Minimal consumption scenario: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 00:24, 29 May 2022

This is a thought-experiment to look at the minimum amount of resources needed to sustain a reasonably good quality of life. Some basic requirements include:

Enough food/nutrition (...)( this means there should be enough calories, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals - it should be enough to sustain an active lifestyle, not just a sedentary one ) and water
Enough housing (...)( that everyone could at least have their own room ) (...)( utilities: water, electricity, internet, etc ) and other spaces (...)( parks, stores, places to hang out, etc )
Not being overworked; there should be enough time for friends/family/etc
Fun things to do beyond just surviving lol

This is NOT a build-from-scratch scenario. The world already has plenty of houses, buildings, infrastructure etc. If we can use what we got, it's a lot greener.

The scenario

Food

More plant-based. Animal products would be only a small fraction of food.
Preventing food waste (both personal and commercial)

Non-food items

A culture of "not buying anything new if it's available used"
Never throwing out things unless they're broken
People who want to de-clutter their homes (or move) would give things away
Gift economies would be global, allowing currently-poor countries to have more material wealth
Electronics
- Software wouldn't be bloated, so it would work fine on older computers & phones.
- Hardware would be designed with right to repair in mind.
New goods would still be manufactured when used ones aren't available.

Transport

Neighborhoods would be walkable
Public transit would be available (except in places where it would actually use more fuel than driving)
People would carpool as much as possible

Buildings

Heating would be as geothermal as possible
Home electricity usage (other than heating) would stay the same; it's a small enough part of global energy usage anyway.

Results

Analysis needed: To what extent would all of this reduce:

Energy demand
Factory labor
Minerals mined
Pollution

With the reduced energy demand, does green energy become more viable?

If you want to help with the analysis, join the discussion.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-This is a thought-experiment to look at the minimum amount of resources needed to sustain modern first-world-ish lives (or healthier). Some basic requirements include:
+This is a thought-experiment to look at the minimum amount of resources needed to sustain a ''reasonably good quality of life''. Some basic requirements include:
-* Enough [[food]] and nutrition {{x|this means there should be enough calories, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals - it should be enough to sustain an active lifestyle, not just a sedentary one}}
+* Enough [[food]]/nutrition {{x|this means there should be enough calories, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals - it should be enough to sustain an active lifestyle, not just a sedentary one}} and water
-* Enough [[housing]] {{x|that everyone could ''at least'' have their own room}} {{x|housing with utilities including [[water]], [[electricity]], [[internet]], etc}}, and other spaces
+* Enough [[housing]] {{x|that everyone could '''at least''' have their own room}} {{x|utilities: [[water]], [[electricity]], [[internet]], etc}} and other spaces {{x|parks, stores, places to hang out, etc}}
 * Not being overworked; there should be enough time for friends/family/etc
 * Fun things to do beyond just surviving lol