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As we speak, work, walk the dog or make love, we are steadily getting closer to the very turn of the very century. Not only are we about to witness the twentieth century turning into the twenty-first, but also the change of eras, where the old industrial society turns into a society of information .
History has shown, though, that when approaching a centennial shift, a certain sense of dispiritedness is wont to mingle with the feelings of hope and euphoria. People ask themselves; "What will happen in the future? How are we to cope with the fact that the earth's resources are finite and how can we transform our materialistic society, based on profit and economic growth, into a more sustainable one?"
I have borrowed my answer from a book called Walden by Henry Thoreau . "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity" ( ), that is what it is all about. The time has come for us to single out our basic needs and cut down on material belongings. You do not need new clothes every month or a new car every second year - things which put an unnecessary strain on the environment in their chain of production. You do not need apples which have been grown in Italy, washed and packed in Denmark, and finally sold in France. It is time to wake up .
What we do need, however, what we cannot and should not dispense of, is healthy food to keep us happy and going, a dwelling adapted to our needs, clean air, a meaningful job in moderate portions and an equally meaningful leisure-time. The logical consequence, you see, of working less and producing fewer things, would be more leisure-time and thus more time to spend on cultivating oneself, a necessity which has been sadly neglected in the industrial society .
One thing which is important to remember is that the consuming society in which we are living is not a threat to the earth. It is a threat to us. Because when we have conquered and subdued, cultivated and consumed every bit of land on this planet, there will be nothing left for us to live on. Or live for. That would leave mankind with two options: either, if it is not too late, we can change and try to clear up the mess which we have caused, or we can have a look around for other planets to conquer .
Whatever we choose, the earth will always manage. If we choose to seek new adventures out there in the Milky Way, nature will heal and then start all over again with another species, hopefully more qualified than we are for the honor and responsibility of having an unusually large brain .
