Comments on: Big houses, bigger houses and even bigger houses http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/26/big-houses-bigger-houses-and-even-bigger-houses/ Human Animals at the Crossroads of Culture, Science, Religion and Media Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:27:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Edgar Montrose http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/26/big-houses-bigger-houses-and-even-bigger-houses/#comment-17381 Edgar Montrose Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:06:45 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/26/big-houses-bigger-houses-and-even-bigger-houses/#comment-17381 Um, grumpy, just a minor point; I think that the people who live in McMansions are not usually the same people who watch Nascar races. Now, the people who SPONSOR Nascar races might be a different story. Also, I suspect that the energy consumed by the fans, driving to and from the races, far exceeds the energy consumed by the race cars themselves. Of course, the same can be said about baseball, football, etc. Back to the topic at hand; I am reminded of my sister and her husband, who are seemingly stereotypical of middle-class conspicuous consumption in the US today. Their attitude is that they never consider the actual purchase price of anything they buy, because they will never own it outright. Their only consideration is whether they can afford the monthly payments. On that basis alone, if they see something that they want, and they can afford it, they "buy" it (which is actually more like renting it). When they tire of it, they trade it for something else. Their intent is to die as deeply in debt as possible. Seriously. It's really difficult to argue with them. While they're in debt and I am not, they also have a lifestyle that I can only envy. Um, grumpy, just a minor point; I think that the people who live in McMansions are not usually the same people who watch Nascar races. Now, the people who SPONSOR Nascar races might be a different story. Also, I suspect that the energy consumed by the fans, driving to and from the races, far exceeds the energy consumed by the race cars themselves. Of course, the same can be said about baseball, football, etc.

Back to the topic at hand; I am reminded of my sister and her husband, who are seemingly stereotypical of middle-class conspicuous consumption in the US today. Their attitude is that they never consider the actual purchase price of anything they buy, because they will never own it outright. Their only consideration is whether they can afford the monthly payments. On that basis alone, if they see something that they want, and they can afford it, they “buy” it (which is actually more like renting it). When they tire of it, they trade it for something else. Their intent is to die as deeply in debt as possible. Seriously.

It’s really difficult to argue with them. While they’re in debt and I am not, they also have a lifestyle that I can only envy.

]]> By: Erich Vieth http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/26/big-houses-bigger-houses-and-even-bigger-houses/#comment-17371 Erich Vieth Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:00:57 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/26/big-houses-bigger-houses-and-even-bigger-houses/#comment-17371 Grumpy: Check out this article on the importance of implementing green building design: "Proactive architects fight CO2 levels" http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/09/19/proactive-architects-fight-co2-levels/ Grumpy: Check out this article on the importance of implementing green building design: “Proactive architects fight CO2 levels” http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/09/19/proactive-architects-fight-co2-levels/

]]> By: grumpypilgrim http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/26/big-houses-bigger-houses-and-even-bigger-houses/#comment-17369 grumpypilgrim Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:49:54 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/26/big-houses-bigger-houses-and-even-bigger-houses/#comment-17369 It came as a surprise to me, but half the greenhouse gasses that the U.S. creates come not from motor vehicles, but from buildings. The energy we consume heating, cooling and powering our homes and offices consume gigantic amounts of energy and produce gigantic amounts of pollution. Where we choose to build our buildings, and how we choose to landscape them, add still more environmental stress; e.g., groundwater depletion, fertilizer run-off, invasive species, etc. I keep wondering when the current trend for building McMansions and watching Nascar races will seem as ignorant to our population as harpooning whales and shooting elephants (which were common a century ago) now seem. Why does it take such a long time for our species to recognize environmental collapse? It came as a surprise to me, but half the greenhouse gasses that the U.S. creates come not from motor vehicles, but from buildings. The energy we consume heating, cooling and powering our homes and offices consume gigantic amounts of energy and produce gigantic amounts of pollution. Where we choose to build our buildings, and how we choose to landscape them, add still more environmental stress; e.g., groundwater depletion, fertilizer run-off, invasive species, etc.

I keep wondering when the current trend for building McMansions and watching Nascar races will seem as ignorant to our population as harpooning whales and shooting elephants (which were common a century ago) now seem. Why does it take such a long time for our species to recognize environmental collapse?

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