Dangerous limits, parts per million, annual emission cuts, percentage increase in proportion of energy from renewables, fuel efficiency; these are just some of the forms the language of targets takes in the climate change debate. This is what is called an instrumentalist approach. It assumes climate change is a technical problem, like all the other problems we face, and that it can be solved by accurate measurement and the correct technologies. Describing climate change as a technical problem pushes questions of politics and values to one side. This is a mistake because climate change is an issue which forces us to ask - how do we want to live? See here for a fuller description of the problem with targets. What should replace the language of targets? A positive language which highlights the benefits that will accrue from moving towards a more equal, less competitive and less acquisitive way of living. The work of the Equality Trust provides ample evidence that more equal societies are happier societies, healthier societies. Current Western ways of life are economically bankrupt. People have ceased getting happier since the 1970's. Communities are breaking down, families are torn apart by the need to work long hours, politically the world is becoming increasingly unstable. We have all the marvels of technology at our fingertips (even apps that use AI to extract vocals from the songs), and yet 'have we ever felt so impoverished and isolated? (Zerzan, 2002). Has the future ever seemed so precarious? Has the reason for optimism ever been so difficult to locate? Now is the time to be brave, to imagine how our world could be better, how we might truly live in a way that honours our ancestors and offers hope and joy to the generations yet to come. Let us not ask how much of the modern world we can keep, and still avoid catastrophe. Let us ask how little we need to keep in order to be happy, and build a life worth living, that will be a testament to those who are to follow us.
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7/2/2012 06:37:51 am
"Let us not ask how much of the modern world we can keep, and still avoid catastrophe. Let us ask how little we need to keep in order to be happy, and build a life worth living, that will be a testament to those who are to follow us."
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Christopher Shaw
7/2/2012 06:45:35 pm
Thanks Byron, those words of understanding and support mean a great deal to me. I have discovered your blog and have begun reading your entry on technology. I look forward to finishing it, because I think it addresses a key but very difficult question. Is it possible to have just a little bit of industrial technology? Ellul, The Technological Society, thinks not (1965) nor does Zerzan and other green anarchists. But to suggest we go back to a hunter gatherer existence? It's not going to happen, not voluntarily anyway.
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7/3/2012 09:14:09 am
Yes, I don't know that I have an answer on that one (yet?). I freely admit I haven't read and thought enough about the concept of technology. In fact, my laptop is currently being propped up (to aid cooling fan and comfortable typing height) on a copy of <i>Christian Ethics in a Technological Age</i>, a major contribution to Christian reflection on such matters, though as yet I haven't made it past the first chapter. Since the author is a possible external examiner for my PhD, I do need to get to it sometime soon. 7/3/2012 09:14:19 am
Yes, I don't know that I have an answer on that one (yet?). I freely admit I haven't read and thought enough about the concept of technology. In fact, my laptop is currently being propped up (to aid cooling fan and comfortable typing height) on a copy of <i>Christian Ethics in a Technological Age</i>, a major contribution to Christian reflection on such matters, though as yet I haven't made it past the first chapter. Since the author is a possible external examiner for my PhD, I do need to get to it sometime soon. 7/3/2012 09:23:31 am
Yes, I don't know that I have an answer on that one (yet?). I freely admit I haven't read and thought enough about the concept of technology. In fact, my laptop is currently being propped up (to aid cooling fan and comfortable typing height) on a copy of <i>Christian Ethics in a Technological Age</i>, a major contribution to Christian reflection on such matters, though as yet I haven't made it past the first chapter. Since the author is a possible external examiner for my PhD, I do need to get to it sometime soon. 7/3/2012 09:41:42 am
Yes, I don't know that I have an answer on that one (yet?). I freely admit I haven't read and thought enough about the concept of technology. In fact, my laptop is currently being propped up (to aid cooling fan and comfortable typing height) on a copy of <i>Christian Ethics in a Technological Age</i>, a major contribution to Christian reflection on such matters, though as yet I haven't made it past the first chapter. Since the author is a possible external examiner for my PhD, I do need to get to it sometime soon. 7/3/2012 09:43:01 am
Hmmm, apologies for the multiple posts and empty posts. I kept getting error messages. Feel free to delete surplus to requirements (including this one).
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AuthorChris Shaw is a Senior Researcher with Climate Outreach Archives
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