Shining a light on civilisation

Okay, just before you think I've got a light theme going on - I actually wrote this on the train to the UK a couple weeks ago, and subsequently forgot about it while languishing on my death bed (I'm fine now, thanks).

I think lightbulbs are a good example of just how deep we're into the civilisation dead end. We are developing a habit of solving problems with things that create a bigger problem. We discover that we are using too much energy, and a lot of this is going into lighting. So what we are presented with as a solution is a lightbulb that uses less energy. Unfortunately as with many things that are the product of civilisation we later find out that once again when we exclude nature from our thinking we have created yet another problem.

With lightbulbs I think it was even clearer – we knew there was mercury in the HCL lightbulbs, however I guess we thought that less energy use was better than more mercury poisoning our environment (or let's be cynical – perhaps it was just more economical). Now we are trying to create even more energy efficient lightbulbs by using LED technology – I wonder how long before we realise the problem with them.

In a world where only those that work with nature survive, anything that takes more than it gives is doomed, no matter how clever it looks on paper. Technology will not make civilisation sustainable, nor will it slow us down until we have enough time to notice the people next to each other, and stay in one place long enough to build up meaningful relationships.