Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet, 2021a

20 Adaptation Strategies 344
2. keeping a house so cool in summer that people’s feet get cold;
3. having 5 cars in an oversized garage;
4. accumulating enough air miles to be in a special “elite” club;
5. taking frequent, long, hot showers;
6. using a clothes dryer during a non-rainy period;
7. having a constant stream of delivery vehicles arrive at the door;
8. a full waste bin each week marking high consumption;
9. having a high-energy-dem<strong>and</strong> diet (frequent meat consumption);
10. upgrading a serviceable appliance, disposing of the old;
11. wasteful lighting.
At present, many of these activities connote success <strong>and</strong> are part of
a culture of “conspicuous consumption.” If such things ran counter
to the sensibilities of the community, the behaviors would no longer
carry social value <strong>and</strong> would be ab<strong>and</strong>oned. The social norms in some
Sc<strong>and</strong>inavian countries praise egalitarianism <strong>and</strong> find public displays
of being “better” or of having more money/stuff to be in poor taste.
Ab<strong>and</strong>onment of consumerist norms could possibly work, but only if it
stems from a genuine underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the negative consequences. If
curtailment of resource-heavy activities is imposed by some authority
or is otherwise reluctantly adopted, it will not be as likely to transform
societal values.
While it may seem objectionable, it is worth recognizing that public
shame carries surprising power. 61 A recent experiment in Bolivia put
traffic monitors on the streets wearing zebra costumes 62 to combat
irresponsible driving habits endangering pedestrians. The zebras would
“call out” violators by making a show <strong>and</strong> pointing to the offenders.
That simple action has been effective. Other cultures have required
perpetrators of unsavory acts to st<strong>and</strong> in a public place for a day wearing
a sign announcing their transgression, recognizing the power of public
shame. It is difficult to imagine similar remedies today, <strong>and</strong> for many
good reasons. 63
Yet our society has perhaps gotten too far away from personal ownership
of actions. Anonymity in our modern world promotes rude behavior:
on roads, on the internet, <strong>and</strong> in heavily-populated urban areas, where
often no one within sight is familiar. If environmentally costly activities
were to acquire taboo status, it is pretty certain we would see far less of
it, for fear of shame.
61: The author became aware of this power
in the context of student project demonstrations
open to the whole department to
watch. The prospect of public failure provided
supplemental motivation for students
to work super-hard—harder than the author
typically observed in other courses.
62: The costumes served to simultaneously
maintain anonymity <strong>and</strong> allude to black<strong>and</strong>-white
crosswalk patterns.
63: . . . e.g., not a very nurturing approach
to promote change
20.5 Flexibility as an Answer to Uncertainty
No one has a crystal ball. No one can credibly say what the future holds.
Anyone claiming that we’re heading for certain complete collapse should
not be trusted. But neither should someone who says everything will be
glorious. It is not hard to find either sort of message in this world, yet
we cannot discern with confidence which is ultimately correct.
© 2021 T. W. Murphy, Jr.; Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Lic.;
Freely available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/energy_ambitions.