Two friends meet at a coffee shop somewhere in the US and start talking:
Person A: Have you heard all this nonsense about becoming green?
Person B: Yes I have. I don't believe it is nonsense
A: With all this financial turmoil, do you think someone is going to invest some minute of their time or a dollar from their pocket in "saving the planet"?
B: I believe its necessary. Otherwise the window of opportunity to change the fate of the environment will pass and we will have to deal with unimaginable consequences
A: Pleeeeeassseee! Don't tell me you believe in that "global warming" myth!
B: Let's assume I don't. Would you say we are damaging the environment by creating bigger and bigger cities, by dumping more and more stuff into the ground and into our oceans, and by exploiting the resources of nature without any means of regenerating those resources?
A: So?! I believe there are still many more resources available for exploitation, and the more we advance, the more we will be able to make those resources last.
B: And where does it end? How much more can we "stretch the fabric"?
A: Are you telling me I will have to give up my SUV?
B: I believe some changes will be necessary in our day to day routines. But, other countries have started to embrace those changes.
A: Yes sure!. I will NOT sort my garbage into four different containers! I will NOT live with half a glass of ice instead of my full 16oz plastic cup full to the top! I will NOT install those ugly panels in my house's roof nor will I have any type of propeller to generate wind power!
B: Would you buy an electric car if it costs the same (purchase price plus operating costs) as your SUV and has similar features? Would you move your office to a building that costs one third in electricity than your current one, and on top of that uses 75% less water?
A: Perhaps... But those things are not available yet, and if they are the cost is prohibitive
B: In many cases its a "Catch 22" dilemma. The cost is higher than existing technologies simply because the market is smaller and the economies of scale give an unfair advantage to the existing product. That is where I hope government will intervene (he sighs)
A: Don't tell me you also believe in those stories about the shortage of drinking water?!
B: According to The World Bank 80 countries have water shortages, and 40 percent of the world (more than 2 billion people) has no access to clean water or sanitation. Do you think this is a fairy tale?
A: Perhaps not, but what do I care about some forsaken country thousands of miles away?
B: So, you don’t care about the events in 9/11? Or perhaps you don’t give a damn that we are allowing immense amounts of money to escape from our hands and get to oil producing countries, those same countries that finance hatred against the western world?
A: We will overcome those countries using our military strength and I believe McCain is the man for the job!
B: I don’t want to spoil your plans, but I think Obama will be the next president
And so the conversation carries on….
What will happen at the end? Who is right and who is wrong? Only time will tell
Until next week. SHALOM!
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3 comments:
Green tech begins with a state of mind!
An elderly man is discussing a personal tragedy with his grandchildren.He tells then that the incident created a struggle in his heart like 2 wolves attacking.The first wolf is angry,veangeful and selfish. The second wolf is kind, compassionate and generous.
One of the children asks the grandfather which wolf will win?
He humbly whispers the one that I FEED.
Are you in control of your emotions or do they control you
www.mayeholisticmed.com
Frank:
Excellent and beautiful comment. Thanks for enriching this Blog!
Green Tech is a state of mind, I agree. However, history teaches us that things always happen in the same fashion:
1. Early Innovators understand the wave of the future (Green Tech) and embrace.
2. The Early Majority (<50% but not by much) becomes the marketplace for the entrepreneur class of Early Innovators, providing the beginning seeds of change.
3. The rest of the population, more conservative and resistant to change, is slower on the uptake. They defend their position as correct because it's known and tangible to them.
4. Because the EI are correct, a shift takes place, but rarely happens quickly. Economic and social shifts in our civilization seem to always take at least a generation after the benefits are well known and the processes are practiced by the EI.
5. A generation (or two) later, what was once revolutionary is now common. The EI's move onto the next wave, and the Late Adopters of our green world backlash once again.
I have no doubt that we'll transition to Green Tech, but my fear is that our timeline due to our actions is smaller than most of us (including myself, most of the time) are willing to admit. This might take a generational effort unlike what has come before, replacing slow change with massive efforts to transform our economy before we're unable to do so.
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