I had mixed feelings about MacKay's statement that "every BIG helps". As he stated, little bits of change will only reap little benefits, and big changes will have big effects. However, this can be disheartening to those of us that are trying to make those little changes. We justify our little actions by thinking something like "but I know lots of people who are not doing ANYTHING!" And, to some extent, I think that those of us who are making small efforts should not be squashed under the weight of trying to fix the world. We are, indeed, doing our part, every little step of the way.
The big changes that he discussed were mainly for whole countries, like Britain. I hardly think that I am responsible for changing all of Britain's energy usage and child-birth rates! The changes he discussed need to be addressed at the national, or federal, level and cannot just be the product of a few individuals deciding to not have kids, or to just have a replacement number of kids. In addition, the lifestyle changes he discussed are also national issues. If I decide to sell my car and commute only via public transportation, bike, or my feet that will not fix the national carbon crisis.
He suggested some personal changes that could help. Those would be (1) transforming the private and public transportation mechanisms, which could only be done by companies or governmental laws; (2) making your houses more energy efficient, a personal change; (3) paying attention to your electronic devices, another personal change; and (4) trying other energy sources, which could be accomplished by changing the energy source of devices (which costs consumers) or by governmental regulations.
Finally, he addressed several different energy solutions, including a mix of energy sources, more solar or wind, all or no nuclear power, etc. These different solutions are interesting, but I don't know how willing governments will be to totally switch their energy systems. It is a lofty, but hopefully soon manageable goal.
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