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Many of us understand and accept the simple truth that we live on a finite planet. We generally have a growing awareness that what we consume comes from somewhere and what we discard goes somewhere. Yet, we still somehow believe (or behave as though we believe) that it is possible to keep upgrading our stuff, maintain our current levels of consumption and rely on techno-capitalist “solutions” to our problems, even in the face of mounting climate and ecological crises.
This moral and logical disconnect is largely due to adherence to "techno-optimism," the vague idea that Science and Innovation will find us a way out of this mess. We will invent some new chemical to degrade plastic or train bugs to eat Styrofoam. We’re developing floating wind turbines to power fleets of electric Amazon trucks.
Yet, rejecting techno-optimism may leave you reeling with some very important concerns. How will we feed a population in overshoot without fossil energy? How will I travel to visit my family? How has my lifestyle so far affected other human and non-human beings? What will we do without medicine? Can’t we just all move to cities and automate things and use clean energy and have a circular economy like so many folks say is possible?
These are all extremely valid questions, and warrant an attentive and serious conversation about how we allocate and prioritize use of the energy and resources we have already extracted and have remaining.
Recommended resources for this EcoGathering: