Cary Tennis has a righteous consideration of PG&E’s bankruptcy.
But the real reason people cemented over their lawns and went around stinky and itchy was not that they suddenly saw that through voluntary cooperation we could halt the destruction of our water resources and the general rape and destruction of the planet. They did so because of high fines. For a few reptilian survivalists for whom 40 degrees indoors is as good as 72, who don’t really need showers because their blood is nothing but apple juice and wheat grass, and for the idle rich and the unemployed who could afford to spend an hour to go five miles on public transit, voluntary self-restraint required no major life adjustments. For the rest of us voracious plunderers of Gaia, harsh punitive measures were required.
What makes people conserve? High rates. Not environmental philosophy. Economic incentive. When our rates go up, we’ll start to conserve. Why? Because we’re simpletons! We don’t care a whit for philosophy! What has Europe got that we don’t? Enlightened philosophy? High gas prices!
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