Comment Re: ‘Market’? (Score 1) 44
I think you're missing the point of the analogy...
We are forced to share the atmosphere. Any reduction in pollution is better than no reduction at all (even if it's still a net increase, because it didn't increase as much as it could have) and it does not matter where those emissions come from. Do you agree or disagree with this? Because if you agree, then the argument "Why should we do anything to reduce our emissions when 'they' are producing emissions too" is complete nonsense.
Sure, there's always going to be emissions just like there's always going to be some urine in the water. But you see, the emissions are high enough to be causing real problems - so imagine that the pool is so polluted that it's visibly discolored if that helps you appreciate the scale of the problem. Still going for a swim?
The analogy falls apart of course, because nobody is forced to share a swimming pool. We don't have any choice when it comes to the planet and its atmosphere though.
As an aside; not terribly worried about the chlorine. I'm more worried about the chloramines - the chemical compounds that give swimming pools that "chlorine smell." Chloramines are the product of the hypochlorite (the form of chlorine used in pools) reacting with the other stuff in the water, like urine. Chloramines cause eye, skin, and respiratory irritation. So yeah in reality peeing in a treated swimming pool actually, literally, creates toxic chemicals that physically harm you and everyone else in the area. I should add that to the analogy.
=Smidge=