• stabby_cicada@slrpnk.netOP
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    7 months ago

    The majority of children born today are born in densely populated - and highly polluted - cities where they can’t see the stars, and are unlikely to ever have enough disposable income to travel for pleasure. The thesis holds.

    • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
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      7 months ago

      The thesis holds.

      no, it does not. for most people that good observation area is in a range of 200-300 km, that can be walked on your feet, if you can’t afford public transport. It is definitely not as convenient as being able to observe from your own backyard, but hardly impossible.

      • Daxtron2@startrek.website
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        7 months ago

        I think you severely underestimate how many poor children there are that have no economic ability to take trips outside of where they live.

        • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
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          7 months ago

          you might be pleasantly surprised that situation is not as bad as we often think.

          https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-population-living-in-extreme-poverty-cost-of-basic-needs

          long story short, majority of children born today will be able to see the milky day, that is assuming they will be interested in seeing it.

          yes, not out of their balcony in the center of 10m megapolis, they will have to take a bus somewhere. poor children living in the middle of rural nowhere may be poor, but “lucky” enough to actually see it from their backyard. i assume there is quite good linear dependence where the really poor people likely don’t have that much light pollution around them and those who do can afford a bus ticket.

          that may indeed not be applicable to every person in the world, but the title of this post is making it sound way more dramatic than it actually is.