"mainstream ecology would hold that the Earth cannot support anything close to six billion people with lifestyles remotely approaching that of the average Western worker"
...
James Heartfield replied:
Yes, it is convenient that science keeps coming up with reason why non-Europeans must be kept in poverty.
[...]
.............
Although I've repeatedly praised James' critique of "green capitalism" --
see, for example:
<http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/2008/2008-December/020509.html>
--
I was prepared to push back against his characterization of the 'how many earths?' app as a crytpto-call for keeping the so-called third world poor (or, 'authentic' and 'simple', as some would have it).
But then I went to the site and took the quiz. The results changed my mind.
After answering the "detailed" questions -- designed, visitors are assured, to achieve a closer approximation of your true impact -- and listening to the looped Lion King-y soundtrack for what seemed like an ocean of time, the results came in.
Four Earths! What the wha?
Do you eat beef and pork: Rarely.
We do enjoy poultry and fish on a pretty regular basis but you can't make Uncle Cap'n Monroe's Cumin Seasoned Chicken Devastation Over Rice without the chicken sunshine!
Car: a high fuel efficiency, new tech VW.
Do I drive a lot? Why yes. Sadly, a fella's got to work and to work, a fella's got to commute. And where trains do not go, a fella's got to motor.
Can I take the train more? Depends upon the gig. A consultant's life is full of transportation surprises.
Do we buy new electronic gizmos often? No. Usually to replace and typically after several years of use.
And so on.
Check out the modest little neighborhood the app generated using my answers:
<http://monroelab.net/images/how-many-earths-the-little-hood.jpg>
I must admit it's a fair reflection of our 50 year old duplex house (no McMansion chilluns). The van represents the fact at least fifty percent of our food is locally sourced (as opposed to an 18 wheeler long hauler if you buy stuff from far away). The car -- a vintage old man Lincoln by the looks of it -- is bigger than our actual vehicle. Its gas guzzler profile apparently represents the fact we drive so much (by 'green' reckoning).
Not an extravagant lifestyle by stereotypical American standards. In fact, it's almost frugal.
But still, four Earths?!
What if I reduce.
Here are the results:
<http://monroelab.net/images/how-many-earths-after-changes.jpg>
Ah that's better; it's now only three Earths. Hold on, three?!
So what you're saying, magic footprint calculator, is that even if I primarily use photovoltaics for electricity, drastically reduce poultry and fish consumption, use trains and motorbikes more often, fly never and recycle like a beaver (aren't beavers nature's champion recyclers?) that it would still take more Earths than we currently have to support my not terribly extravagant (by Western standards) "lifestyle"?
Well, that's a bit of a problem. So the question is, what would it take to get the meter down to one Earth? I suspect this is where James' comment about the calculations always supporting the idea of noble immiseration (or culturally colorful poverty) comes into play.
As with all software, the results manifest programmatically encapsulated assumptions. It's those assumptions I'm now eager to dissect like a middle school lab worm.
.d.
-- "What better way to destroy something than send in Martin Amis to praise it?."
Mark Fisher, K-Punk
.............................. http://monroelab.net/blog/
