The Green Friday Manifesto

[Shankapotomus]

3. Excellent list

One trick I find useful for differentiating between necessities and luxuries is to picture colonial times and substitute what the colonialists would use or do in the absence of our modern conveniences. And then I look for a clean, sustainable modern alternative if it is superior to the old way.

For instance, colonialists didn't have fossil fuel burning cars but they still travelled large distances by horse. They would just have to make allowances for a longer travel time and plan to make stops, say, if they were going from Virginia to say, NYC. Since cars pollute the atmosphere, are expensive to buy and insure and a horse is not really practical for most people, I imagine colonialists with access to electric bicycles. Certainly, it would have been welcomed as an improvement to their transportation issues and not a step back as it is regarded today when compared to the car.

I apply the same thinking when it comes to lighting. I ask, what would colonialists think of solar and/or wind up lanterns? I'm sure they wouldn't look at them as basically toys as we do today but serious luxuries and innovative conveniences.

Puts things in perspective.