What Will We Miss the Most?

PREFACE

For those who may have stumbled upon this link before reading other entries of my blog, a good place to start instead (so one can understand the context) might be my first entry here. For those wishing to make quicker work of getting acquainted with the details explaining more about the conditions surrounding this particular article with less overall reading, this entry is rather dense with links to supporting material. 

What Will We Miss the Most?

As time moves forward and we begin to slow down from the constant rush, rush, rush of industrial civilization, what will we miss the most? Will we wake up and begin remembering what we "forgot?" Think back to your own childhood. What did you enjoy the most? Were times "slower" and were there days you could spend outside exploring all over for hours or just chilling and reading books? Could you spend hours listening to the radio, hanging out in a tree house or on the beach at the lake? 

Believe it or not, except for the tree house, I STILL do these things quite regularly. It is actually rather fun to unplug, turn off, and tune out at times. One of my most pleasurable times is hiking and camping in the mountains, and often this is done in areas where there is no cellphone service or wi-fi. This means that the sounds of nature and the rushing stream behind me are often the only things I can hear (besides other people at the campgrounds). These experiences aren't just pleasurable; they're also healthy! 

Recently, I have come across some media which I read a couple years ago but didn't actually watch the embedded video. I decided to watch the video even though it is a couple years old already now. The link embedded above takes one straight to the important part of the video, but another part of the video is also important for the take it gives regarding technology (somebody was going to ask the question!).

The video actually originated as part of this article which describes the highlights of the video. The implications I gather are that this (stepping down to 400 exajoules/year from 600 exajoules/year) is about 5 to 8 years away from now. As one can easily imagine, a complete restructuring of global civilization is something none of us really has ever seen; everything over the past happened rather slowly by comparison. The transitions from previous forms of energy to new ones generally required 50 years or more for a complete transition, so this will happen comparatively in the blink of an eye.

[For a thorough debunking of the current industry-proposed greenwashing schemes, Tom Murphy has written a new book. This chapter or the preface (or BOTH) should probably be read first. Those familiar with Tom will already know that his approach to these predicaments combine mathematics with the no-nonsense realities of actual limits to assess the situation from a down-to-earth perspective.] 

Stumbling back upon this material (Rob Mielcarski's article) makes me realize that despite studying climate change for the last 40 years and ecological overshoot for the last decade, I still feel unprepared for what is coming. Admittedly, I am far more aware than most of the general public as to the dangers of society coming apart at the seams, but being aware of these things doesn't necessarily mean being PREPARED (mentally, physically, infrastructurally, etc.) for them to happen. Even the best-prepared among us will still most likely feel completely overwhelmed by the sheer gravity, immensity, and trauma of the collapse that we are already beginning to experience. 

This brings me back to the question I began this entry with - what will we miss the most? Will we miss the nature that once was abundant and everywhere which is quickly disappearing from the landscape? Do you remember back when going on trips that one had to constantly clean the bug guts off the windshield? I still have to clean the windshield, but far less frequently nowadays. 

Will we miss the stores that were once abundant everywhere and famous names that are now nothing but a shell of their former selves or entirely gone such as Radio Shack, Sears, Kmart, Kinney Shoes, Fashion Bug, Toys "R" Us, Pier 1 Imports, Builder's Square, Furrow Building Materials, L.S. Ayres, Marshall Fields, Montgomery Ward, Service Merchandise, K's Merchandise, and so many others?

Will we miss driving around town or going out to eat? What about movies at a theater? What about all the modern conveniences we generally take for granted? I've never been one to use gyms or spas, but these will most likely disappear. Another thing I think many will miss is amusement parks.  

In the meantime, my recommendation is to slow down, smell the roses, and Live Now. To find out how, go back to the second paragraph and see the article at the end of it (if you didn't already read it). What do you love to do? Whether it is walking, biking, hiking, sailing, swimming, playing games, reading, camping, beachcombing, mountain climbing, or whatever, now is the time to plan a trip to one of these neat places and get busy!