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Humans evolved to breed and consume as much as possible without any regard for the long term consequences of our actions.

It's hard to explain the rising of marriage age over time if we are so terrible at having regard for the long term consequences of our actions. Clearly, we have sometimes managed it. The problem, as I see it, is that there have been so many fast changes in the last few decades, that we may have gone over our own ability to deal with the consequences of our actions.

Doly

i suspect you are correct. But also it seems we can muster more planning on a personal basis than we can on a cultural basis.

Mao and Stalin had some mind of plan. China had a single child policy. But maybe these are again simple expressions of one person, a tyrant, doing the planning?

Doly wrote:

Humans evolved to breed and consume as much as possible without any regard for the long term consequences of our actions.

It's hard to explain the rising of marriage age over time if we are so terrible at having regard for the long term consequences of our actions. Clearly, we have sometimes managed it. The problem, as I see it, is that there have been so many fast changes in the last few decades, that we may have gone over our own ability to deal with the consequences of our actions.

I find the rising of marriage age over time very easy to explain. It is mostly a developed world phenomenon, though not exclusively, due to increased educational and career opportunities for women, more easily available higher education for the masses, student debt, wedding costs, the inability of many younger people to rent or buy a home because of high prices, increased cost of living because of devaluation and inflation, cultural changes like the number of people with alternative lifestyles, sexual experimentation, the increased costs of having children, men addicted to porn and video games, younger people wanting to enjoy some time as singles having fun with friends in their youth, etc. The same applies to wealthier people in poorer countries, too.

JuanP wrote:
I find the rising of marriage age over time very easy to explain. It is mostly a developed world phenomenon, though not exclusively, due to increased educational and career opportunities for women, more easily available higher education for the masses, student debt, wedding costs, the inability of many younger people to rent or buy a home because of high prices, increased cost of living because of devaluation and inflation, cultural changes like the number of people with alternative lifestyles, sexual experimentation, the increased costs of having children, men addicted to porn and video games, younger people wanting to enjoy some time as singles having fun with friends in their youth, etc. The same applies to wealthier people in poorer countries, too.

Yes all of that, to my mind the main drivers though is simply greed, people want more and more stuff and leisure time and kids get in the way of that. You don't have to be married to have kids but kids and marriage pretty much go hand in hand. Another big factor, at least here in OZ, is simply that marriage has lost it's appeal. It's an old fashioned religious concept in the minds of many.

Marriage can't survive in a culture of individualism- the two are entirely incompatible. The social media/high tech western world of today is individualism on steroids.

Tuike wrote:Spain and southern France hit by second extreme heat event of year -guardian

In Ohio today we hit 95F/35C and the expected tempt tomorrow and Friday are 92F/33C and the same Friday with a heat index 4-6 degrees higher from the strong humidity we have here from two inches of rain early in the week in heavy storms.

Tanada wrote:

Tuike wrote:Spain and southern France hit by second extreme heat event of year -guardian

In Ohio today we hit 95F/35C and the expected tempt tomorrow and Friday are 92F/33C and the same Friday with a heat index 4-6 degrees higher from the strong humidity we have here from two inches of rain early in the week in heavy storms.

Ohio sucks right now as I sit and type in a 90 degree house waiting for the AC guy next week

Thousands of cows just died from the heat and humidity during the heat wave in Kansas

heat-humidity-kill-at-least-2000-kansas-cattle-state-says



There's a lot of freaky stuff going on in the weather right now. We've got a huge tundra fire in northern Alaska, massive flooding in Yellowstone, tornados in Chicago, and overheated cows in Kansas, all happening at the same time.

O M G !!!!! Is out of control global warming finally hitting the whole planet at the same time!!!!!

Is out of control global warming finally hitting the whole planet at the same time!!!!!

If you mean a runaway greenhouse effect, if I recall correctly the estimate is that if we go beyond 2C over preindustrial level there is a significant chance that the change is unstoppable till it gets to about 4C, which is the next equilibrium point.

As for the "whole planet at the same time", summer hits the whole Northern hemisphere at the same time, and most of the landmass is in the Northern hemisphere, and global warming is most noticeable in the summer, so you could see if that way if you like.