296
• Environmental behaviours needed later this century cannot be fully known in
advance.
• Attentional vitality and psychological equipoise are needed for behaviour
change.
• Clusters of behaviour must be adopted; serial, incremental change will not
suffice.
• Conditions can be created under which citizens become behavioural
entrepreneurs.
13.1 Introduction
How ever vast were the resources used to create techno-industrial society, they were
never limitless. And how ever massive was the waste sink that these societies made
out of the atmosphere, it is no longer able to absorb their wastes. Biophysical limits
and the consequences of having disrupted the Earth’s ecosystems lead to an unmistakable outcome: starting this century, citizens of these societies will consume fewer
resources and live more simply. Unfortunately, their current worldviews, goals and
behaviours are not prepared for this new reality.
Certainly, it is possible to live at a dramatically lower energy and material flux.
Indeed, almost all of human history occurred within a pre-industrial low-energy
context, and such an existence is commonplace for much of the current global population. However, the comforts and conveniences of techno-industrial society are
unlikely to be possible under the new biophysical context outlined below. Thus, the
focus of this chapter is on helping the citizens of such a society weather their inevitable transition to a more frugal existence, and it is the experiences and behaviours
of those individuals to whom this chapter will refer.
A decline in resource availability occurring alongside a need to respond to climate disruption will upend life patterns and is not welcomed by reasonable individuals. Nonetheless, this looming reality is as well documented as it is stark.
Consider that, near the end of this century, addressing climate disruption alone
requires that we produce below a tenth of current greenhouse gas emissions, and
probably requires a comparable reduction in consumption of energy and materials.
The environmental community has long argued for significant reductions in consumption and emissions, but never have order-of-magnitude changes been
envisioned.
Our species’ adaptive, entrepreneurial nature suggests that we might respond
well to this new reality under certain conditions. The needed changes will place a
priority on clear-headedness, the ability to thoughtfully plan and manage behaviour
and a willingness to continuously build new competencies. These capacities, in turn,
depend on mental well-being (see Part II, this volume). After introducing how the
new biophysical context has created a new behavioural context, this chapter suggests how to help people to respond well to this new reality.
R. De Young
• Environmental behaviours needed later this century cannot be fully known in
advance.
• Attentional vitality and psychological equipoise are needed for behaviour
change.
• Clusters of behaviour must be adopted; serial, incremental change will not
suffice.
• Conditions can be created under which citizens become behavioural
entrepreneurs.
13.1 Introduction
How ever vast were the resources used to create techno-industrial society, they were
never limitless. And how ever massive was the waste sink that these societies made
out of the atmosphere, it is no longer able to absorb their wastes. Biophysical limits
and the consequences of having disrupted the Earth’s ecosystems lead to an unmistakable outcome: starting this century, citizens of these societies will consume fewer
resources and live more simply. Unfortunately, their current worldviews, goals and
behaviours are not prepared for this new reality.
Certainly, it is possible to live at a dramatically lower energy and material flux.
Indeed, almost all of human history occurred within a pre-industrial low-energy
context, and such an existence is commonplace for much of the current global population. However, the comforts and conveniences of techno-industrial society are
unlikely to be possible under the new biophysical context outlined below. Thus, the
focus of this chapter is on helping the citizens of such a society weather their inevitable transition to a more frugal existence, and it is the experiences and behaviours
of those individuals to whom this chapter will refer.
A decline in resource availability occurring alongside a need to respond to climate disruption will upend life patterns and is not welcomed by reasonable individuals. Nonetheless, this looming reality is as well documented as it is stark.
Consider that, near the end of this century, addressing climate disruption alone
requires that we produce below a tenth of current greenhouse gas emissions, and
probably requires a comparable reduction in consumption of energy and materials.
The environmental community has long argued for significant reductions in consumption and emissions, but never have order-of-magnitude changes been
envisioned.
Our species’ adaptive, entrepreneurial nature suggests that we might respond
well to this new reality under certain conditions. The needed changes will place a
priority on clear-headedness, the ability to thoughtfully plan and manage behaviour
and a willingness to continuously build new competencies. These capacities, in turn,
depend on mental well-being (see Part II, this volume). After introducing how the
new biophysical context has created a new behavioural context, this chapter suggests how to help people to respond well to this new reality.
R. De Young