 | The Bullroarer - Friday 8 February 2008 | TOD: Australia/New Zealand | Climate Code Red: The Case for a Sustainability Emergency |  |
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- anz at theoildrum dot com
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The problem:
If you don't come out on top in the short term, your plans for the long term are wasted.
And conversely ... if you don't leave behind a survivable environment for your offspring, all your child rearing efforts were for naught.
(Note how much energy we humans invest into having children, providing them with a good education, good jobs, etc.)
Many are stuck in a short term niche that they may or may not be aware that they are contributing to a non-sustainable economy.
If they can't feed, house, and clothe the kids today, what difference does it mean that such children and future generations of children will have nothing left?
It would be understandable if these Americans were living simply, but the consumer mentality, the acquisition of things and status symbols has flourished, despite the anti-materialism that seemed to be popular in the 60's.
Even if these sell-out boomers come back to earth in their values they are stuck with their SUVs, the big screen TVs, the plethora of eletronic gadgets,a killer mortgage, etc.
People develop the over acquisitive mode, maximizing their standard of living, because their niche in the economic status quo has rendered their lives meaningless.
It may be too late to resurrect the quality of life vs. standard of living argument as it may be too late to try to reconcile the short term vs. the long term. But we must proceed thus anyway. W