And in the other direction, technology is getting to the point where the required adaptation is a lot smaller.
The idea of conservation used to be combined with the idea of sacrifice. Save the planet by living in the dark, bundling up in sweaters, and exhausting yourself on a bicycle to get anywhere.
Today I light my house with LEDs that are nearly 10x more efficient than incandescents and should last just about forever. High efficiency HVAC and good insulation mean that the energy I expend on climate control is very small. I drive an electric car which is a fantastic way to get around. Some of these (like the electric car) are not good economic choices yet. Others are. But the ones that aren't are becoming so pretty quickly. That is the face of conservation now: great stuff that just happens to be efficient.
The idea of conservation used to be combined with the idea of sacrifice. Save the planet by living in the dark, bundling up in sweaters, and exhausting yourself on a bicycle to get anywhere.
Today I light my house with LEDs that are nearly 10x more efficient than incandescents and should last just about forever. High efficiency HVAC and good insulation mean that the energy I expend on climate control is very small. I drive an electric car which is a fantastic way to get around. Some of these (like the electric car) are not good economic choices yet. Others are. But the ones that aren't are becoming so pretty quickly. That is the face of conservation now: great stuff that just happens to be efficient.