Canadian mennonite article series: #9 moving ahead one
Those of you who have been following this series may despair at the scale of the problem at hand. Indeed it is very common for people, when first encountering the topics of peak-oil and ecological limits, to feel overwhelmed, to wish to retreat to a cozy status-quo world and hope that these problems go away.
There are two difficulties, however:
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Barring spectacular progress in energy and agriculture, the problems of finite oil and ecological limits will not go away.
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It is in nearly everyone's short-term economic interest to retreat to a cozy status-quo world as long as possible. Our economy requires debt, consumption, and growth; therefore advertisers, government, and the media are highly motivated to perpetuate status-quo as long as possible, opposing transitions to a sustainable society. I'm not suggesting a vast conspiracy theory, just many groups pursuing their own self-interest.
So why is it, in fact, that we need to take any initiative? Why can't we continue to live how we're living, and if problems come up, then we'll just adjust, along with the rest of the society, in some way or other. To some extent this position is defensible – as long as difficulties don't arise, maybe concerns regarding energy and limits are, in fact, in error; if difficulties do arise, then everyone faces them together.
My personal commitment to change stems from the following main reasons:
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Concern for the future: using up the planet's capital is a terrible burden to place on future generations;
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Concern for creation: there is significant species loss and ecosystem destruction taking place because of our huge demand for energy and wealth;
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Concern for my neighbour: our current lifestyle is already subsidized by the world's poor, I cannot live a life which systematically impoverishes others;
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Concern as a pacifist: I will not have others fight wars on behalf of my lifestyle!
These are, for me, urgent and compelling motivations for change. However the lifestyle change which is needed is much more than changing the light bulbs or buying a hybrid car. We need a positive spirit, hope, faith and radical lifestyle change.
I think it is crucial to think of the issue positively. Not naively, in the sense of “I'm sure everything will work out alright,” but rather as a challenge, a problem needing a creative response. Ministers, farmers, counselors, teachers, politicians, urban planners, accountants, trades workers and academics can all find really important aspects of these problems, relevant to them and to their work, which can be rewarding to think about and to work on.
For me, the fact that I find the problems of ecosystem limits, energy limits, and societal responses as complex and fascinating means that I can think about, write about, and work on these problems without constantly finding myself depressed or upset. Seeing a problem and wanting to address it means to have hope for the future.
It is probably unlikely that we will successfully address the limits facing us worldwide, however this does not mean that we need to descend into despair or negativity. As Christians, we act because we are motivated by a desire to be faithful. We are not the masters of our fate, nor are we the creators of creation. Faithfulness to God means caring for our world and living in a way that is fair to our neighbour, but it also means being prepared to leaving certain questions in God's hands.
Next, we need to be prepared to let go of the status quo. Not letting go, in a reluctant sort of way, but in a joyful or celebratory way, to release ourselves from its bondage. Although fossil fuels have brought us many physical comforts, compared to many poorer countries we suffer more mental ones: stress, depression, isolation, loneliness. These and other things we may want to let go: For many people Christmas and Easter are primarily a time of binge eating and material consumption, similarly many people spend more time commuting in traffic than they do with their families.
Many people will complain that significant drops in material or energy consumption will have significant economic consequences. They're right, however the economic consequences will arrive, one way or the other, and I see no joy or hope in the indefinite perpetuation of a broken system with no future. My hopes for the future aren't economic – we need to let go of a superficial dream that our children will be “better off” or wealthier than us (which I consider unlikely). Instead, my hopes for the next generation are mental and spiritual – I would like them to be at peace, to have hope, to have a purpose, and to understand their role in God's creation.