Gleanings: Higher Power
Laurie Michaelis writes on the challenge of living a low carbon lifestyle
by Laurie Michaelis
22nd April 2016
Living simply can be anything but simple. At the Britain Yearly Meeting Sustainability Gathering last month, Friends spoke of their dilemmas in cultivating low carbon lives; air travel to visit grandchildren is just one example. Many of our ‘needs’ are modern inventions. Until the 1960s most travel in Britain was by bicycle or public transport, and in the early 1970s the average indoor winter temperature was 13°C. Yet few in our society would seriously consider doing without cars or central heating, even knowing that this new technology threatens the survival of our species. Is this a kind of mass addiction, is it rational self-interest or just the new normal?
