This track was used in this video.
The video reminded me of these two books that I borrowed from our public libraries.
The first related book is Jared Diamond’s “Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed”.
ISBN: 0670033375 | Roughnotes
The video’s Drug Addiction analogy echoes what Jared Diamond wrote — that human societies could get away with a lot of waste when times are good. But when conditions change, “we may already have become attached to an expensive lifestyle, leaving an enforced diminished lifestyle or bankruptcy as the sole outs” (P155/ 156).
In the video, the message was to ultimately stop using petroleum-based forms of vehicles and products. A noble aim but there are practical limits in trying to be “more green”. For instance, not everyone can simply stop using all forms of fuel-combustion vehicles and start cycling to work.
The reality is that alternative energy sources are still more expensive, or are unavailable to some nations. Which is why many people find it hard to give up our petroleum-based lifestyles, if you will, even if we recognise it.
That said, I think it’s about gradual changes.
Meaning, we wean ourselves off incrementally, like using nicotine patches, rather than go Cold Turkey.
Take fuel-combustion vehicles for example. We still need to take some form of transportation. So it’s about a commitment to take public transport like buses and trains. They still run on petroleum-based energy in some ways. But it’s less wasteful from the broader standpoint.
For sure, public transportation offers less privacy than driving one’s private car. But that’s what commitment is about.
Speaking of personal transportation, there’s an excellent story by David Gerrold, which appeared in this anthology:
ISBN: 0765315629 | Roughnotes
David Gerrold’s “Report from the Near Future: Crystallization” is a speculative-fiction piece, on what could happen when a major city freeway gets clogged, and the resulting effect on the city’s population. In brief, a series of traffic accidents causes a jam that is so massive, it results in the evacuation of an entire city. What’s worse is the conclusion — people’s memories are short; they simply evacuate and continue with the traffic build-up in the other city.
If you read Gerrold’s story, it wouldn’t sound as far-fetched as I’ve written.
~ Ivan
Starfish Stories :: The Band 