Looking for the 'silver bullet' in climate change adaptation

The “silver bullet” in climate adaptation is the Four-Hour Work Day.

Should we want to reduce our impact on the atmosphere, then it is important that we reduce, rather almost eliminate, our reliance on fossil fuels and therein is the critical aspect of working fewer hours.

The “silver bullet” in climate adaptation is
 the Four-Hour Work Day.

With society built around a four-hour work day, the interval between our journeys to and fro would be short compared to what exists, encouraging people to live within an easy walking or cycling distance of their work places.

That would, by its nature, reduce the distance travelled by people to and from work subsequently eroding the need for an extensive, and expensive, road network, easing the pressure on public transport systems, leading to a “five-minute life” – that is a neighbourhood in which everything important and day-to-day basis, including work, shopping, health and educative services, various government services, reaction and leisure – are all within five minutes walking or cycling; obesity would be eased and general health would improve as more people would be physically active; communities and neighbourhoods would be vastly stronger and be markedly healthier, more resilient and stronger as people would simply have more time to be there.

And, of course, just as soon as it became clear that neighbourhoods were enriched through the deeper and more expansive involvement of those who lived there, it would have a self-fulfilling dynamic as it began to “feed upon itself” and the improvement would become organic.

With additional time at their disposal to pursue activities that enhanced life personally, for their neighbourhood and the broader community, people would experience a sense of wellbeing and achievement that had been missing from their lives under the strain of a market-driven, profit and growth based society.