Carbon Emissions Chic

Note: this idea was written with the US in mind and may not be make sense in other countries. It's an attempt at resolving the conflict between the need to reduce energy consumption and the ideal of bigger is better.

I know a couple people who got a new Prius in the past year or so. To me this is a very luxurious car. I really like it that this is a car with high fuel economy that has, at least as a new car, some status associated with it. The status is important, because many people here in the US wouldn't be seen dead in an “econobox”, just because it doesn't look expensive enough. Expensive, wasteful things have a status associated with them – it is the privilege to be wasteful.

I'd like to generalize the concept of sustainability as a means to achieve status, in place of the wasteful overconsumption of bigger is better.

How about a $70.000 Lexus Prius that gets even better fuel economy than the Toyota model? Perhaps it is handpainted by local artisans. Move to houses: instead of building the biggest and silliest starter castle/mcmansion, build houses that are visibly fuel efficient and more expensive than lower price houses. I'm thinking of roomy multi-family, multistory dwellings built in a park like setting, perhaps with some country-club style facilities, sold at a very high price. In return for the premium price, owners live in an upscale building with magnificent, unique architecture and the best neighbors.

This has to be visible, so envy can take hold and this kind of living becomes desirable. Fuel efficient city dwellers that are invisible to grand-living exurbanites are insufficient: move it into the exurbs, combined with efficient, public transportation.

Thinking of other ways to extend this. Wealthier, more accomplished people travel by luxury shuttle (a bus) and rail. These pricey buses and train always arrive on time and computer systems prevent people from having to wait or stand in the cold.

We need a new middle class group that has the money to live a wealthy carbon neutral lifestyle, a more modern class that is the envy of and supercedes the people driving new SUV's and living in large homes. Make it visible and use design and architecture to help show superiority (superiority appears to be a common craving).