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General Climbing Discussion

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Welfare and climbing 27-Nov-2008 At 7:30:24 PM anthonyk

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On 27/11/2008 Wendy wrote:
>Complete, or even nearly complete subsistance living takes up an awful
>lot of time, especially if done alone as opposed to shared gardens, chooks,
>cows etc. I don't think many people in the west are doing it, but I do
>think any steps towards reducing one's consumption are fantastic. Sure,
>many might require other people doing differently, but many don't. And
>anyway, plenty of people aren't about to change their lifestyles any time
>soon, so it's even better to have people prepared to live off their rubbish
>and excess. Not ideal, but very practical and effective in the medium term.

one thing i think even die-hard enviro/sustainability types take for granted is the massive infrastructure needed even for their most basic tools. sure you just dig holes and put plants in them right? well if you want a shovel for $40 from the hardware store, and the use of a car to get the bits and pieces you need and to trade with other people, you are dependent on industry all the way from the iron ore mines and oil wells to factories and retail outlets.

until someone is supporting themselves with a hand-made ox-pulled plow or something made by someone within walking distance, they should be eating a big slice of humble pie about how sustainable / independent their lifestyle is. i don't think there's a single person of the ~1 billion odd people living in western countries that can claim they live a non-industrialised lifestyle. not one.