First. I lived in Keene as a kid. My mom used to take me to anti nuke rallys and protests. He looks like someone who used to smoke pot with my mom and her friends,(and sometimes me)
Second, he doesn't look like a tribal elder, he looks like someone who used to smoke pot with my mom and her friends, (and sometimes me).
I am in complete agreement with him on climate change. Did anyone hear about the ice shelf that dropped into the sea the other day?
I know his type. He is from the Mother Earth News crowd. Peope I love and respect but see as idealistic at times. For example if everyone had 25 acres in New Hampshire as he does, sure we could all be self sufficient enviromentally friendly micro communities. We could grow our own food, can it, heat with wood and solar, use solar for electricity. We could barter goods and services and share within our communtiy and all would be ducky. I have done much of that and it was ducky when we did it. The sad fact is that it is impossible for everyone to do that. perhaps if we never stopped doing that as a people but remained hunter gatherers in tribal communities we wouldn't have 6 billion people on earth and everyone could have 25 acres of good land. Perhaps. There are many hunter gatherer societies on earth today and I certainly would not want to live in many of their communties. Also hunter gatherers still used to slaughter each other when the chance arose so life wasn't always ducky.
To be the devils advocate I will mention a few of the good things that have come out of our society. First while many have accurately pointed out that technology has brought many woes to the planet and our race it has also brought much good. Medical advancements that fight the natural tendency to get sick and die are one of them. When one man can farm and feed a thousand then 999 other people can focus on doing other things. Many of which the farmer is glad they are doing. The arts is just one example. Literature is another. After all what will the farmer do when it is too dark to farm. And that brings me to television, ooohh yeah TV.
It is possible that we will all die due to the results of our agricultural society and the technology it has brought us. But it is possible we will all live because and only because of these developements. Most are aware now of the reality that it is only a matter of time before another mass extinction is imminent due to an asteroid or comet. Scientists are now working on ways to prevent such from happening. If it occurs we could have as little as six months notice.
I prefer the agricultural society with all its risks and negative consequences. I'm an optimist and think that although we identify problems early and work out solutions at the last minute that eventually we will get it right. We have the technology now to stop global warming we just need the will. I think it will come.
If we die trying thats ok too.
