Survivalist Green

The most prominent face of Survivalist Green is that of the city dweller; the second is of the suburban or exurban dweller. (Covers everything from apartments along the rail line to Mega-Mansions in the exurb zone.)

The third face of SG extends to the house trailer next to Mom & Dad's farmstead and on to the Off Griders and Climate Doom Cultists.

A boom in kitchen gardening and, community gardening/husbandry - in urban areas, look for extensive membership in community supported agriculture.

A dramatic fall off in per-capital solid waste generation rates: as in developing nations now, an empty container of any sort is caught on the first bounce and put to good use. Recycle/re-use rates increase very dramatically across all three facets of society.

Hunting and fishing will experience a major resurgence. Appointment to a State fish and game management commission is a coveted political opportunity.

Existing suburban tract-home developments filled with 5+ bedroom mansions will be converted to multiplex condominiums and mixed use communities with combined heat and power (CHP) units to provide electricity and heat to all residents.

Single family homes without thermal solar panels, as a minimum icon of energy independence, will be thought of as undesirable - out of fashion. A “green'er upper.”

Condominiums located in old industrial areas near sources of water power will be retro-converted into industrial uses, leading to social conflicts over zoning.

Acoustic music, with a chamber component, experience a resurgence in popularity.

Bike and walking trail networks everywhere, of course.

Obesity rates in young people will drop dramatically.

Railroad stations in metro areas will be re-transitioned to urban market distribution centers - as the were in the early 20th Century.

Individual non-business overseas travel becomes rare - and typically is constrained to high school or university experience.

Business travel shrinks to that which is offset and, even then, much more of a rarity.

Supply chains for raw materials shrink dramatically. A much higher proportion of raw materials come from recycling or local extracted raw materials. As a result, consumer goods become less commoditized, designs more varied.

Self sufficiency and hard work replace workouts.

We could go on…and on. But first we must ask. Does this sound so bad?

Others have written well about overcoming the un-named, prospectively much darker outcome.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/survivalist_gre_1.php