We seem determined to prove the theory that intelligent life is self-extinguishing. Many years ago Bill Moyers produced a terrific series on posterity and how we came to abandon it. We came to discount posterity as a fetter on maximized production and consumption and we remain firmly in the grip of that societal heresy.
As I've written before, today we do things 'because we can' with scant regard to 'whether we should.' A few years ago James Lovelock suggested mankind's best hope lies in 'sustainable retreat'; a mass, voluntary effort to grow smaller, to minimize our individual environmental footprint. That would mean giving up McMansions in favour of small, energy-efficient homes; smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles driven far less; a more communal society. I keep looking for signs that we're moving in this direction but I'm not finding them.
With every truck and suv I see on the road,Mound, I am reminded of how willful and self-absorbed we are as a species. Our sense of community, except for small pockets of hope, is broken.
We seem determined to prove the theory that intelligent life is self-extinguishing. Many years ago Bill Moyers produced a terrific series on posterity and how we came to abandon it. We came to discount posterity as a fetter on maximized production and consumption and we remain firmly in the grip of that societal heresy.
ReplyDeleteAs I've written before, today we do things 'because we can' with scant regard to 'whether we should.' A few years ago James Lovelock suggested mankind's best hope lies in 'sustainable retreat'; a mass, voluntary effort to grow smaller, to minimize our individual environmental footprint. That would mean giving up McMansions in favour of small, energy-efficient homes; smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles driven far less; a more communal society. I keep looking for signs that we're moving in this direction but I'm not finding them.
With every truck and suv I see on the road,Mound, I am reminded of how willful and self-absorbed we are as a species. Our sense of community, except for small pockets of hope, is broken.
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