If you are a middle class (or higher) American you live better than 99.4% of all the people who have ever lived, including those that are alive right now. This is according to Greg Easterbrook in his book "The Progress Paradox". Apparently there have been approximately 80 billion people who have lived on earth until now. Most of them lived without refrigerators, air conditioning, computers, great big television sets, high tech health care, and cell phones.
In fact, half of the worlds current population lives on less than two dollars a day (in US dollars). That's 3 billion people living on a little over $700 a year, if they are lucky. 1.3 billion of them make only half of that. And things have really improved over the last 100 years.
So the next time I am feeling sorry for myself because I don't have a tablet PC, or I can't afford a new windsurfer, I will try to remember that I am a spoiled, fat, happy, healthy American with very little to complain about.
But I wonder, why are we so wealthy compared to the other 99%? Answer: Western society exploited fossil fuels early and often. Once we gained power through fossil fuel energy we used that power to gain more energy. Because of this early advantage we now have the equivalent of 80 slaves doing work for each and every one of us every day.
In other words, it would take the strength and energy of 80 people to provide the resources that each of us Westerners consume and use every day. Our "slave equivalents" can be found in our electronics, cars, washing machines, dish washers, vacuums, factories, and most importantly in the food we consume (and waste).
If you look at the societies that live on $1 a day or less, you'll see that they consume very little (if any) slave equivalents. They aren't exploiting fossil fuel energy like us. Their societies somehow missed out on the fossil fuel bonanza.
And it's too late now, I'm afraid. The US production of domestic oil peaked in 1970, and world discovery of new oil peaked soon after that. Those of us who are used to living with our 80 slave equivalents are going to fight like hell to keep them, like the southern plantation owners who wouldn't give up their slaves during the civil war. In fact, our entire economy of debt is based on the premise that we will have more and more slave equivalents as time goes by.
I won't be surprised to see many of us joining the other 99.4% over the coming decades. There just isn't enough cheap oil and natural gas to keep this party going for much longer. I wish there was another cheap energy alternative, but sadly there is not.
So it's time for all Americans to stop and think about the future. Do you want our children to grow up without the comfort and safety that cheap fossil fuel provides? We need leadership and strength to prepare for an uncertain future. This could be the biggest disaster that mankind will ever face, and right now we are ill prepared.
For starters we've got to conserve oil and reduce energy use. When America gets serious about solving a problem, we are nearly unstoppable. It's now or later, and later will be much harder when the cost of technology innovation skyrockets with the cost of energy.
We need to build walkable communities, not sprawling faceless suburbs connected by highways. We need to reorganize our production and distribution systems to work locally. And we all need to think about how we can get along with fewer slave equivalents every day. We have an incredible amount of work to do in preparation for some huge changes, now is the time to act.