If we all lived like the Amish, would be facing Climate Change?

[Yavin4]

So, maybe the Amish were right all along.

[HassleCat]

1. Not a practical template

Over 300 million small subsistence farmers? I don't think that would work. Everybody drops out of school after the 9th grade?

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. And NO ONE uses deoderant.

Just contemplate THAT part.

300 million stinky farmers, women included.


Of course, lets not forget about just how pleasant horses and their excrement can be when their population increases and is concentrated.

Small and large towns of 2 centuries back were VERY agreeable to the nose indeed!

[Kalidurga]

2. It is possible

Our country could be deforested for one thing as we would be cutting down trees not just for paper, but for wood burning stoves. And we would need a lot more grazing land as we switch to using horses for transportation, plus a lot more horses. A by product of grazing is methane, I don't know what the carbon emission on horses compared to cars would be though, I doubt there is a study on that. Factories would close down. A lot of people would go hungry and possibly die as a result of returning to that kind of farming just because people don't know how to do it anymore so a lot of farms would fail. But, I think rather than being an immediate concern climate change would be something talked about in a couple hundred more years. Or not, the Amish tend to have a lot more children so maybe it would be the issue of over population instead.

[hack89]

3. We would be facing mass starvation. nt

[Codeine]

4. Formula 1 would get a lot less exciting.

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. .....

[jberryhill]

5. Not at this population level, no

If you look at the population density of the contiguous US, it is overall 103 people per square mile.

Looking for a good county to use as a model, Lancaster County, PA, for example, is not a good one due to the Lancaster city population.

Holmes County, Ohio, is as close a model as I can find for a predominately "Amish" county, and it comes in at 100 people per square mile.

Now, that's kind of a good fit if the entirety of the US is as amenable to Amish agriculture as Holmes County, Ohio. But, it's not.

[kiva]

6. How would we know?

Haven't heard of a lot of Amish scientists measuring climate change. Of course you wouldn't have a computer or internet access, so you wouldn't be here to ask

[Yavin4]

7. But by not having a computer or internet...

aren't they preserving the climate because of lower power use.

[FLPanhandle]

8. It's not how we live, it's how many of us are on the planet.

We can all cut back but eventually the population will grow even more and thus requiring more cutbacks.

Bottom line: Too many humans on this planet.

[brooklynite]

9. You're welcome to join them...

[Rex]

11. Yes.

[yardwork]

14. Many Amish men use electricity and gas. Cell phones. Power equipment.

I grew up in Amish country. Every little patriarchal unit is different, but for the most part the jobs and tasks of me use modern power and technology. The women and children get the primitive jobs.

And there is a big problem with familial rape and incest, domestic violence, child abuse, and abuse if their animals. If victims try to go to authorities they are shunned. Basically, most Amish are jerks. The ones who get away confirm this.

[Codeine]

16. Animal abuse is rampant in Amish country.

The Amish run a lot of puppy mills because they're willing to raise dogs in battery cages, like factory-farmed chickens. An animal isn't a living, feeling being to them, it's just a thing, a piece of equipment no different than a buggy or whatever.

[frogmarch]

15. Maybe not, but we'd be

conquered by a technologically advanced country before we could say "Good character, like good soup, is usually homemade" or some such.