Yesterday’s post used the Kaya identity to explain how life efficiency can greatly improve global sustainability. Today, we’ll discuss what this might look like in practice. 

Going viral

The best thing about life efficiency as a sustainability lever is that it just requires a mindset shift. All other measures require lots of technology development, demonstration, and deployment.

Since life efficiency is only an idea, it can go viral. As such, it has the potential to reduce emissions and other environmental impacts at a speed that can never be matched by other options. 

Status symbol

Conspicuous consumption is still cool in some parts of the world. But the tide is turning. In many places, such consumption now has the exact opposite effect. 

Life efficiency is unquestionably cool. Deriving tremendous happiness and health from a lifestyle that leaves enough resources for everyone else to do the same is good in every way imaginable. 

People are realizing this. And a whole culture is developing around the idea with names like the post-growth economy, downshifting, voluntary simplicity, and FIRE. 

This trend is irreversible. In years to come, a happy, healthy, and relaxed appearance coupled with a sustainable lifestyle will gain you much more respect than a big house with fancy cars in the driveway. 

Economic restructuring

Our mission of constructing a sustainable society in the 21st century will need a tremendous amount of surplus productive capacity.

We need to lift billions out of poverty by constructing housing, roads, schools, factories, hospitals, etc. We also need to completely redesign and rebuild our energy system, our transportation fleet, and our industrial sector. 

Life efficiency can step up to this great challenge. It’s the art of producing much more than you consume and having a great time doing so – exactly what we need to complete this great global mission. 

In this process, life efficiency will cause great economic restructuring. A lot of economic effort currently being wasted on the production of useless consumer goods and various symbols of excess will be redirected towards the construction of a sustainable society. 

This will be uncomfortable for many, but it is absolutely necessary. 

Prepare yourself

Anyone who can prepare beforehand for a great economic shift stands to benefit strongly. Building a truly efficient lifestyle is the best way to prepare for the coming decades.

1. The future pricing of environmental costs (e.g., a CO2 tax) will cause a clear wealth redistribution from those with high ecological footprints to those with low ecological footprints. 
2. Improved financial resilience from high life efficiency will give you greater flexibility in the uncertain times ahead.
3. Those who derive most of their joy from creation instead of consumption are probably working in areas that will do well in a sustainable economy. Anything that requires a lot of creativity and fairly little natural resources will do well.

For these reasons, those with high life efficiency can welcome the future with open arms 🙂