I got a valuable comment from Bob Johnson on my post The Fun Of Being In Training.
Of course, your life style seems wonderful and enviable. It is truly admirable that you are working to reduce your carb0n f00tprint. But surely you realize that your way of living is completely inaccessible for most of humanity. There’s not that much land. There are 150 million people in Bangladesh, about 3000 per square mile. Not much room for gardens. What I’m getting at is, we need to think of ways of living that everyone can use, not just those lucky enough to live in Oregon.
I agree with Bob that my middle-class life here in Oregon is, in the context of the world, very privileged. Not just Bangladeshians but the majority of the world’s population live in poverty. But that is a big part of my point.
Bangladeshians are struggling for survival, i.e. underconsuming, and we in the U.S. are awash in a surfeit of resources, i.e. overconsuming. My goal in writing Diamond-Cut Life is to help others in the U.S. and the developed world consume less.
Because my audience is the privileged people in the world, I guess you could make the case that I am elitist. But because my goal is for myself and my peers to live simpler lives and share our resources more with those who actually need them, that monicker doesn’t seem to fit so well.
Bangladeshians and others living at or near sea level will suffer the most as global warming advances and creates new coastlines and millions of environmental refugees. We in the U.S. are 4% of the world’s population, yet creating more than 25% of its carbon emissions. In working to reduce those carbon emissions, I am on the side of the Bangladeshians.
I protest your title – I never used the word “elitist” (I don’t think you are), I said “privileged”. It’s not a matter of how one thinks, but what one owns. If your carbon footprint is half the American average, it puts you about even with Ireland or Japan – of course you do not feel any deprivation. Your way is a great improvement, but not nearly enough. The only way to affect climate change is nation-scale politics. I’m lecturing; please forgive me You asked for comments, but I’m being clumsy.
Best wishes.
I agree with everything you write. What’s important is that Americans learn to be conscious of the mess they are constantly leaving behind. I live in Israel now, and because of our drought, I’ve been forced to become more aware of, at least, my family’s water consumption. It’s been an eye opening experience.