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Has the posse been assembled for the writer of the first piece yet?
Rod Dreher, one of a tiny number of Peak Oil aware journalists willing to write about it, wrote the editorial. An excerpt from JHK's Memorial Day Essay is shown below:
www.kunstler.com
In most places where people live, a small fraction of the energy they spend on getting out of where they are could be spent on making their places pretty again. Parts of Texas were absolutely gorgeous -- and could be again. If everyone just stayed home and tended their gardens ....
Wishful, maybe Pollyanna thinking for an early morning on Memorial Day, but I don't see a declining energy regime as all bad -- there is a potential seriously positive upside.
I agree, NeverLNG.
While the change may be painful, a quieter, more inward-looking existence certainly has its rewards. The consumerist treadmill--a huge public relations success brought about by over a hundred years of incessant propaganda--may not be all it's cracked up to be.
That said, it nevertheless may be human nature that makes consumerism and our Baroque modern culture, a culture in which every waking moment is filled to excess with a whirlwind of activity or entertainment, so appealing. As Eric Hoffer observed:
"The individual's most vital need is to prove his worth, and this usually means an insatiable hunger for action. For it is only the few who can acquire a sense of worth by developing and employing their capacities and talents. The majority prove their worth by keeping busy."
Grand theories about "human nature" need careful examination.
It seems to me from what I can read about "traditional" societies (which I guess means "pre-industrial") people don't seem to have to prove their worth. In fact, that is largely a Calvinist idea, designed to discover who was "saved", but easily distorted into creating a consumer society to demonstrate "worth" and by extension, "salvation" through consumption.
Eric Hoffer is probably right about Western Europe and North America since the 18th century. I'm not sure if it generalizes.
Lots of people really like to stay home and fix up their places -- even now.
What you have read about traditional societies seems to be at variance with that which I have read.
Their need to prove their worth is articulated in their initiation rites, for a start.
Those who did not cut the mustard had a short life expectancy probably and a miserable life certainly.
Well, true enough for the children. Once they have been admitted to adult society, I suspect the rules change, except for the leadership.
However-- this discussion is probably not appropriate for the oil drum.
it nevertheless may be human nature that makes consumerism
A lot of energy was expended to train Americans to be voracious consumers. See this article from Orion:
The Gospel of Consumption:
Thank you, lilith--A great article that not only gives a thoughtful critique of American baroque culture but also explains how we got here.
I'll file it away in my favorites and use it for future reference.
See also Paul Graham's most excellent essay on Stuff.
("...What I didn't understand was that the value of some new acquisition wasn't the difference between its retail price and what I paid for it. It was the value I derived from it. Stuff is an extremely illiquid asset....")
RE JHK Memmorial Weekend Post
"This is certainly the golden heart of the great wish out there, as the empire of Happy Motoring begins to run down on $4 gasoline. It seems inconceivable that a society so bold as to put men on the moon (fer crissake) can't overcome such a prosaic problem as finding something other than oil byproducts to run our cars on."
This is the heart of the issue for a lot of people. I gave a Peak Oil Presentation last week and a gentleman who said he'd heard of it smiled knowingly and told me that I forgot about hydrogen fuel cells.
"They'll get that going when they need to..."
How do you explain to people who have never known hunger (arriving home famished because you ran in a Labor Day 5K doesn't count)or need the concept of peak oil and that that means the end of the world as they know it.
BTW, the Phoenix mars lander has touched down successfully and is sending back pictures: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2008-82
Leave it to "JHK" to get the cynicism just right. And you know, he is right... rather than public parks dictated by wise zoning rules, we have (in my area) car dealerships, car repair facilities, and restaurants jammed up against each as tight as could be arranged and to maximize the dollar return on the land. How could a society be healthy when that is the environment into which it places its children, and forces its adults to live?
I recently rented the Film Mosquito Coast with Harrison Ford and River Phoenix. At the beginning of the film Ford's Charachter Allie Fox explains to his 12 year old son via a rant the truth about America. For a 26 year old story by Paul Theroux I think that The unfortunate Mr Fox may have been prophetic after all. Worth a look if just to see Harrison Ford:
Re: JHK's Memorial Day Essay
One thing I rarely see JHK talk about (though I don't read him every week) is population. "World Made by Hand" sounds like a good idea and all, but the planet isn't going to support 6.5e9 people that way. As we have discussed here, the biggest edible bang for the buck (or barrel) is still industrial agriculture. If we can't feed the residents of those suburbs, the last thing anyone will care about is poor taste in architecture. And all the rapid transit, high-rise condos, low-rise condos, or 19th century-esque farmhouses etc that you care to build, will not really help that much.
JHK is the ultimate cynic. In World Made By Hand the world has far less people due to starvation and pandemics. Also human life has little value.
Sounds like a probable future then. Maybe I'll get his book, there might be just time enough to read it before TSHTF.
One thing I rarely see JHK talk about (though I don't read him every week) is population.
The Peak Oil gurus and talking heads have taken a page from the Environmentalist and Global Warming talking heads and gurus - they avoid the population growth issue like it was the Black Plague.
And yet...
"talking about energy solutions without talking about the population problems is just like mopping the floor with the faucets running on. So that is #1 problem."
Tad Patzek