Downshifting

Interesting article by Gregory Clark (professor Economics, UC Davis), “Life After Peak Oil” from the Sacramento Bee today, on the ramifications of expensive energy. Maybe not so bad…

So the future after peak oil will involve living in such dense urban settings where destinations are walkable or bikeable, just as in pre-industrial cities (the city of London in 1801 had 100,000 inhabitants in one square mile). Homes will be much smaller, but instead of caverns of off-white sheet rock, we will spend our money in making much more attractive interiors. Nights will be darker. We will not have retail outlets lit up like the glare of the midday sun in Death Valley.

Such a lifestyle is not only possible it will be much healthier.

I think that making this come true is largely about starting to shift mindsets and lifestyles now, so that the transition is not so painful.