Be my friend before all the polar ice melts!

There’s an upside to global warming, according to Bill McKibbon’s book Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet. Though we’re going to be challenged by seismic shifts in our attitudes about resources, food, fossil fuels, and money, our social networks may just get a little stronger.

The suburban, Garage Mahal, big box car culture the last few generations grew up in almost completely erased the need for people to meet, know and help their neighbours. We were self-contained, and we were lonesome. The average American lost almost a third of their besties from 1985-2004, dropping from 2.94 to 2.08 close friends, according to a Duke University study.

That’s all going to change when we’re forced to adopt new prosocial behaviour, McKibbon speculates. “Local” and “community” are going to have more meaning when you’re buying your potatoes from Merve up the road instead of paying a premium to have them trucked from the Midwest.

When the resources run out, we’re going to return, by necessity, to the golden rule. And it’s great we’re getting a head start with all this practice online.

Social networks can help transition society from minivans and megamarts to knowing what nearby farmer’s markets have in season (Twitter), where local artisans sell their goods (Foursquare), and who’s celebrating a life-changing event (Facebook). As we shift to a slower, more present (instead of future) pace, the joy of being neighbourly will return. Go on…accept my friend request!

Listen to author Bill McKibbon tell the future to CBC The Current’s Anna Maria Tremonti.

Platform Wars

Who will dominate location-based status? The Big Blue Boot stomps Gowalla & Foursquare into ‘roo & d0u¢hebag soup. Illustration available creative commons-style on Flickr for all your bloggy uses.