We don't want to travel with others on trains--we want to drive great big cars on superhighways.
We've never had the deprivations that Europeans have suffered from frequent wars on their soil, so we waste food and energy without even noticing. This became clear to me when I lived in Europe for awhile. I soon learned to be as careful as my neighbors.
The only thing that gets Americans to have that feeling of "we're all in this together" is war.
Most of our ancestors left Europe because it was too constricting and they did not fit in, or they saw a way to make their fortune in the new world.
So to get a diverse bunch of people who have in their genes the tendency to be enterprising loners who prefer lounging in front of their plasma screen TVs to thinking about a common goal that does not involve warfare is quite a conundrum.
What could be the motivator? I think it has to be profit. Something that perks up Americans right away. Clean energy that is cheaper than dirty energy. Conservation that does not require a lot of work but reduces expenses.
And, above all, if it could be shown that reducing carbon emissions improves sexual prowess, then we would not have to resort to jeremiads about catastrophic global warming.
Arf!
You want some renewable deep wave energy, darlin'? Say hello to my love-turbine!
I'm not sure how "zero emissions" fits in here...
No! I didn't type that! It was afew! I don't know how he does it. He uses gnomisch powers and Shostakovich! Don't let his innocent expression fool you!
Hold on, that's not afew. That's me! Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.
Now I will cycle home, using my flowers as protection...CO2 my beauties! Food! Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.
Two excellent insightful posts, also below. Really not much to add.
