theluckycountry wrote:As for the percentages of people alarmed about GW, that I believe, but the percentage willing to take personal action? Somehow I think the people who voted in that poll simply believe all they will have to give up is some plastic packaging and perhaps pay slightly more for electricity. If they had been asked if they were willing to give up their air-conditioners and even perhaps their cars in favor of cheap public transport the figures of those willing to change would be a lot lower I believe. A Lot lower. But that's the future as the numbers stack up now.
I'm a bit of a prepper. Not really the lone survivalist or bug-out-bag Rambo type, more the big garden and DIY, self-sufficiency sort. The one thing that has always surprised me is how incurious most folks are abut their basic infrastructure. I understand habit and the self-imposed pressure of the daily grind but I think a majority don't give modern life a second thought. In fact, the best part about the rich-world is the ability to not worry about mundane topics of food/water/shelter. It's fill the tank, buy some January tomatoes, flip the switch, flush the toilet, turn up the thermostat, watch some internet. When they want to be conscientious they buy a stainless steel straw.
My grandaughter is a jewel. She is 22, very bright, thoughtful, "environmentally aware", "child hesitant" empathetic to a fault, she works and goes to college, will have a teaching credential soon. But for as amazing as she is, the logistics of the modern world just are not on her radar. She would be the first to say she wants to do something yet has flown between Alaska, South Dakota, New York state several times in just the last 6 months because, well, her mom wants her to.
I try not to be a crazy gramps, only rarely going on a rant about the modern world. I'd love to try and prepare her for the future, but I don't want to be the one that rains that future on her parade. And, as I've said 100 times to actually prepare essentially costs turning one's back on the world, it is not impossible to be more resilient, consume less, live smaller, but pretty hard to be totally so.
