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Working Toward Loneliness
Generating revenue is our life’s purpose and disengaging from the workforce disconnects us from society because profit is the center of our value system.
In a 2019 climate change research role, I assessed extreme weather and household energy demands by assisting low-income families with rising consumption costs. The project recommenced two years later, and energy-debt is much worse in 2021. Retirees, single women, women with children, immigrants, and grandparents raising grandchildren continue to be the most stressed. Covid’s economic impact skews the stats, but energy consumption and climate change are just the tips of the iceberg.
Within our neighborhoods, thousands of people are suffering from extreme loneliness, and the key to combatting social issues like climate change is community cohesion.
Power bills are the biggest expense after rent or mortgage. Operating fossil-fuel power stations is expensive and corporate ownership of an essential service increases the consumer’s price. The socio-economic effects of climate change impact low-income earners first, but wealth no longer safeguards against extreme weather conditions. Texas’ tragedy exemplified our vulnerabilities to climate disasters, but Texans demonstrated the single most crucial component to our survival; community.
