Quote of the Day: Bill McKibben on McMansions
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.11.07
The average size of new U.S. homes has more than doubled over the past couple of generations, even as the number of people residing in them has shrunk by nearly a full person. The last glory days of the now-fading construction boom were the most insane of all: Outer rings of crenelated and turreted fortresses were sprouting near virtually every U.S. city, each dwelling looking as if it had been designed for an entry-level monarch."
The really rich, meanwhile, amused themselves by building above every ski hill and beach ranks of second homes that looked like nothing so much as modernist junior high schools. The environmental costs are myriad, of course—more materials used in construction (making cement for foundations alone is a prime contributor to global warming) and more energy used to heat and power all the resulting square footage. You can turn the thermostat and power a degree or two, but if the furnace is warming a 4,500 square feet, it's a token gesture."
—Bill McKibben in Sierra (July/August 2007)
See also: ::Big Houses Are Not Green: America's McMansion Problem, ::Wretched Excess Dept: A 50000 SF House and ::Wretched Excess Dept: Aspen Vacation Homes
Last weekend there was a big NASCAR race in town. 100,000 people crowded the stands to watch mega-horsepower vehicles scream around an oval track. Meanwhile many aircraft towing advertising banners flew overhead. What kind of society do we live in that allows mega houses, mega car races and all, at the same time well deserving people but up solar panels and drive hybrids? No wonder so many people suffer from American Dream Syndrome (ADS). ADS is the anxiety caused by trying to keep up with the Joneses only to learn that the Smiths cancel your every move. It sure would be nice if we had a uniformly knowledgeable populace that not only was aware of the issues but actually cared enough to personalize their knowledge through action. I don't think "pursuit of happiness" meant "at the expense of future generation's happiness." Time to carbon tax and carbon tax HARD.
"What kind of society do we live in that allows mega houses, mega car races and all, at the same time well deserving people but up solar panels and drive hybrids?"
What kind of society? A free one.
Deal with it.
"What kind of society? A free one.
Deal with it."
Free to whom? Absolutely nothing is free in this world. Americans feel they have the right to do whatever they want in the name of "FREEDOM". But freedom does come at a price. The way we are living now is generating massive amounts of waste and we bury it in the ground, pollute the air and continue to warm the planet futher. Sure you might think we have a free society now, but our children and grandchildren will be paying the price of your so called freedom.
*edited to remove borderline abusive statements*
Free Dumb -- that's Amuricuh.