Originally Posted by agr

All of the material things in your list (large homes, large cars, easy travel (=sprawl)) are enabled by cheap fossil fuels. They suit me too, but I do wonder how long the era of fossil-fuelled quality of life will last. If I were General Manager of the World, looking to avoid climate catastrophe, I would consider our comfortable north american way of life to be low-hanging fruit ripe for a dramatic increase in the price of carbon. In terms of the planet's resources and capacity to withstand climate change, we are very much enjoying what we have at the future expense of others. I don't mean to preach or sound gloomy, but this dilemma isn't going to go away.