We all seem to be headed into a carbon neutral world [see photo]. This prospect raises many complex issues which fall into two huge baskets: social and economic. The fact is we are all about to experience sustained bouts of social and economic change. The extent and impact of these changes is difficult to assess [at present] because we do not yet know what social and economic innovations will emerge to help us change the ways we live.
However... I have lived with the personal goal of reducing my carbon footprint to a minimum [my family will attest to this fact in glowing terms such as "*&^~"]. During this period, I spent an inordinate amount of time running around the house turning off lights, TVs, etc [by "off" I mean the equivalent of being unplugged from their energy source]. Everything I did, ate, thought, etc was calculated in terms of the carbon impact of my life on Earth. Why did I do this? I can not truly answer that question....
At the time I lived in Australia and my country had just elected its first female Prime Minister, Ms Julia Gillard. But she needed the support of the Green Party [and other carbon neutral leaning types] to attain a working majority in the Parliament. After months of protracted negotiations the Gillard Government took shape with an unshakeable commitment to the introduction of a carbon tax [this mechanism is used to price carbon]. Therefore my plan to reduce my personal carbon footprint seemed a natural extension of what was about to be implanted onto the lives of everyone in the country.
Living with tight restrictions on one's carbon footprint is a challenge in both social and economic terms. The social challenges were lessened for me, at that time, because I was so committed to a programme designed to reduce my carbon footprint to a shadow of what it had been. I was kind of a zany zealot at the time. Even moving away from meat to plant foods [yuk] as part of my overall life plan [I should note that this was for personal medical reason at the time]. The economic framework for my life was good too because I was committed to limiting the impact of the new carbon tax regime on both me and my family. The simple truth is that "carbon taxes" raise the cost of everything that sustains family life and so the lower my footprint got the more I saved.
During this period I was like the kid who reported proudly to his dad that he had missed the school bus that day. The good news in this story was that he had run all the way home behind the bus he missed. The kid was so proud of himself because he had saved the bus fare [that was me with my new carbon footprint]. His dad was impressed but he suggested that next time he should run home behind a taxi and save even more [that will be me with the footprint needed to reach carbon neutrality.... ha, ha, ha].
Living in a carbon neutral world will not be a bad thing if, and only if, one can adjust his or her thoughts, habits, and beliefs to seamlessly fit with the thoughts, habits, and beliefs of those who will control every aspect of the way we like to live.
Richard.
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