The Gulf oil disaster is an ecological nightmare that will spread across the globe and persist for years. And it just gave me a terrifying thought that will probably disturb my sleep for nights to come: What if most people actually like what is happening to our planet? Not that anyone is crazy enough to actually enjoy this catastrophe and the many smaller ones constantly taking place, but in the sense that it’s the lesser of two evils — the worse one being running out of oil.

The answer is evident already. Some people are warning against a ban on offshore drilling. One authority said drilling should be allowed in “less sensitive” areas. As if getting hit in the head with a hammer would be painful, so show me a “less sensitive” area of your body I can pound on.

I have always realized that most people wouldn’t accept my homestead solutions to so many of the world’s problems as outlined in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Self-Sufficient Living and many other writings, but I’d always assumed that they would at least appreciate the Garden of Eden kind of world that kind of living would result in. That’s why the sudden thought was so terrifying. To the question “Is this the kind of world you want to live in?” a good many people wouldn’t hesitate a moment before shouting YES!

They love cities, the bigger, more crowded, noisier, and more sophisticated the better. They fear and detest the countryside: solitude, lurking unknown dangers, rough unpaved terrain, bugs. Oil pollution in the Gulf of Mexico or in Alaska doesn’t faze them: they’re much more concerned about the latest tech gizmo and power outages and whatever entertainment is planned for next weekend. And of course, they love their cars. For most people, reducing the use of personal transportation would be a major hardship, and eliminating it would be unthinkable.

I always knew my diatribes against the American automobile culture and sybaritic comforts in general would be ignored or ridiculed: there simply is no way anybody is going back to the “Dark Ages” of maybe 50 years ago unless they decide to become Amish, or if some unseen and unimaginable force would revive hippiedom. And of course, that would still leave a vast majority believing that the world simply could not function without all the trappings of affluence that even “poor” people have come to take for granted, again, in my lifetime.

In other words, most people are not going to give up their lush lawns and washed cars — to say nothing of flush toilets and daily showers— until they turn on the faucet and nothing comes out. They are not going to give up piloting a huge metal machine on paved roads to go someplace else for some insignificant reason, nor will they even give up mowing that lush lawn — until there is no more gas, or until it becomes truly unbearably expensive, or until the air becomes too polluted to breathe. They are not going to grow vegetables and chickens in their backyards — until the supermarket shelves are empty and they are literally starving. And even then they’ll most likely blame politicians and demand that “something be done about it.” But then it will be too late.

It’s all going to happen, and you know it. It’s about sustainability. It simply isn’t possible to use up water, oil, and other finite resources, or to befoul them so as to render them useless for human purposes, without eventually coming to the bottom of the barrel. When we reach that point, it’s all over.

During the 50-some years I’ve been writing about this, I have seen rare glimpses of hope: periods when it really did seem like maybe the world was coming to its senses, or more often, that some external event would force the issue. They all turned out to be chimeras.

Which increases the odds that yes indeed, the world will eventually become uninhabitable for humans. The Earth will not die; there will still be life (such as cockroaches and lichens), but humans? Not likely, even in a primitive state.

There are a number of problems involved here, most concerning today’s common concepts of the ideal world, where oil pollution of ecologically and economically crucial oceans is less of a problem than poor tv reception, snow removal must be a top priority for a northern mayor who wants to remain in office, and in general, nature is not a partner, but something to be conquered. Almost all of these problems could be alleviated by simple, self-sufficient, sustainable living.

The Earth’s resources are not infinite: we must exist within certain limits. We have already reached some of those limits, and are approaching more. But what would be so terrible about living within those limits? Those who believe in and demand constant economic growth and see that as the only “progress” consider such thinking to be ridiculous, and what’s worse, anti-capitalist. But to a homesteader, who understands the webs and strands and can appreciate the here and now and simple pleasures, it’s a no-brainer. We must change our management of the planet now, voluntarily, by the way we live — by what we consume, waste, destroy and despoil, and by what we conserve, protect, recycle and substitute. Most importantly, it’s not a hardship at all: With the right attitude, it’s a beautiful way to live!

Unfortunately, since most people don’t agree, we are likely to lose not only the beautiful life, but even the option of pursuing it. Which should terrify anyone who thinks about it. So I hope you too will lie sleepless. If enough of us can work together, it still might not be too late.

Language note: Most people still speak of an oil “spill.” I do not. A “spill” is when someone tips over a glass of milk and says “oops!” And while we’re advised not to cry over spilled milk, that is certainly not the case when millions of gallons of petroleum wreak further havoc on our already beleaguered planet.