reparations issue so rudely raised) frock selection and wearing and the myriad ways in which the Cambridges delivered on their Caribbean tour, according to Harpers.

Zilla 😁

@ratrick thank you. Always good to see there are some patriotic people to balance out the misguided who will hopefully see the light, the light that the RF bring to everyone.

@Zilla1 haha, sorry I did miss you were being satirical!

As I said, I'm tired and not thinking straight - but you're spot on, they're amazing at doing a piss easy job that my 12 yr old could excel at .

Well done for taking me in!

Youe 12 year old must be really talented. I expect you're most proud. Their name isn't George or Charlotte is it?

Yeah it has slowed but not quickly enough and 10bn is not sustainable. A lot of people who are still having oodles of children see the capitalist structure in the West as aspirational and desire a high carbon consuming lifestyle.

As contraception and education become more accessible to women you run the risk of having a top heavy population such as Japan with not enough in the younger age groups to support the elderly. So the whole thing needs careful management.

All in all generational shift is required. We need to move towards green energy, carbon capture, valuing/quantifying ecosystem services - such as fresh water, carbon capture, flood defence etc, and away from intensification of agriculture, environmental degradation, consumerism etc.

We need a complete economic overhaul and cultural revolution.

Doughnut economic model that the Dutch are employing post covid is interesting.

time.com/5930093/amsterdam-doughnut-economics/

@Zilla1 sadly no, but maybe he could marry Charlotte one day - I think he'd love a life of living in total luxury in return for doing fuck all squared .